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 ...

'' is a British

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 ...

, initially produced by

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

. Created by writer

Tony Warren Anthony McVay Simpson (8 July 1936 – 1 March 2016), publishing under the pen name Tony Warren, was an English television screenwriter and actor, best known for creating the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. He created other television dra ...

, ''Coronation Street'' first broadcast on

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 ...

on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters introduced in the show's twelfth year, by order of first appearance.

Ivy Tilsley

Ivy Joan Tilsley (née Nelson; previously Brennan) was played by

Lynne Perrie Lynne Perrie (born Jean Dudley; 7 April 1931 – 24 March 2006) was an English actress, singer and television personality, best known as Mrs Casper in Ken Loach's 1969 film ''Kes (film), Kes'', Mrs Petty in the television series ''Queenie's Cast ...

. She was originally credited as Ivy Tyldesley. Ivy worked as a machinist at Mike Baldwin's ( Johnny Briggs) factory, and was elevated to supervisor. Her best friend was

Vera Duckworth Vera Duckworth is a fictional character from the Television in the United Kingdom, British ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Liz Dawn. Vera is known for her long-standing marriage to Jack Duckworth (Bill Tarmey); ...

(

Liz Dawn Sylvia Ann Ibbetson (''née'' Butterfield; 8 November 1939 – 25 September 2017), known professionally as Elizabeth Dawn or Liz Dawn, was a British actress, best known for her role as Vera Duckworth in the long-running British soap opera ''Cor ...

). In the 1975 episode where the factory was burnt down, Ivy mentions that she is childless and her husband's name is "Jack"; before that, her husband was called "Wilf Tyldesley", and before that "Arthur". Jack himself made two appearances in 1975. By the time she became a street resident and a more regular character, her husband was named "Bert" and they had an adult son,

Brian Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan (given name), Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish language, Irish and Breton language, Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan language, Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. ...

(

Christopher Quinten Christopher Quinten (born Christopher Bell; 12 July 1957) is a British actor, best known for his role as Brian Tilsley on ''Coronation Street'', which he played from 1978 to 1989. Career Quinten started his career as a dancer in West End pro ...

).YouTube
/ref> Ivy's storylines have included her feud with daughter-in-law Gail Tilsley (

Helen Worth Helen Worth (born Cathryn Helen Wigglesworth; 7 January 1951) is a British actress. She is best known for portraying the role of Gail Platt in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' for 50 years from 1974 to 2024. In 2014, she received the ...

), losing her husband and son and her relationship with Don Brennan (

Geoffrey Hinsliff Geoffrey Hinsliff (23 November 1937 – 15 September 2024) was an English actor best known for his portrayal of Don Brennan in ''Coronation Street'' from 1987 to 1997. Life and career Hinsliff was born in Leeds on 23 November 1937. In November ...

Edna Gee

Edna Gee was played by Mavis Rogerson. Edna first appeared in 1971 working at the Mark Brittain mail order warehouse. Edna was the first wife of Fred Gee. Edna was well known in Weatherfield as being a bit of a flirt. In 1973 she attended

Hilda Ogden Hilda Ogden (also Crabtree) is a fictional character from the Television in the United Kingdom, British ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', one of the best-known of all the regular characters in the serial, whose name became ...

's (

Jean Alexander Jean Margaret Hodgkinson (11 October 1926 – 14 October 2016), known by the stage name Jean Alexander, was a British actress. She was best known to television viewers for her long running role of Hilda Ogden in the soap opera ''Coronation St ...

) birthday party and flirted with

Ray Langton Ray Langton is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Neville Buswell. Development Ray Langton's departure in 1978 came due to Neville Buswell quitting acting and later leaving to work in Las ...

(

Neville Buswell Neville Alfred Morris Buswell (20 January 1943 – 25 December 2019) was a British actor, best known for his role as Ray Langton in the ITV Soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Early years Buswell attended Belmont Abbey School near Hereford f ...

), but ended up in the Ogdens' bedroom with Billy Walker (

Ken Farrington Kenneth William Farrington (born 18 April 1936) is a retired English actor. He first came to fame playing the role of Billy Walker, wayward son of publican Annie, in ITV's longest-running soap opera, ''Coronation Street''. Following a brief per ...

). Hilda thought Edna was in the room with Stan. Edna also enjoyed a gossip and along with workmate

Ivy Tilsley Ivy Joan Tilsley (originally credited as Ivy Tyldesley, also Nelson and later Brennan) is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Played by Lynne Perrie, Ivy first appeared on-screen on 14 June 1971, initially on ...

(

) started spreading rumours that

Elsie Tanner Elsie Tanner (also Howard) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Pat Phoenix from the series' inception in 1960 to 1973, and again from 1976 until 1984. Elsie Tanner was one of the original c ...

's (

Pat Phoenix Patricia Phoenix (born Patricia Frederica Manfield; 26 November 1923 – 17 September 1986) was an English actress who became one of the first sex symbols of British television through her role as Elsie Tanner, an original cast member of '' ...

) husband

Alan Howard Alan Howard may refer to: * Alan Howard (actor) (1937–2015), English actor * Alan Howard (cricketer) (1909–1993), English cricketer * Alan Howard (engineer) (1905–1966), American engineer * Alan Howard (hedge fund manager) (born 1963), hed ...

(

Alan Browning Alan Brown (23 March 1926 – 7 September 1979), known professionally as Alan Browning, was an English actor. Whilst working by day as a reporter for a local paper in Newcastle in the 1950s, he began acting as an amateur at the People's Theat ...

) was having an affair. Her other workmates included Elsie,

Ken Barlow Kenneth "Ken" Barlow is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by William Roache. He was created by Tony Warren as one of ''Coronation Street''s original characters and December 2020 marked Ken' ...

(

William Roache William Patrick Roache (born 25 April 1932) is an English actor. He is best known for playing Ken Barlow in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and is the longest-serving cast member in the series, having appeared in the show continuousl ...

Emily Nugent Emily Bishop (also Nugent and Swain, also credited as Miss Nugent) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Played by Eileen Derbyshire, the character is the longest-standing female character in the seri ...

(

Eileen Derbyshire Eileen Derbyshire (born 6 October 1931) is an English retired actress, best known for her role as Emily Bishop in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. She played the character for 55 years from January 1961 to January 2016 (w ...

(

), Gail Potter (

) and

Tricia Hopkins ''Coronation Street'' is a British television soap opera first broadcast on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters that appeared in 1973, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by then series producer H. V. ...

(Kathy Jones). She attended Emily's wedding to

Ernest Bishop ''Coronation Street'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in 1967, by order of first appearance. Steve Tanner Stephen Edward "Steve" Tanner, played by Paul Maxwel ...

(

Stephen Hancock Philip Stephen Hancock (24 November 1925 – 1 November 2015) was a British television and stage actor, musical director and pianist. He was born in Bishop Auckland, County Durham and attended the Chorister School, Durham and the Darlin ...

) in 1972. In October 1975, Edna celebrated her 40th birthday with Fred in

The Rovers Return The Rovers Return Inn, also known simply as the Rovers, is a fictional public house in the long-running British soap opera ''Coronation Street''. The Rovers Return occupies a corner of the fictional Coronation Street and Rosamund Street set ...

. The next day Edna was found dead in the warehouse fire,

Len Fairclough Len Fairclough is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Peter Adamson between his introduction in 1961 and the character's axing in 1983. Creation and casting Adamson was a former extra and t ...

( Peter Adamson) broke the news to all her friends and workmates.

Mavis Wilton

Mavis Wilton (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Riley) played by

Thelma Barlow Thelma Barlow (''née'' Pigott; born 19 June 1929) is an English television actress and writer, known for her roles as Mavis Wilton in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and as Dolly Bellfield in the BBC One sitcom '' dinne ...

. A long-running series regular, Mavis appeared in the show for 26 years from 1971 to 1997. Introduced for a one-off cameo appearance, she proved popular with producers and viewers and subsequently became a regular. Mavis was portrayed as moralising, repressed, and dithering, and often appeared in comic scenes with her boss

Rita Sullivan Rita Tanner (also Littlewood, Bates, Fairclough and Sullivan) is a fictional character from the Television in the United Kingdom, British ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Played by veteran actress Barbara Knox, the charac ...

or her husband

Derek Wilton Derek Bernard Wilton is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', portrayed by Peter Baldwin. He appeared in the show intermittently between 1976 and 1987, before becoming a regular from 1988 until the char ...

. She was generally well received by critics, described as a national institution and one of ''Coronation Street's'' best loved characters, an old-fashioned spinster. Barlow has been praised for her portrayal of Mavis, a character notably spoofed by impressionist

Les Dennis Leslie Dennis Heseltine (born 12 October 1953) is an English television presenter, actor and comedian. He presented '' Family Fortunes'' from 1987 to 2002. Early life Dennis was born as Leslie Dennis Heseltine on 12 October 1953 in the Liv ...

during the 1980s. Barlow decided to leave ''Coronation Street'' in 1997; her character left to run a guest house in

Cartmel Cartmel is a village in Furness (traditionally "Lancashire-over-the-Sands" (and in the ceremonial county of Cumbria), England, northwest of Grange-over-Sands close to the River Eea. The village takes its name from the Cartmel Peninsula, a ...

following the death of her husband. Barlow has said that the producers of ''Coronation Street'' repeatedly asked her to return as Mavis, but she declined.

Laura Howard

Laura Howard was the first wife of

. Their son

Mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

was born in 1952. The marriage was over by 1969 when Alan came to

Weatherfield Weatherfield is a fictional town based on Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford, Greater Manchester, which has been the setting for the British ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' since its inception in 1960. Much of Weathe ...

to oversee the salon he had just purchased. Alan briefly met Laura in 1971 when he was staying at a hotel in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

. She admitted that there were times when she missed him but he was honest and said he didn't feel the same way. The reason he gave for seeing her was to enquire after Mark who he was estranged from. By 1972 Laura had opened up her own salon in Harrogate and helped Alan financially in order for him to buy the Canal Garage. In August of the same year, Laura came to Coronation Street to tell Alan and

that she was getting re-married and wanted to drop Alan's loan – although Elsie refused. Despite appearing in the programme, before her appearance dialogue in 1970 names Alan's first wife as Dorothea and later on Alan states that his wife was much younger than himself. The age difference once

Stella Tanner Stella Tanner (1 January 1925 – 26 March 2012) was an English radio and television actress. Career Tanner was born in 1925 and studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). She left her focus on dramatic acting to form the Tanner Sis ...

had been cast eighteen months' later did not seem to be as great as implied.

References

{{Coronation Street characters, year, state=expanded *, Coronation Street

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...