Coronation Street (also informally referred to as Corrie) is a long-running British soap opera, noted for its depiction of a down-to-earth working-class community. In September 2010, it became the longest-running television soap opera in the world and is listed in the Guinness World Records. [1] [2] This page lists characters who made their debut appearance in 1986, including Jenny Bradley (now Connor), played by Sally Ann Matthews, who returned to the show from 2015 onwards, 22 years after her last appearance, Jenny's father, Alan Bradley, played by Mark Eden, who was a part of one of the shows most memorable storyline's featuring the Rita Fairclough character, and Sally Seddon (later Webster, now Metcalfe), played by Sally Dynevor, who has been a regular cast member for over 33 years.
Jenny Bradley, played by Sally Ann Matthews. She made her first appearance on screen on 6 January 1986. Originally fostered by Rita Fairclough (Barbara Knox), she has been featured in storylines including her troubled relationship with her father and Rita's partner, Alan (Mark Eden), his death when he is killed in a tram accident after chasing Rita in Blackpool, and a brief underage romance with married man Robert Weston (Philip Bretherton). Their separation in 1991 leads to Jenny leaving on 1 March 1991. She returns for a short stint on 17 September 1993 when she visits Rita for money, but Rita's rejection of her results in Jenny's second departure on 8 October 1993. Jenny returned for four months from 18 February 2015 after meeting Kevin Webster (Michael Le Vell) through internet dating, and they begin a relationship. She is seen to develop an obsession with his son Jack (Jaxon and Maddox Beswick), which culminates in Jenny abducting him before being found in Hull, where she is arrested by police. Her last episode aired on 15 June 2015. On 11 August 2015, the official Coronation Street Twitter page announced that Matthews would be reprising her role as Jenny on 27 January 2016.
Alan Bradley played by Mark Eden, first appeared in the episode that aired on 15 January 1986. Jenny's father, he would go on to be one of the most famous villains in the history of the street. The character's last appearance on the 8 December 1989, saw him get killed by a Blackpool tram while chasing Rita Fairclough.
Sally Metcalfe (also Seddon and Webster), played by actress Sally Dynevor, previously known as Sally Whittaker. The character first appeared on screen during the episode airing on 27 January 1986, when Kevin Webster drove past her in his van. He accidentally splashed her while she was waiting for a bus. She is protective of her two daughters Rosie Webster (Emma Collinge, Helen Flanagan) and Sophie Webster (Ashleigh Middleton, Emma Woodward, Brooke Vincent). Her notable storylines have seen her have an on and off relationship and marriage with Kevin Webster (Michael Le Vell), becoming the victim of domestic abuse by Greg Kelly (Stephen Billington), being diagnosed with breast cancer as well as her attempts to become the pillar of the community and annoy Janice Battersby (Vicky Entwistle) in the process. Over the years, she has tried to impress her bosses Bet Lynch (Julie Goodyear), Alf Roberts (Bryan Mosley), Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs), Paul Connor (Sean Gallagher) and Carla Connor (Alison King) and gain promotions. Recently, Sally has embarked on a relationship with Tim Metcalfe (Joe Duttine) and later went on to marry him.
Jessica Barlow | |||||||||
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Coronation Street character | |||||||||
Portrayed by | Christina Barryk | ||||||||
First appearance | 31 March 1986 | ||||||||
Last appearance | 14 May 1986 | ||||||||
Classification | Former; recurring | ||||||||
Introduced by | Bill Podmore | ||||||||
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Jessica Barlow (née Midgeley) first appeared as the best friend of Susan Barlow, later acting as a bridesmaid at her wedding to Mike Baldwin. However, she soon became the girlfriend of Susan's twin brother; Peter and they both left to live in Portsmouth.
Off-screen she married Peter in 1990 but upon his return to the Street in 2000, he revealed they had divorced due to her infidelity.
Ian Latimer | |||||||||||||
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Coronation Street character | |||||||||||||
Portrayed by | Michael Loney | ||||||||||||
Duration | 1986–1987 | ||||||||||||
First appearance | 7 May 1986 | ||||||||||||
Last appearance | 4 February 1987 | ||||||||||||
Classification | Former; recurring | ||||||||||||
Introduced by | Bill Podmore | ||||||||||||
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Ian Latimer is the nephew of Bert Tilsley and cousin of Brian Tilsley who lives in Australia. Whilst visiting Brian in Weatherfield, he flirts with Brian's wife Gail Tilsley, who feels uncomfortable at first but later warms towards Ian. Ian later embarks on an affair with Gail, which confesses to Brian shortly after she falls pregnant and believes that Ian may be the father. Ian leaves after a heated argument with Brian but returns before Gail's daughter Sarah is born. Ian leaves again and returns to Australia soon afterwards after a paternity test reveals that he is not Sarah's father and Brian is and Gail asks him to keep quiet about the result.
In 1989, Gail called him to tell him that Brian was stabbed to death, but he couldn't attend the funeral due to flight problems.
Elsie Seddon | |||||||||||||||
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Coronation Street character | |||||||||||||||
Portrayed by | Brenda Elder | ||||||||||||||
Duration | 1986, 1989–1991, 1997 | ||||||||||||||
First appearance | 28 May 1986 | ||||||||||||||
Last appearance | 7 July 1997 | ||||||||||||||
Classification | Former; recurring | ||||||||||||||
Introduced by | Bill Podmore (1986, 1989) Mervyn Watson (1990) Brian Park (1997) | ||||||||||||||
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Elsie Seddon (also Hopwood) is the mother of Sally Webster (Sally Dynevor). Elsie first appears demanding money from Sally to fund her father's drinking and gambling habits. Following the death of her husband Eddie in 1989, Elsie comes to stay with Sally and her husband Kevin (Michael Le Vell) after Sally injures her ankle in a road accident. They eventually get fed up with her when she begins hinting at babies and she leaves after Sally has recovered. Elsie then moves to Scarborough and opens a boarding house. In March 1997, Elsie suffers a stroke and Sally goes to Scarborough to nurse her back to health. In July, Elsie is seen again when Kevin goes to Scarborough in an attempt to patch up his and Sally's marriage after he has an affair with Natalie Horrocks (Denise Welch). During this time, Elsie's granddaughter Rosie (Emma Collinge), goes missing but is eventually found safe and well. Elsie is last seen when Kevin's father, Bill Webster (Peter Armitage), visits Sally at her home in an unsuccessful attempt to convince her to forgive Kevin. Elsie dies off-screen in May 1998 after suffering another stroke. She leaves Sally an inheritance of £50,000 in her will.
Eddie Seddon | |||||||||||||
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Coronation Street character | |||||||||||||
Portrayed by | James Duggan | ||||||||||||
Appears on | 1 October 1986 | ||||||||||||
Classification | Former; guest | ||||||||||||
Introduced by | Bill Podmore | ||||||||||||
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Eddie Seddon was the abusive father of Sally Webster (Sally Dynevor). He makes his only appearance on 1 October 1986, when he opposes Sally's engagement to Kevin Webster (Michael Le Vell) and tells Sally that he will not be attending their wedding, which would take place the following week. Almost three years later, Eddie dies in a lorry accident and leaves £1,000 from his life insurance to Sally and her sister Gina (Julie Foy/Connie Hyde).
Neville Hawthorne | |||||||||||
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Coronation Street character | |||||||||||
Portrayed by | Mark Chatterton | ||||||||||
Duration | 1986, 2005, 2007 | ||||||||||
First appearance | 20 October 1986 | ||||||||||
Last appearance | 8 August 2007 | ||||||||||
Classification | Former; recurring | ||||||||||
Introduced by | Bill Podmore (1986) Tony Wood (2005) Steve Frost (2007) | ||||||||||
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Neville Hawthorne is the son of Angela Hawthorne. He first appeared in October 1986 when his then-stepfather, Derek Wilton, was seeing Mavis Riley. Neville made his most recent appearance at Angela's funeral in 2007.
Rita Tanner is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Portrayed by veteran actress Barbara Knox, the character first appeared on-screen as "Rita Littlewood" for one episode on 2 December 1964, before returning as a full-time cast member on 31 January 1972.
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.
Sally Metcalfe is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, portrayed by Sally Dynevor. The character first appeared on-screen during the episode airing on 27 January 1986, when Kevin Webster drove past her in his van and accidentally splashed her while she was waiting for a bus. Her notable storylines have seen her have an on-and-off relationship and marriage with Kevin, becoming the victim of domestic violence by Greg Kelly and her attempts to become the pillar of the community and annoy Janice Battersby in the process. During her time on the soap, she has also tried to impress her bosses Bet Lynch, Alf Roberts, Mike Baldwin, Paul Connor and Carla Connor and gain promotions. In 2009, Sally was diagnosed with Breast cancer; whilst portraying the storyline, Dynevor herself found out that she also had breast cancer, and claimed that the storyline had potentially saved her life. Following a second divorce from Kevin, the character embarks on a relationship with Tim Metcalfe and goes on to marry him, survives a minibus crash, begins a political career on the local council and later progresses to become the Mayor, becomes the victim of an internet troll, is wrongfully imprisoned for fraud and is injured when the roof collapses at the factory.
Martin Platt is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, portrayed by Sean Wilson. His major storylines were a relationship with Gail Tilsley following the death of her husband Brian and the birth of their child David ; a feud with Gail's former mother-in-law Ivy Tilsley ; the adoption of Brian's children Sarah and Nick ; affairs with Cathy Power and Rebecca Hopkins ; his relationship with 16-year-old Katy Harris ; and his involvement in the rescue of Gail from her killer husband Richard Hillman. He left on 9 November 2005. In January 2018, it was confirmed that he would be returning for a short period. He returned on 22 March 2018 and left on 26 March 2018 to go to New Zealand with Robyn and Charlotte. In 2024 Wilson filmed scenes as part of Gail's exit storyline, which were scrapped after he left the role prematurely.
Sophie Webster is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. She was born on-screen during the episode broadcast on 4 November 1994. She was played by Ashleigh Middleton from 1994 until 1997 and by Emma Woodward from 8 June 1997 until 25 April 2004. Brooke Vincent took over the role on 12 May 2004. Sophie is the second daughter born to Kevin Webster and Sally Webster and younger sister to Rosie Webster and elder sister to half siblings Jack Webster and deceased Jake Webster.
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.
Alan Bradley is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Mark Eden. He first appeared on 15 January 1986 and became the show's main antagonist until the character was killed off on 8 December 1989.
Bill Webster is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Peter Armitage. The character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 6 February 1984 and remained in the show until 1985 when Armitage decided to leave. The character was reintroduced in 1995 but he was again written out two years later. Armitage returned once again in 2006 and appeared frequently until late-April 2010 when the character suddenly appeared only a recurring basis. It was reported in 2011 that Bill was going to be axed completely, however, he continued to make appearances on a recurring basis. His last appearance was broadcast on 29 December 2011, where Bill was in attendance at youngest granddaughter Sophie's wedding to her fiancée Sian Powers. Armitage died on 30 November 2018, therefore ruling out a future return for the character. The character was killed off-screen in April 2023.
Jenny Connor is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Sally Ann Matthews. She made her first appearance on-screen on 6 January 1986. Originally fostered by Rita Fairclough, she has been featured in storylines including her troubled relationship with her father and Rita's partner, Alan Bradley, his death when he is killed in a tram accident after chasing Rita in Blackpool and a brief underage romance with married man Robert Weston, their separation in 1991 led to Jenny leaving Weatherfield on 1 March 1991.
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.
Tim Metcalfe is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Coronation Street, played by Joe Duttine. He made his first on-screen appearance on 21 January 2013. Duttine had previously appeared in the soap between February and June 2010 as D.S. Carr, the police officer that arrested Gail McIntyre for the murder of her husband, Joe McIntyre. Tim is introduced as Faye Windass' biological father. His storylines initially focused on his relationship with his long-lost daughter Faye and her adoptive family - mother Anna Windass and her partner Owen Armstrong. Tim's storylines have since revolved around his relationship to Sally Webster - whom he illegally married, and the birth of his granddaughter Miley.
Katherine Jane "Katy" Harris is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, portrayed by Lucy-Jo Hudson. She made her first on-screen appearance on 13 November 2002, before departing in 2005. The teenage daughter of the Harris family, Katy's storylines centred on her family's victimisation by a gang, her diabetic diagnosis and her relationship with Martin Platt.