Lists of Coronation Street characters

Coronation Street is an award-winning UK soap opera created by Tony Warren, produced by Granada Television and aired by ITV. It first broadcast on Friday 9 December 1960, and is consistently one of the highest-rated programmes on British television. The programme features an ensemble cast of characters, comprised for the most part of residents of the fictional Coronation Street, located in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Salford, Greater Manchester. Recurring and minor characters in the show are often children of the Street's residents, or friends, relatives, lovers or antagonists introduced to the show for a single specific storyline.

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Amy Barlow

Template:Coronation Street character Amy Barlow, played by Amber Chadwick, is the daughter of Steve McDonald and Tracy Barlow. She was originally called Patience by Roy Cropper, who had been deceived into believing she was his daughter, however her name was changed back to Amy when it was discovered Tracy had fabricated her daughter's paternity, having falsely claimed to have drugged and slept with Roy. Upon discovering her pregnancy, Tracy had decided to pretend the baby was Roy's, as she felt it would be easier to manipulate him than Steve. Initially, Tracy agreed to give her daughter to Roy and his transsexual wife Hayley in exchange for money. Amy lived with the Croppers for a few weeks, until Steve married Karen Phillips and Tracy confessed the truth. She then took her baby back and renamed her Amy.

Steve initially wanted nothing to do with his daughter, as he felt it could jeopardise his future with new wife Karen. However, when he and Karen broke up, Steve grew to love Amy and did everything he could to be a proper father to her, even getting together with Tracy for a while. Tracy loved Steve but her feelings were not reciprocated. As Steve and Tracy were unmarried when Amy was born, Steve wanted to sign for joint parental responsibility before breaking up with Tracy, as he feared she would try to take Amy away from him. However, Tracy guessed his plan, and they split up. Tracy went as far as to frame Steve for kidnap, but a court ruled that he should be given parental responsibility and see his daughter.

When Tracy was convicted for the murder of boyfriend Charlie Stubbs in April 2007, Amy went to live with Steve in the Rovers Return Inn. She now lives with Steve, grandmother Liz McDonald, Steve's girlfriend Michelle Connor, and Michelle's teenage son Ryan.

Finlay Bryant

Template:Coronation Street character Finlay Bryant, portrayed by Ramone Quinn is the son of Teresa Bryant, ex-wife of Jerry Morton. In April 2007, Jerry discovered that Teresa had gone on holiday, leaving their daughter Kayleigh and her half-brother Finlay on their own. Jerry took the children back home with him, so Finlay currently lives with the rest of the Mortons at No 6 Coronation Street. In June 2008, Teresa briefly conned Lloyd Mullaney into thinking Finlay was his son. On 26 April 2008 it was announced that the character would depart later in the year with the rest of the Morton family.

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Julie Carp

Template:Coronation Street character Julie Carp, played by Katy Cavanagh, made her first onscreen appearance on 25 April 2008, as the new girlfriend of established character Kirk Sutherland. A Coronation Street insider revealed; “Kirk’s had a pretty tough time of late, but he’s finally found a kindred spirit in Julie.” Julie initially clashed with Kirk's ex-girlfriend Fiz Brown, however the two are now good friends. Julie moved in with Kirk, Fiz and Chesney, and found a job at Underworld.

On 3 September Julie admitted that she has had two previous engagement and a disastrous marriage before she met Kirk.

Ryan Connor

Template:Coronation Street character Ryan Connor, played by Ben Thompson, is the son of Michelle Connor. It was discovered in 2008 that he had been swapped at birth, and is the biological son of Nick and Wendy Neeson. He attends Weatherfield High.

In December 2006, Ryan was caught by Norris Cole vandalising the Kabin. Michelle made him help in the Kabin every night after school for a week. For a time, Michelle dated Sonny Dhillon. After they broke up, Ryan went joyriding in Sonny's car. He was caught by the police, though later released. When he returned to the Street, his uncle Paul smacked him across the face. The reason for this was later revealed to be that Paul caused the demise of Ryan's late father, Dean, due to careless driving. In an episode several months later, Paul died in a car accident after kidnapping Leanne Battersby.

Throughout December 2007, Ryan was stalked by a mysterious stranger who knew him by name. When tracked down, the man, Nick Neeson, explained that he believed Ryan to be his real son, and his own son Alex to be Michelle's after a baby mix-up at the hospital. A DNA test later confirmed this to be the case. Nick wrote Ryan a letter in which he told him he was sorry for stalking him and hoped he understood why he had to see him. Ryan tore it up before reading it and Michelle picked up the pieces. Inside was a picture of Ryan just after he was born with Nick and Wendy.

Ryan moved in with his uncle and aunt, Liam and Maria Connor in February 2008, feeling excluded because Alex was living with Michelle. After Alex moved out in March, Ryan moved back in. Ryan continues to see Nick on occasion.

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Wiki Dankowska

Template:Coronation Street character Wiki Dankowska (IPA: [vɪ.kɪ dæn.kaʊ.skæ]), played by Wanda Opalinska, made her first appearance on 26 February 2007 as a new employee of Carla Connor at the Underworld factory. As a Polish immigrant, she was paid less than other employees, and they became concerned that their pay would be affected by this. She was bullied by Joanne Jackson and Janice Battersby, but Hayley Cropper secured her equal pay for her from Liam Connor. She is the only factory worker to have seen Kasia Barowicz fall and die in the factory during an illegal shift. Paul, Carla and Liam covered up Kasia's death until 8:00am the following morning, when the death would be covered by their insurance. Wiki went along with this when Carla told her that if they didn't do this, Kasia's family would get no compensation money. Wiki has a son back home in Poland, aged 21, and she is working in Underworld to support him. She has since started her own business selling underwear.

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Pam Hobsworth

Template:Coronation Street character Pam Hobsworth (neé Compton), played by Kate Anthony, made her first appearance on 16 July 2008 as established character Molly Compton's aunt. Her arrival was first announced in April 2008. Pam was introduced in July 2008, seen as a stranger selling ham to Blanche Hunt in the Rovers Return Inn. When Molly arrived at the pub, they recognised each other instantly. On 25 July 2008, Pam extravagantly bought Molly's boyfriend Tyrone Dobbs a Fabergé egg to use to propose to Molly. Pam told Jack Duckworth, Molly, and Tyrone that she could leave if she'd worn out her welcome, but they insisted she stay. Pam had led them to believe her husband had died, but confided in Molly that he'd thrown her out for having an affair with the renderer. Pam convinced Tyrone that Molly wanted a lavish wedding, and began teaching him how to make more money. She entered into a small row with Tyrone's mother Jackie after she upset Molly and Tyrone.

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Amber Kalirai

Template:Coronation Street character Amber Kalirai, played by Nikki Patel, is the daughter of Dev Alahan (Jimmi Harkishin) and works in his corner shop when not at school. She first arrived on 9 November 2005, when her mum Ravinder was taken into hospital and she was looked after by Dev on the Street. Amber started helping out in the corner shop but her incessant chat wound up Dev. Initially Dev did not want Amber in his life as he was married to Sunita Parekh at the time and she served as a reminder of his philandering ways. However, he warmed to her and she came to live with him after her mother Ravinder moved to Finland with her partner. She had a crush on fellow neighbour David Platt but he was initially unaware of her feelings. When he did confront her, she denied it. He later went on to use Amber in order to make Tina McIntyre jealous after she broke up with him. In early 2008, Amber began working at Valandros restaurant with Leanne, Paul and Luigi until it was set alight by Paul. Dev then claimed that he did not want her any where near Paul.

Amber's feelings for David resurfaced in August 2008 when David flirted with her to make his ex-girlfriend Tina McIntyre jealous. He invited Amber back to his place to watch a DVD. Amber began passionately kissing him when Tina stormed in, telling David off for his games. Amber initially believed Tina was wrong, but when David told Tina Amber meant nothing to him, Amber was crushed. She has now set her sights on David's friend Darryl.

Tom Kerrigan

Template:Coronation Street character Tom Kerrigan, played by Philip McGinley, returned to Coronation Street in June 2008, having previously being seen at Liam's stag party in February that year. On his return, he began to get romantic with Carla, his cousin's widow, much to her fiance, Tony Gordon's dislike. Tom has now made good friends with gay character Sean Tully. On September 3rd 2008, Sean asked Tom could he kiss him but Tom refused as to being straight. Sean then stormed off in a huff. This led to Sean's partner Marcus Dent punching Tom after he suspected he had slept with Sean.

In September 2008, Tom entered into a men's shirt business called 'Lads Rags' with Liam. Unable to get a loan from the bank, Tom turned to Carla who gave him the 50,000 pounds that he needed, on the condition that she could have a 25% share in the business. This angered Liam at first but he eventually accepted the partnership.

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Prem Mandal

Template:Coronation Street character Prem Mandal, played by Madhav Sharma, first appeared upon meeting Dev Alahan and Vernon Tomlin on a golf course. Prem, who runs a successful floor-cleaning business, remembered Dev from a Trades association meeting. Prem took Dev under his wing, as he said Dev reminded him of a younger version of himself. Sharma had previously played Dev's father during a 2004 appearance. Dev was invited to dinner with Prem and his wife Nina Mandal on 1 August 2008. Nina then began an affair with Dev.

Nina Mandal

Template:Coronation Street character Nina Mandal, played by Harvey Virdi, made her first appearance on 30 July 2008 as the wife of new character Prem Mandel. She began to flirt with Prem's friend Dev Alahan, who had idolized her in his youth, as she'd been a Bollywood star. The following day Nina invited Dev to come to dinner with her and Prem. When Nina and Dev were alone, Nina shocked Dev by suggesting they have an affair. After some initial reluctance, he gave in within a few days. Nina has now told Dev to book a weekend away for he and Nina behind Prem's back. Nina then began to blackmail Dev after he attempted to end their affair. When Dev was introduced to Prem and Nina's daughter Tara, Nina furiously warned the shopkeeper to keep away from her.

Tara Mandal

Template:Coronation Street character Tara Mandal, played by Ayesha Dharker, is the daughter of characters Prem and Nina Mandal. Her creation and casting were first announced on 22 August 2008, one month after Coronation Street was lambasted in a report by chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission Trevor Phillips for being "too white". The report criticised the show's tokenism in having existing Asian character Dev Alahan fill the stereotypical role of shopkeeper. Dharker's casting as Tara also dually serves to increase Dev's role in the soap, as her arrival sees him become the center of a mother-daughter love triangle. A show insider said: "We really want Ayesha to become a favourite with viewers." Tara made her first appearance on 15 September2008.

Joe McIntyre

Template:Coronation Street character Joe McIntyre, played by Reece Dinsdale, first appeared on 26 May 2008. He later appeared on 13 June 2008 where he met his daughter Tina's boyfriend David. He became a permanent character in August 2008, beginning a secret romance with Gail Platt, David's mother. Joe also arranged a date for Tina and David in an attempt to reunite them, but failed.

Kayleigh Morton

Template:Coronation Street character Kayleigh Morton, played by Jessica Barden, arrived on Coronation Street on 18 March 2007 with her dad Jerry, granddad Wilf and siblings Jodie, Mel and Darryl. Shortly after arriving, she announced that she wanted to return to live with her mother Teresa Bryant, and Jerry reluctantly agreed. Teresa later went away on holiday and left Kayleigh alone to look after her six year old half-brother Finlay whilst she was away. As a result, Kayleigh and Finlay both came to live with Jerry. Kayleigh was furious when she discovered Jodie had stolen Chesney's dog Schmeical as part of a feud with Chesney's mum Cilla Battersby-Brown. She returned the dog to Chesney. The two went on to share a kiss in August 2008. In April 2008, Kayleigh and the rest of the Mortons were axed from the show by producer Kim Crowther, and will depart in autumn 2008.

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Natasha

Template:Coronation Street character Natasha, played by actress Rachel Leskovac, is a hairdresser in Audrey Roberts' hair salon. She made her first appeared on 12 May 2008. She came to Weatherfield as her old hairdressers had burnt down. She now appears on a more regular basis, usually seen in the salon hairdressing, and often speaks to the customers.

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Ted Paige

Template:Coronation Street character Ted Paige, played by Michael Byrne, is the long lost father of Gail Platt, and made his first appearance on 28 April 2008. A week after his arrival, Ted revealed he was gay, and had recently lost his partner of twenty years. Audrey Roberts, before splitting up with Ted fifty years previously, had discovered she was pregnant and didn't want to tell him. This resulted in Gail being born. Upon learning this, Ted became agitated as he realised he had missed out on 50 years of his daughters life and had never seen his grandchildren, Nick, Sarah and David or his great grandchildren, Bethany and Billy. Ted soon met Gail and they bonded almost instantly. Ted supported David when he was going to his job interview at a salon, going so far as to write a letter of recommendation using Audrey's name. He befriended Ken Barlow, offering him an extra ticket for a play. This led to Ken's mother-in-law Blanche Hunt suspecting Ken might become gay. Ted then became a support system for Audrey following her car accident and breakup with Bill Webster.

Joshua Peacock

Joshua Peacock, played by Benjamin Beresford, was born on 8 April 2002 at Weatherfield General Hospital. He is the result of a one-night-stand between Maxine Peacock and Matt Ramsden, though is being raised by Maxine's former husband Ashley Peacock, and new wife Claire Peacock, after his mother was murdered by Street serial killer Richard Hillman when Joshua was nine months old. Matt now has regular contact with his son, and Joshua has a younger brother by Ashley and Claire, Freddie.

Freddie Peacock

Template:Coronation Street character Frederick "Freddie" Thomas Peacock (né Thomas Duncan Peacock) is played by Dylan and Hayden Whitbread. He was born on 17 July 2006 to Claire and Ashley Peacock. Claire suffered from post natal depression after Freddie was born, refusing to believe that Freddie wasn't her own. On one occasion, she pushed his pram into the path of an oncoming vehicle, and also attempted to return him to the hospital. She was temporarily sectioned until she recovered and was able to return home. In October 2006, Claire announced that she would like to have his name changed from Thomas to Freddie, after his paternal grandfather Fred Elliott who had died the week before. In December 2006 he was christened Frederick Thomas, with Eileen Grimshaw as his godmother, and Roy Cropper as his godfather.

In May 2007, a fire was started in Freddie's bedroom. Claire was rescued from the burning building, but Freddie was not discovered until later in the day, wrapped up in a local park. It was revealed that the fire had been started deliberately by use of an accelerant. Originally, this storyline was to last several months, but it was rewritten to avoid upsetting the family of Madeleine McCann, who disappeared two weeks previously. In September 2007 the identity of Freddie's abductor was revealed to be Claire's former friend Casey Carswell. Casey abducted Freddie and took him to the balcony of her flat where she threatened to jump with him. Freddie was rescued unharmed, and Casey arrested.

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Roger Stiles

Template:Coronation Street character Roger Stiles, played by actor Andrew Dunn, is a plumber who went round to fix Janice Battersby's heating in 2007 when her boiler broke down. After a couple of "dates" in the Rovers Return Inn, he invited Janice to go to France with him for three months and she accepted. Janice returned alone in March and he returned two months later. In 2007, he invested £10,000 in Janice's step-daughter Leanne's restaurant. Janice and Roger are now living together because Roger was struggling to pay his rent due to his loan to Leanne. He saved the Barlows' kitchen roof in May 2008 and has now struck up a friendship with Ken. In early August 2008, he, Janice, Bill Webster and Audrey Roberts all embarked on a booze cruise to France together, which ended in a minor car accident and whiplash for Roger.

It was announced in September 2008 that Roger would be leaving the soap on 8 October following a row with Janice over her lottery scam.

See also

• List of Coronation Street characters
• List of past recurring and minor Coronation Street characters

References

• Little, Daran (2000). 40 Years of Coronation Street. London: Andre Deutsch. ISBN 0-233-99806-3.