Maureen Webster (also Grimes, Naylor, Holdsworth and Elliott) was played by Sherrie Hewson.
Maureen Naylor was first seen in March 1993 when she was employed by Curly Watts at Bettabuys supermarket, unaware that her first love Reg Holdsworth was the store manager. The pair had been engaged to be married when they were young, but Maureen's mother Maud disapproved of Reg and had ruined the relationship. Maureen went on to marry Frank Naylor but eventually divorced him after he treated her badly.
Delighted to be reunited, Maureen and Reg began courting, although Maureen's cautious behaviour led Reg to suspect she was seeing another man. Maureen eventually confessed that she was actually living with her mother and did not want her to frighten Reg away as she had done years before. Despite Maud's best efforts to sabotage their courtship with feigned illnesses and injuries, Reg and Maureen prepared to consummate their love in Reg's water bed, only for Derek Wilton to drill through the ceiling below into the bed, flooding the flat and humiliating Maureen. The couple got engaged again but Maureen called off the wedding when she caught Reg entertaining Debi Scott and accused him of being unfaithful. Devastated, Maureen got drunk and spent the night with Curly but was reconciled with Reg when he explained that he had been trying to secure a cheap deal for the Corner Shop from Debi.
Maureen and Reg married in January 1994 and ran the Corner Shop together. Reg, however, soon disliked his small environment and went to work for Firman's Freezers, leaving Maureen to run the business with Maud. Maureen was shocked when, during a visit to France, Maud admitted to her that she had been the result of an affair with an American soldier, Leonard Kennedy, and that her dead husband Wilfred Grimes was not her real father.
The Holdsworths attempted to sell the shop unsuccessfully, and the situation deteriorated when Reg took a job in Lowestoft, and Maureen became unhappy at having to drive long distances to see him only at weekends. In 1996, Maureen was left distraught when she discovered that Reg had been having an affair and had got his mistress in Lowestoft pregnant and agreed to divorce him. She threw herself into work at the shop and eventually embarked upon a romance with Bill Webster, of whom Maud approved. But another drunken night of passion with Curly left Bill unable to continue the relationship and Maureen was alone once again.
A while later, butcher Fred Elliott expressed an interest in Maureen and began to take her out. She enjoyed his company and being treated well but turned down his proposal of marriage, reluctant to wed for a third time. Maud disliked Fred, thinking him too loud and overbearing, like Reg. Maureen relented, however, and the couple married in September 1997. Less than a week into the union, Maureen decided that her mother had been right as she found Fred's constant attention and his plans for their future overbearing. Desperately unhappy, she found sympathy in Bill, who was planning to emigrate to Germany. He invited her to start a new life with him, and with Maud's blessing she left Weatherfield without telling Fred.
While in Germany, Maureen divorced Fred and married Bill and the couple did not return to Coronation Street for nine years until Bill visited his family in 2006 and began an affair with Audrey Roberts. On Christmas Day, Maureen surprised him by turning up at the Platts' house, where Audrey and the Websters were eating Christmas dinner. Audrey's grandson David Platt revealed Bill and Audrey's affair and Maureen was heartbroken and returned to Germany immediately. Bill followed her to beg forgiveness but returned to Weatherfield a few weeks later, claiming their marriage was over. Maureen still lives in Germany.
John Finnan, portrayed by Shay Gorman, was Carmel Finnan's (Catherine Cusack) grandfather. He raised her as his own daughter, as his other daughter got pregnant with her at fifteen. Carmel became mentally unstable after discovering her true parentage fourteen years later, and she tried to accuse a much older man of getting her pregnant. Because of her behavior, John and his wife placed their granddaughter in a psychiatric hospital and a year later, Carmel left as a happy girl who put her dark past behind her.
Between 1992 and 1993, Carmel became obsessed with former college friend Martin Platt (Sean Wilson). This resulted in his then wife Gail (Helen Worth) to angrily confront Carmel at her bedsit, and the feud ended with Carmel falling down the stairs and breaking her leg. When Carmel falsely accused Gail of pushing her down the stairs, John arrived in Weatherfield to question the Platts about what happened and was shocked to discover that Carmel had falsely accused Martin of getting her pregnant; he explained her mental past and told them he would take her home to Ireland to get the care she needs.
Amy Nelson, portrayed by Louise Duprey and Melanie Brown,[1] was a shop assistant, who worked at Bettabuys. She worked mostly as a checkout operator, where she met Andy McDonald (Nicholas Cochrane) who was working at Bettabuys during his Easter break from Sheffield University. Amy is a few years older than Andy and has a five-year-old son named Dominic, who lived with his father, Errol in Trinidad. Andy and Amy end up building a relationship that became serious by the summer of 1993,[1] however Amy returned to Trinidad and reconciled with Errol.[1]
Andy and Amy were intended to get married, being the first mixed-race wedding but Duprey opted out as she struggled with the pressures of fame being demanded and suffered a panic attack after recording her final episode, 1 October 1993. For the character's final appearance, future "Scary Spice" from the Spice Girls, Mel B (Melanie Brown) portrayed Amy on 20 October 1993.[1] However, she was uncredited.[1]
Maud Grimes (also Michaelson) was played by Elizabeth Bradley for a period of six years from 1993 to 1999.
Maud is the elderly, wheelchair-using mother of Maureen Holdsworth (Sherrie Hewson). Maud was a bit of a battle-axe, being highly opinionated and bad-tempered. Maud worked in the Corner Shop with Maureen and later with her son-in-law Fred Elliott (John Savident) and his son Ashley Peacock (Steven Arnold). In August 1999 Maud announced to Fred, Ashley, Maxine and Audrey that she will marry Sidney Templeton. But he later dies when Audrey and Fred took him out before he could marry Maud. After six years in Coronation Street, she departed towards the end of 1999. No on-screen explanation was ever given for her departure. Actress Elizabeth Bradley died in October 2000. When Maureen returned in December 2006, she did not mention her mother.
Tanya Pooley was played by Eva Pope. Tanya was first introduced as a barmaid at The Queens, a pub where Liz McDonald was manageress for a time. Tanya had a spiteful nature and often said hurtful things. Tanya later got a job as a barmaid at the Rovers and quickly became existing barmaid Raquel Wolstenhulme`s enemy by setting her up with a fake modelling date which left Raquel standing alone in a deserted fruit and vegetable market for hours before realising it was a cruel joke.
Tanya later embarked on an affair with Des Barnes`s boss, Alex Christie, a married man, but she was dissatisfied with the relationship. After moving into the flat above Alma's cafe, Tanya then conducted a three-month affair with Des whilst he was going out with Raquel. Once she had ruined their relationship, she set her sights on trucker Charlie Whelan, her boss Bet Lynch's boyfriend, and finally left the street with him, leaving Bet devastated. Bet had already sacked Tanya from her job at the Rovers Return for being spiteful to Raquel. However a month later, Charlie returned to the street without Tanya, stating that she was only using him and their brief affair had ended.
In 2021, Laura-Jayne Tyler from Inside Soap called new character Daisy Midgeley (Charlotte Jordan) a "modern day" version of Tanya, who she described as "1993's version of a 'proper bi-atch'. Trust us – it's a compliment!"[2]
Colin Barnes was the younger brother of Des Barnes, played on a recurring basis by actor Ian Embleton for a period of seven years between 1993 and 2000. Colin had affairs with pub landladies Liz McDonald and Natalie Barnes his former sister-in-law, and last appeared after the funeral of Natalie's son, Tony Horrocks, when he is questioned by the police on suspicion of his murder. Colin had blamed Tony for causing Des's death and had made a scene at the funeral. Colin told the police that he was with Natalie at the time Tony was killed in order to give himself an alibi.
Charlie Whelan was played by John St. Ryan from December 1993 to October 1994. Lorry driver Charlie makes himself a regular at the Rovers due to his romantic interest in landlady Bet Gilroy, recently divorced from her husband Alec. Bet was flattered by the attention, and Charlie won her over. They began dating and Bet fell deeply in love with him, but her heart was broken when barmaid Tanya Pooley was attracted to him. Tanya seduced Charlie and the attention of the younger woman led him to dump Bet and the pair ran off together. Charlie returned two weeks later and revealed that Tanya was using him and their brief affair was over. He pleaded with Bet to take him back, but she rejected him and Charlie left once again, this time for good.
Related Research Articles
Frederick Handel "Fred" Elliott is a fictional character from the English ITV soap opera Coronation Street played by John Savident. He made his first appearance during the episode airing on 26 August 1994. Savident quit the role in 2005 and Fred died on-screen on 11 October 2006.
Shelley Unwin is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Sally Lindsay. She is the daughter of Bev Unwin.
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.
Bet Lynch is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Portrayed by Julie Goodyear, the character first appeared on screen during the episode airing on Monday 25 May 1966. Appearing over 25 years, Bet became a Coronation Street icon.
Norman "Curly" Watts is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, from 1983 to 2003, and in a few spin-off DVDs in 2010. He was portrayed throughout by Kevin Kennedy.
Des Barnes is a fictional character from the English ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Philip Middlemiss.
Raquel Watts is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Sarah Lancashire from 23 January 1991 until 15 November 1996. Lancashire returned on 2 January 2000 for one episode.
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.
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