Anne Foster
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Anne Foster is a
fictional character In fiction, a character is a person or being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, in which case the distinction o ...
from the
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...
soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
'', played by
Gwen Taylor Gwen Taylor (born 19 February 1939) is an English actress who has appeared in many British television programmes. She is known for her roles as Amy Pearce in the sitcom '' Duty Free'' (1984–1986); Barbara Liversidge in the sitcom '' Barbara' ...
. Anne is the mother of Frank Foster (
Andrew Lancel Andrew Lancel (born Andrew Watkinson) is an English television and theatre actor, producer and director. He is best known for his appearance as Dr. Andrew Collin in ''Cardiac Arrest'', his role as DI Neil Manson in ''The Bill'' and Frank Fost ...
) and wife of Sam Foster ( Paul Clayton). The character and casting was announced on 4 August 2011. Taylor revealed she had found her first day on set "terrifying", but she quickly settled in. A reporter for the '' Western Mail'' branded Anne a "pompous matriarch". Taylor said that after being revealed as Frank's killer after a
whodunit A ''whodunit'' (less commonly spelled as ''whodunnit''; a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an criminal ...
storyline, she fears that she will be hated in real life. She also admitted that she only knew the identity of Frank's killer when Lancel revealed it to her during filming and added that she loved filming her scenes as Anne. Taylor made her first appearance as Anne on 4 September 2011. She made her last appearance on 19 March 2012.


Creation and casting

Anne made her first on screen appearance on 4 September 2011. The character and casting was announced on 4 August 2011. Taylor revealed she had found her first day on set "terrifying", but she quickly settled in. Anne was married to Sam Foster (Paul Clayton) and is the mother of Frank (
Andrew Lancel Andrew Lancel (born Andrew Watkinson) is an English television and theatre actor, producer and director. He is best known for his appearance as Dr. Andrew Collin in ''Cardiac Arrest'', his role as DI Neil Manson in ''The Bill'' and Frank Fost ...
). Of Anne and Sam, a show spokesperson said "Sam and Anne are pretty full -on characters, like Frank. No sooner have they arrived than they're talking grandchildren which instantly freaks Carla out and tensions soon rise." Taylor admitted in March 2012 that adjusting to the tight soap schedule was a challenge. Taylor said she was impressed with the acting skills of the regular cast, especially the one with children. She commented: "I'm going to remember the commitment that everyone had for the work. A lot of the women there had babies and young children, but everyone turned up on time and knew their lines - and I was so impressed by that." When signing to play Anne, Taylor had no idea that she would be playing a killer. The actress departed from ''Coronation Street'' in March 2012, after the conclusion to Frank's murder storyline.


Development

After Frank's fiancé,
Carla Connor Carla Connor (also Gordon and Barlow) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Alison King. She made her first appearance on screen during the episode airing on 1 December 2006 and introduced a ...
(
Alison King Alison Rosamund King (born 3 March 1973) is an English actress and model. She is known for her roles as Lynda Block in the Sky One drama series '' Dream Team'' (1998–2003, 2005–2007), and Carla Connor in the long-running ITV soap opera '' ...
), accuses him of raping her and calls off the wedding, Anne supports her son. She installs herself at Underworld to protect Frank's half of the business and makes Carla's life a misery. Of Anne's support for Frank, Taylor said "In Anne's eyes, Frank can do no wrong. She'll do whatever it takes to protect him. If he tells her he didn't do it, then he didn't do it. There are plenty of mums out there like that. When the recent riots happened, some women refused point blank to believe their children had been involved. So mums can be a pretty loyal bunch, for good or ill." In January 2012, it was announced that Frank would be killed in an upcoming "whodunnit" storyline. A reporter for the ''
Metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...
'' later announced that five regular characters would become suspects during the investigation into Frank's murder. Frank was found dead on the floor of the Underworld factory by
Sally Webster Sally Webster (also Seddon and 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 Kev ...
(
Sally Dynevor Sally Jane Dynevor (née Whittaker; born 30 May 1963) is an English actress, she is best known for her role as Sally Metcalfe in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', which she has played since 1986. In 2022, Dynevor competed in the fourt ...
). The ''Metro'' reporter said Sally comes under suspicion when she is found standing over Frank's body with bloodied hands. Carla, Peter Barlow (
Chris Gascoyne Chris Gascoyne (born 31 January 1968) is an English film, theatre and television actor. He is best known for his role as Peter Barlow in the soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Making his first appearance in December 2000 during a live, 50 minut ...
) and
Michelle Connor Michelle Connor is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by former Hear'Say singer Kym Marsh. The character first appeared on-screen during the episode airing on 3 April 2006. Marsh took maternity l ...
(
Kym Marsh Kimberley Gail Marsh (previously Ryder, Lomas and Ratcliff; born 13 June 1976) is an English actress, television presenter and singer. In 2001, she won a place in the band Hear'Say as a result of appearing on the reality television series ''Pop ...
) are questioned by the police, while Sally's ex-husband,
Kevin Kevin is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; ; ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicised from , an Irish diminutive form.''A Dictiona ...
(
Michael Le Vell Michael Robert Turner (born 15 December 1964), known professionally as Michael Le Vell, is an English actor. He is best known for his role as mechanic Kevin Webster in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', a role he has played ...
), also fell under suspicion. Anne was not listed among the characters, but Sarah Ellis of ''
Inside Soap ''Inside Soap'' is a weekly soap opera and television listings magazine published in the United Kingdom. The magazine is currently released every Tuesday. It covers storylines featured in British and Australian soap operas that are broadcast in t ...
'' included Anne as an additional suspect during a feature on Frank's death. Ellis stated that Anne develops a motive for killing Frank after she discovers his true colours, despite believing he could do no wrong. Anne was devastated as she realised that she had got her son so wrong. Ellis pointed out that Anne played every inch the grieving mother and by blaming other people for her son's death, she could have been covering her own tracks. Ellis added that it must have been painful for Anne to realise that she had raised a monster, so maybe she decided to get rid of him. Numerous viewers correctly guessed that Anne was Frank's murderer, including singer
Cheryl Cole Cheryl Ann Tweedy (born 30 June 1983) is an English singer and television personality. She rose to fame as a member of Girls Aloud, a Pop music, pop girl group created through ITV (TV network), ITV's reality competition show ''Popstars: The R ...
. During an interview with Lancel, which was broadcast on '' Radio City'', Taylor admitted that while people had suspected her, she thought it would be a surprise when she was revealed to be Frank's killer. Taylor also revealed people had also confronted her in public, having recognised her from the soap. Taylor admitted that she only knew the identity of Frank's killer when Lancel revealed it to her during filming. She explained "It was strange, because I didn't know when I signed on that it was going to develop so brilliantly. But a little while after, Andrew was telling me that he was leaving at a certain point." Taylor also said she loved filming her "showdown" with Carla when she tries to call emergency services. 10.2 million viewers saw Anne reveal herself as Frank's killer. Lancel said that he enjoyed watching the revelation of his character's killer. Speaking of the secrecy of the plot, Lancel said he and Taylor lied to everyone and they were relieved when the truth came out. Taylor joked that "she may need a bodyguard" after viewers saw Anne's twisted side. She also said that it was draining playing Anne but also brilliant.


Storylines

Anne and her husband, Sam Foster ( Paul Clayton), arrive to celebrate their son, Frank's (
Andrew Lancel Andrew Lancel (born Andrew Watkinson) is an English television and theatre actor, producer and director. He is best known for his appearance as Dr. Andrew Collin in ''Cardiac Arrest'', his role as DI Neil Manson in ''The Bill'' and Frank Fost ...
), engagement to
Carla Connor Carla Connor (also Gordon and Barlow) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Alison King. She made her first appearance on screen during the episode airing on 1 December 2006 and introduced a ...
(
Alison King Alison Rosamund King (born 3 March 1973) is an English actress and model. She is known for her roles as Lynda Block in the Sky One drama series '' Dream Team'' (1998–2003, 2005–2007), and Carla Connor in the long-running ITV soap opera '' ...
). Following a car accident involving Frank and Carla, Anne and Sam go to the hospital to check on them. Anne later returns to tell Carla that she will be taking over Frank's share of the business until Frank is cleared of raping Carla. Anne joins Frank at his new factory and is very pleased to hear that Carla has had a meltdown and fired the workers.
Michelle Connor Michelle Connor is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by former Hear'Say singer Kym Marsh. The character first appeared on-screen during the episode airing on 3 April 2006. Marsh took maternity l ...
(
Kym Marsh Kimberley Gail Marsh (previously Ryder, Lomas and Ratcliff; born 13 June 1976) is an English actress, television presenter and singer. In 2001, she won a place in the band Hear'Say as a result of appearing on the reality television series ''Pop ...
) hears what Frank has done to Carla and goes to Frank's factory to bring everyone back to work at Underworld, angering Anne. Anne tries to persuade Carla to drop the charges in exchange for Frank's share of Underworld but Carla refuses and throws her out of her home. Anne goes on a cruise with Sam and a couple of days later she phones Frank and tells him his father has died. Anne comes home and initially struggles with her grief, blaming Carla for Sam's death and confronts her at the factory. Anne returns to work with Frank and
Sally Webster Sally Webster (also Seddon and 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 Kev ...
(
Sally Dynevor Sally Jane Dynevor (née Whittaker; born 30 May 1963) is an English actress, she is best known for her role as Sally Metcalfe in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', which she has played since 1986. In 2022, Dynevor competed in the fourt ...
) and they return to Underworld, alongside Carla and Michelle. Anne later learns that Frank is having an affair with Jenny Sumner (
Niky Wardley Nichola Petra "Niky" Wardley (born 11 August 1973) is an English stage and screen actress. Her most notable role is schoolgirl Lauren Cooper's sidekick in the BBC's Emmy and BAFTA-nominated sketch series '' The Catherine Tate Show'' (2004–20 ...
) behind Sally's back and tells her so Frank then fires Anne and tells her to go home. Anne is devastated when Frank is found dead in the factory. She sees Frank's body being removed from Underworld and tells the police that she believes Carla killed Frank. She later notices the contract that gave Frank full ownership of Underworld is missing and accuses Carla of stealing it. Sally realises Frank's watch is missing and Anne assures her she will tell the police. Anne attends Frank's funeral with Sally and apologises to Carla, which Carla finds suspicious. She later goes home alone and Sally visits her. She sees that Anne has Frank's watch and assumes that the police have returned it until Anne admits that she has had it all along. Sally realises that Anne killed Frank and tries to leave but trips and hits her head. Anne, however, calmly continues packing her bags until Carla arrives, wanting to know why Anne apologised earlier. Carla finds Sally and goes to call an ambulance, but Anne threatens her with a knife. Anne explains that she blamed Frank for Sam's death after overhearing Frank goading Carla about the rape. She went to the factory to get his watch back, but she struggles with Frank for it. When he pushed her away, she picked up a whiskey bottle and hit him. Carla then talks Anne into dropping the knife and she is later arrested.


Reception

A reporter for the '' Western Mail'' branded Anne a "pompous matriarch". Tony Stewart of the ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...
'' called Anne a "loyal mum". Jon Wise of ''
The People The People may refer to: Legal jargon * The People, term used to refer to the people in general, in legal documents * "We the People of the United States", from the Preamble to the U. S. Constitution * In philosophy, economics, and political scienc ...
'' believed the show made viewers "empathise deeply" with Anne following Frank's death, while the ''Daily Mirror's'' Kevin O'Sullivan said Anne was "theatrically distraught" when she discovered her son was dead.


See also

*
List of soap opera villains A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Anne Coronation Street characters Television characters introduced in 2011 Fictional businesspeople in soap operas Fictional female murderers Fictional filicides British female characters in soap operas English female characters in television Female villains Fictional criminals in soap operas