1981 saw four new characters making their debuts on Coronation Street: Nick Tilsley, Neil Grimshaw, Eunice Gee and Alma Halliwell.
Nicholas Paul "Nick" Tilsley (also Platt) was born off screen during an episode broadcast on 31 December 1980, but made his first appearance on 5 January 1981. He was played by Warren Jackson from 1981 until 6 September 1996. Adam Rickett took over the role on 15 October 1997 until 21 April 1999 but returned for three separate stints between 2002 and 2004 and made his final appearance as Nick on 11 July 2004. Ben Price took over the role on 21 December 2009. Nick is the first-born child of Brian (Christopher Quinten) and Gail Tilsley (Helen Worth). He is the older brother of Sarah Platt (Tina O'Brien) and David Platt (Jack P. Shepherd) as well as the uncle of Bethany (Lucy Fallon), and Lily Platt and the grandson of Audrey Roberts. Nick's storylines have included his adolescent problems and his role in the fraught relationship between his parents, his teenage marriage to Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) and their divorce, and his engagement to Maria Connor (Samia Smith). Since his return in 2009 his storylines have featured him remarrying and once again divorcing Leanne, his one-night stand with David's wife Kylie Platt (Paula Lane), suffering brain damage after being involved in car accident which was caused by David, and his business partnership with and later one-day marriage to Carla Connor (Alison King).
Neil Grimshaw, played by Michael Le Vell, was a paperboy for The Kabin, who appeared on the 5 and 7 January 1981. Two years after playing Grimshaw, Le Vell was reintroduced to Coronation Street as Kevin Webster, who became a regular character in 1984.
Eunice Gee | |||||||||||
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Coronation Street character | |||||||||||
Portrayed by | Meg Johnson | ||||||||||
Duration | 1981–1982, 1999 | ||||||||||
First appearance | 23 March 1981 | ||||||||||
Last appearance | 24 May 1999 | ||||||||||
Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||
Introduced by | Bill Podmore (1981) Jane McNaught (1999) | ||||||||||
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Eunice Gee (née Clarke, previously Nuttall) born 1937 had been a barmaid and was a dry-cleaner when she met Fred Gee at a singles evening. This fitted in with his plans, as he had the chance of the licence of The Crown and Kettle - but the brewery would only consider married couples. They married after a whirlwind romance, but The Crown and Kettle had already been taken and then the next pub fell through when the brewery found out Eunice had previously been sacked from the Foundryman's Arms after £30 disappeared, although she always blamed this on another barmaid.
Annie Walker threw them out of the Rovers Return Inn when they were refused the pub, as the overbearing Eunice acted as though she owned the place and upset both Annie and Betty Turpin. For a while, they ran the Community Centre and moved in there with Eunice's daughter, Debbie, but the marriage started to fall apart. Councillor Ben Critchley, Chairman of the Social Services committee found that the Gees had got the Community Centre through Alf Roberts, without his authority and proceeded to evict them. Conveniently, Ben Critchley was able to offer positions at his Park View Hotel in Weatherfield, and even more conveniently, as he had an eye for Eunice, he knew she would accept but Fred refuse. Fred reluctantly accepted that their marriage would not work; he moved back into the Rovers and the marriage ended. In November 1983 she said she wanted to remarry and divorced Fred.
In 1999 she turned up again, running the Park Road B&B where Jack and Vera Duckworth stayed after leaving the Rovers. In May 1999 her brother-in-law died suddenly in Spain, and Eunice went out there to help her sister Dolly run her bar, leaving the Duckworths running the B&B.
Gail Rodwell is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Helen Worth. The character first appeared on-screen on 29 July 1974. Gail is the daughter of Audrey Roberts and Ted Page and is the mother of Nick Tilsley, Sarah Platt and David Platt and has featured in some of the most controversial and high-profile storylines in the soap involving her family and her number of relationships — she is the soap's most married female character, having been married six times.
Kevin Webster is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Portrayed by Michael Le Vell, the character first appeared on-screen during the episode airing on 19 October 1983. Le Vell was suspended from the soap in February 2013 due to allegations of sexual offences, with scenes he had already filmed cut from broadcast. Le Vell was found not guilty of all charges in September 2013, and briefly returned in early 2014, before taking another 3-month break from the show and returning once again.
The Rovers Return Inn is a fictional public house in the long-running British soap opera Coronation Street.
Leanne Battersby is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Jane Danson. It was announced in February 1997 that a "family from hell" would be introduced to Coronation Street. This included Les and Janice Battersby, Les' daughter Leanne and Janice's daughter Toyah. Leanne made her first appearance on 4 July 1997. Danson left the series on 23 August 2000 and returned on 7 June 2004. Danson later took maternity leave in 2006 and returned in early 2007. Danson took another maternity break in 2009 and returned in the same year. On 27 September 2017, Danson took an extended break from the show and returned three months later on 15 December 2017.
Weatherfield is a fictional town based on Salford, Greater Manchester, which has been the setting for the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street since its inception in 1960. Much of Weatherfield has been seen by viewers throughout the years, though the primary focus from the viewer's perspective is the eponymous Coronation Street, a cobbled street where many of the programme's characters live. The soap opera is often shot on location around Salford and the neighbouring large city of Manchester, as its filming studios, the Granada Studios complex on Quay Street in Manchester city centre and its replacement set MediaCityUK in Salford Quays, only house the outdoor sets of Coronation Street and its immediate surrounding streets.
Nick Tilsley is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. He was born off screen during an episode broadcast on 31 December 1980, but made his first appearance on 5 January 1981. He was played by Warren Jackson from 1981 until 6 September 1996. Adam Rickitt took over the role on 15 October 1997 until 21 April 1999 but returned for three separate stints between 2002 and 2004 and made his final appearance as Nick on 11 July 2004. Ben Price took over the role on 21 December 2009. Price announced his intentions to leave the serial on 26 January 2017, before making his on-screen departure on 2 June 2017. However, on 23 April 2018, it was announced that Price would reprise his role as Nick, and he returned on 12 October 2018.
Ivy Joan Tilsley is a fictional character from the British soap opera Coronation Street. Played by Lynne Perrie, Ivy first appeared on-screen on 14 June 1971, initially on a recurring basis, before becoming a regular in 1979. As the character continued development, Ivy's stringent religious beliefs would become a synonymous part of her storylines on the show.
Natalie Horrocks is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Denise Welch. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 26 February 1997. She departed the series on 31 December 2000.
Tina McIntyre is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Portrayed by Michelle Keegan, the character first appeared on-screen during the episode that was shown 7 January 2008. The character was central to many key storylines relating to issues such as perjury, abortion and surrogacy, and had relationships with David Platt, Graeme Proctor, Tommy Duckworth, Dr. Matt Carter and Jason Grimshaw, and had an affair with married man Peter Barlow. Tina has also had feuds with Kylie Platt, Tracy Barlow and Kirsty Soames.
Stella Price is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Michelle Collins. Collins' casting was announced in April 2011 and she began filming her scenes in May. The actress commuted from north London to Manchester for filming. Collins joined the show in order to have the financial security to ensure that her daughter could go to university. Collins, who is from Southern England and was previously well known for her role as Londoner, Cindy Beale on BBC's EastEnders, used a Northern accent for the role of Stella as Coronation Street is set in Manchester. She made her first on-screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 16 June 2011. Stella was introduced along with her boyfriend, Karl Munro, and her daughter, Eva. The following year, Stella’s mother, Gloria was also introduced. In August 2013, it was announced that Collins would be leaving the soap and she filmed her final scenes on 19 February 2014. Stella departed on 2 April 2014.
Eva Price is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Catherine Tyldesley, her character and casting was announced in May 2011 and she made her first appearance on screen on 17 June 2011. Eva was introduced as Stella Price's daughter. On 24 August 2014, Tyldesley announced that she was expecting her first child. Eva left the show on 23 February 2015. Tyldesley returned to filming on 13 July 2015, and Eva's return scenes aired on 16 September 2015. It was announced on 1 December 2017 that Tyldesley had decided to leave the show to pursue other acting roles after seven years. Tyldesley filmed her final scenes on 20 June 2018 which were broadcast on 3 August 2018.