Rita Fairclough

Rita Tanner (also Littlewood, Bates, Fairclough and Sullivan) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Played by veteran actress Barbara Knox, the character first appeared on-screen as "Rita Littlewood" for one episode on 2 December 1964, before returning as a full-time cast member on 31 January 1972.

She is known for being something of a mother figure to a number of the street’s residents including Sharon Gaskell (Tracie Bennett), Jenny Bradley (Sally Ann Matthews), Sally Webster (Sally Dynevor), Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson), Tina McIntyre (Michelle Keegan) and Gemma Winter (Dolly-Rose Campbell).

Development

The producers of the show decided to pair Rita with Mavis Riley portrayed by Thelma Barlow by giving Mavis a job in Rita's newsagents shop; the characters' relationship has been described as a chalk and cheese comedy partnership. Christine Geraghty has cited Rita and Mavis' friendship as an example of a soap opera portraying an important, stable, intimate female relationship: "Rita is Mavis's boss, but she is also one of her closest friends".

Prior to 2006, Knox was reportedly the highest-paid actress with the show, until Anne Kirkbride began to earn more. Knox's salary is £260,000 a year which producers pay to keep her in a secure future with the series.

In January 2009, it was speculated that Knox and other veteran actors were going to be axed from the show in a bid to save money but this was later denied by a ''Coronation Street'' spokesman. Knox was temporarily written out of the series in August 2009 for health reasons. She returned to the show on 15 March 2010.

In September 2009, Knox took a break from the show due to ill health and returned on 15 March 2010. Her character was said to be on a world cruise with friend Doreen Fenwick, after selling her share of ''The Kabin'' to Norris Cole (Malcolm Hebden)

In April 2010 a spokesman for ''Coronation Street'' announced that Knox has a job for life on the show and that she will continue to play her character Rita for as long as she wants to be there.

In May 2011, a ''Daily Mirror'' reporter announced that Rita and Emily Bishop (Eileen Derbyshire) would become love rivals, following Dennis Tanner's (Philip Lowrie) return. Lowrie hinted at a possible relationship between Dennis and Rita, saying "I asked Barbara Knox, who plays Rita, how many husbands has she had? She said three, so there might be a fourth, you never know!" Rita and Dennis begin a relationship and series producer Phil Collinson stated "Rita genuinely loves Dennis very much. Their storyline harks back to 1964, when he looked after her and took her in. Now he's grown to love her because she's been able to look after him. I like that we can tell a love story of people in their 70s, and it's a relationship that we're really committed to. I'd love for Rita to have a wedding, so watch this space! And if we did have one, she'd be Mrs Tanner – how great is that?" Collinson later revealed Rita and Dennis would get married and their wedding would coincide with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee