| Percy Sugden | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coronation Street character | |||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Bill Waddington | ||||||||||||
| Duration | 1983–1997 | ||||||||||||
| First appearance | 22 August 1983 | ||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 20 October 1997 | ||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Mervyn Watson | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Percy Sugden is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street , played by Bill Waddington. He appeared between 1983 and 1997.
Percy Sugden arrived on the Street in August 1983 as the new caretaker at the Community Centre. Old soldier Percy had been a cook in the Army serving with the Eighth Army in North Africa whose proudest boast was: "When you've made gravy under shell fire, you can do anything!". He had little family, but was close to his niece, Elaine Prior (Judy Gridley), who married Bill Webster (Peter Armitage) in 1985.
In 1983, Percy suggested to Mavis Riley (Thelma Barlow) that his pet budgie, Randy, should mate with her pet budgie, Harriet. Mavis was not happy with the idea.
In 1987, Percy formed the Percy Sugden Formation Dancers, containing local notables such as Hilda Ogden (Jean Alexander) and Phyllis Pearce (Jill Summers). He encouraged them to an enter a local dance contest - however, fed up with his bossiness, the dancers finally ousted Percy and elected a new chairman. Percy reacted by cancelling the group's entry in the dance contest, and informing them that new entries were no longer being accepted. Percy decided to be a good neighbour, making regular visits to Alf Roberts (Bryan Mosley), who was recovering from a heart attack; Alf was horrified when insensitive Percy told him stories of other heart attack victims who had not been so lucky to survive.
Upon reaching retirement age in 1988, Percy was forced to leave his flat at the Community Centre and move out of the Street. Miserable at being away from the neighbourhood, he slumped into lethargy until Emily Bishop (Eileen Derbyshire) took pity on him and moved him in as her lodger at No 3. Percy was delighted, but Mavis Riley, an old friend of Emily's, initially reacted with some jealousy. When Mavis married Derek Wilton (Peter Baldwin) later that year, Percy was thrilled to act as best man (although nobody had actually asked him) and took it upon himself to see that Derek made it to the wedding this time, having heard of their failed wedding in 1978.
Like Albert Tatlock (Jack Howarth) and Ena Sharples (Violet Carson) before him, Percy was disappointed by many of the "doings" of the younger generation. When Brian Tilsley (Christopher Quinten) was stabbed and killed outside a nightclub in 1989, Percy blamed it on "Acid Drops" (acid house), stating that in his day, "people attending George Formby concerts hadn't come dashing out stabbing folk!".
Percy had unwanted female attention, thanks mainly to Phyllis Pearce and Maud Grimes (Elizabeth Bradley). Phyllis pursued him for most of the 1980s and into the 1990s, and sought to make him jealous by being seen around with other local pensioners, including Sam Tindall (Tom Mennard) and Arnold Swift (Harry Littlewood); Percy remained unmoved.
In 1997, Percy's happy life in the Street was shattered when the Battersby family moved in next-door. Percy couldn't stand his boisterous new neighbours, so he decided to move into a retirement complex at Mayfield Court. By 1998, Percy was still living in Mayfield Court with Phyllis Pearce and they had recently been joined by Maud Grimes.
The character was introduced to Coronation Street as a potential caretaker of the Community Centre. Percy's niece, Elaine Prior, stayed with him until she married Bill Webster (Peter Armitage). Percy was also a school crossing patrol 'lollipop' man.
Writers created a partnership between Percy and Phyllis Pearce (Jill Summers). Phyllis is portrayed as having unrequited love for Percy, who makes his feelings known. Despite this, Phyllis never gives up the pursuit of romance with Percy. Writers played them in comedic scenes, such as a trip to Southport where Phyllis hides Percy's socks and shoes while he is paddling in the sea. This causes them to miss the coach home, so Phyllis can spend more time with him alone. Phyllis' adoration of Percy intensified when works as a lollipop man and saves Phyllis from being run over. In a 1996 plot, Phyllis' rival Maud Grimes (Elizabeth Bradley) reads her teacup and revealed the man of Phyllis' dreams was waiting for her. She responds by asking Percy to marry her, but he thinks Phyllis was pranking him and leaves abruptly.The two characters later move into the same retirement complex at Mayfield Court.
Along with Stafford Hildred, actor Bill Waddington wrote a book about his character called The importance of being Percy, which was released in 1992. [1] In a 1990 poll ran by Woman magazine, readers voted Waddington as one of the least popular "soap stars". [2]
Emily Bishop is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Portrayed by Eileen Derbyshire, the character is the longest-standing female character in the serial, having first appeared on-screen during the fourth episode on 21 December 1960, played by an uncredited walk on actress. From January 1961 onwards, she was played by Eileen Derbyshire. Derbyshire announced in November 2015 that she would be taking a retirement from the show and Emily departed on New Year's Day 2016 after 55 years on screen. It was announced on 9 August 2019 that Derbyshire had agreed to briefly reprise the role. She made a brief cameo on 9 October 2019 for Ken Barlow's 80th birthday celebration.
William Joseph Waddington was an English actor, comedian and co-author who was born in Oldham, Lancashire. In later life he achieved stardom as the pompous ex-serviceman Percy Sugden in Granada Television's long-running soap opera Coronation Street.
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.
Irene "Renee" Roberts is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Madge Hindle. The character was created by producer Bill Podmore as a new shop keeper. He wanted a mature female to create an atmosphere of gossip the show had previously boasted. While Podmore envisioned Renee as a feisty character, Hindle decided to play down the persona and make her likeable; she believed that no one would visit her shop otherwise. Renee was partnered with Alf Roberts and they later marry. However, Hindle and Mosley did not think the two were compatible. Renee also features in a feud over her shop and comedic stories such as a disastrous fishing trip.
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.
Phyllis Pearce is a fictional character from the British soap opera Coronation Street, played by Jill Summers. She made her first appearance as Phyllis during the episode broadcast on 20 September 1982. She is introduced into the series as the grandmother of Craig Whitely. Phyllis is characterised as a pensioner, who has a blue-rinse hair style and a distinct tone to her voice. She takes a waitress job at Jim's Café and assumes the role of a gossiping woman. In her initial stories, Phyllis is portrayed at odds with Craig's paternal grandfather Chalkie Whitely, who she accuses of being an unfit parental guardian. In Phyllis' backstory, her husband Harold and her daughter, Margaret had died. Craig's father, Bob Whitely decides to emigrate to Australia and Chalkie later joins them, leaving Phyllis without any family. Summers was only contracted to appear for a couple of weeks, but the character's popularity convinced producers to make Phyllis a permanent character in the series.
Jill Summers was an English music hall performer, actor and comedian. Her career in entertainment lasted eighty years and in 1982 she achieved stardom as Phyllis Pearce, in Granada Television's long-running soap opera Coronation Street. She made her last appearance in May 1996, and died eight months later.
Shirley Armitage is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Played by Lisa Lewis, the character appeared for a period of six years between 1983 and 1989. Shirley became the programme's first regular black character.