List of Coronation Street characters (2003)

The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street in 2003, by order of first appearance.

Sarah Crocker

Sarah Crocker was a teacher at Weatherfield High. She made her first and last appearance on 9th July 2003. She was portrayed by Naomie Thompson.

When one of Sarah's pupils, Rosie Webster, returns home upset and tells her mother, Sally, that she didn't get a part in a school play except for backstage, this makes Sally very angry. She goes to Weatherfield High and has a "talk" with Rosie's drama teacher, Miss Crocker. Sarah calmly explains to Sally that Rosie didn't get a part because she "didn't have the voice" but was a very nice girl which makes Sally tell her that Rosie will be a star one day. Sarah is shocked at Sally's behavior while Rosie was both angry and embarrassed. At home, she angrily confronted her mother for embarrassing her and tells her that when she goes back to school next year, Miss Crocker will be one of her teachers and she cannot face her.

Gerry Burton

Gerry Burton was the boyfriend of Marion Stowe. He made his first and last appearance on 5th September 2003. He was portrayed by Mark Chatterton.

Gerry started dating Marion, but he then started to sexually harass her daughter, Candice. Candice told her mother what was going on, but Marion only saw her daughter as lying. This resulted in Candice to stay the night inside the flat of her then place of work, Audrey's Salon. Gerry turned up at the salon the next day and told Candice he and her mother were worried about her; but what he was really doing was frightening the girl. When Audrey entered the salon to collect her purse, she discovered what Gerry was like and threatened that if he were to come near Candice again, she will phone the police. Gerry reluctantly left the salon.

Because of Gerry, Marion had thrown Candice out, which caused her to move into the salon flat. Candice and her mother never made up over the incident.

Brenda Fearns

Brenda Fearns is the mother of the late Neil Fearns, the school boy who got Sarah-Louise Platt pregnant at the age of 13, and fathered Bethany Platt. Brenda did not play any part in Bethany's life until her son died in a car accident in February 2003.

Brenda first appeared during Neil's funeral, where Sarah took Bethany so when she got older Sarah could give her information about her father. Brenda, who felt she had nothing left in the world, latched on to Bethany as she felt she was the only thing left of Neil and Sarah, who was estranged from her mother Gail at the time, was grateful for Brenda's help until she began to tell Bethany that Sarah would no longer love her when she gave birth to her and Todd Grimshaw's child which she was then pregnant with. Sarah was furious and refused to let Brenda see her granddaughter which led to her to kidnapping Bethany from nursery and taking her onto the roof of a church where Brenda planned to commit suicide so she could be reunited with her son. Emily Bishop encouraged her not to go through with her threat and eventually she came to her senses. Brenda was last seen praying in the back of an ambulance.

Bev Unwin

Beverly Frances "Bev" Unwin (née Baker) is played by Susie Blake. Prior to her arrival on the Street, Bev had owned a pub with her husband, until he died. Bev has two daughters Shelley (Sally Lindsay) and Sharon Unwin, who dies in March 2003.

After her daughter Sharon's death, Bev moves into The Rovers Return, where she works as barmaid alongside her daughter Shelley who is pub manageress. While there she has a fling with much younger barman Ciaran McCarthy (Keith Duffy) and later briefly dates Charlie Stubbs (Bill Ward) before he begins a relationship with Shelley. Bev also spends some time working at The Weatherfield Arms. She gets engaged to Fred Elliott (John Savident), and is due to marry him in early October 2006 but he dies on their wedding day before the ceremony whilst visiting Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls).

Bev never gets over losing Fred before they married, and after controversially dividing his ashes into two halves, presenting Fred's son Ashley Peacock (Steven Arnold) with his share in an instant-gravy jar, she begins to hit the bottle, quite often helping herself to drinks at the bar of the Rovers. When the McDonalds buy the pub from Ashley, who had inherited it from Fred, she moves in with Claire (Julia Haworth) and Ashley, but relationships are strained between them. Bev finally agrees to move away from Weatherfield and joins daughter Shelley at her pub in the Peak District. She moves during Christmas 2006, having scattered Fred's ashes with Ashley.

In May 2011, Deirdre Barlow (Anne Kirkbride) went to visit Bev, when her absence is explained to Steve. Deirdre also went to visit Bev in September 2012. In October 2014 Deirdre left to stay with Bev for a break from all the stress on the street and extended her stay to look after Bev as her brother Lenny had suddenly died.

Blake reprised the role for the funeral of Deirdre following the real life death of her friend and former colleague Anne Kirkbride.^[1] Bev turns up at the Barlow household in July 2015 and informs Ken (William Roache) and Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) that Deirdre has died earlier that day. Bev stays to attend Deirdre's funeral and the wake where she has a confrontation with Audrey regarding events that happened years ago with Fred, Bev and Audrey later put their differences aside and Bev leaves Weatherfield early the following morning.

Claire Peacock

Andy Morgan

Andy Morgan was one of the brothers of Tom Morgan, a criminal who shot and killed a man in a Sheffield pub where Angela Harris worked. She knew both the victim and the reputation of the Morgan family but gave evidence in court that helped to convict Tom. The Harrises then suffered a campaign of harassment and intimidation from the Morgan family and, in particular Andy and his third brother Nick which culminated in their home being set on fire one night and all their possessions burnt. The police put the Harris family on a witness protection programme and moved them to Weatherfield where, living at 6 Coronation Street, they assumed the surname of "Nelson".

Angela's daughter Katy found cutting off all ties with their previous life difficult and after a few months made contact with two former friends from Sheffield, Louise Crawley and Paul Evanson, with whom she went to an indie gig in Manchester. Although she enjoyed the night out, Katy was unaware that Andy had followed Louise and Paul from across the Pennines and, in turn, he then followed Katy home to Coronation Street. He rang his other brother Nick to say that he'd traced the family to where they were living and the two men made plans to exact their revenge on the Harrises. Carrying hand weapons and unsure of exactly which house their targets occupied they called at No. 13 and were told by Sally Webster where they could find Tommy and Angela who they claimed were their "old friends". Only Katy was at home when the Morgans forced their way in, telling her they would wait for the others to return and that a pub full of people in Sheffield was ready to give them an alibi at the time they would be murdering the Harris family. Katy had recently been diagnosed as being diabetic but the brothers prevented her from taking his insulin shot, realising that if Katy's death appeared to be of natural causes then it could not be blamed on them.

The family was saved when Sally told her husband Kevin about two strange men who had called at their house. He was one of the few residents who knew the "Nelson" family's secret, having threatened to sack Tommy from his garage when he saw that he had a wallet in the name of Harris and assumed he had stolen it. When Sally confirmed that the two men had a Yorkshire accent, Kevin went to check on the house and, unknowingly, came close to being shot by the panicking Morgan brothers within. Kevin returned home and called the police. Tommy, Angela and Craig returned home to find police officers outside and they called for back-up when the situation was explained in full to the Harrises. At that moment, Katy screamed for help and Tommy ran through the police and into the house where a shot rang out. Tommy had been shot in the arm and the Morgan brothers ran out of the back door where Nick was apprehended and disarmed. Andy got away but was tracked down and arrested a few days later.

This was actor Steve Huison's second role on the show. He returned five years later after being cast as series regular Eddie Windass in November 2008.

Tony Stewart

Tony Stewart made his first screen appearance on 2 March 2003. The character was originally played by Alan Igbon, but Terence Maynard took over the role in 2014.^[2] Tony is Jason Grimshaw's (Ryan Thomas) father.^[2]

On 15 November 2013, it was announced the Tony would be returning to Coronation Street in 2014, with actor Terence Maynard taking over the role from Igbon.^[2] Jason's "roguish" father will atrract the attention of Liz McDonald (Beverley Callard) when he arrives, but his intentions are soon questioned.^[2] David Brown from the Radio Times questioned how Eileen (Sue Cleaver) would react to Tony's sudden reappearance in her son's life. While series producer Stuart Blackburn commented "His arrival is going to cause massive ructions for the Grimshaws. He is a man who can be your best friend or your worst enemy – and with a long history of lies and betrayal, this is a guy who has an awful lot of making up to do."^[2] Tony's reintroduction came as part of "an increased focus" on the Grimshaw family.^[2]

It was announced on the 17 October 2015 that Terence had filmed his final scenes and Tony departed on 18 November 2015.^[3]

Storylines

Eileen and Jason are shocked when they bump into Jason's dad Tony Stewart and his girlfriend Merle Jackson in the Rovers. Tony bumps into Jason in the cafe. Jason is off-hand but Tony persuades him to sit down and talk to him. Jason agrees to meet him for a drink one evening. Jason meets his dad for a drink. They get on really well. Tony tells Jason that there may be a job for him at his building site.

Jason goes to Tony and Merle Jackson's house for dinner. Tony promises to try and get Jason a job on the building site where he works. Eileen is shocked and hurt when Tony bangs on the door and tells her that he's got Jason a job. Eileen realises that Jason has been meeting his dad behind her back. Tony and Jason chat in the Rovers about Jason's new job. Jason has a huge row with Eileen - he calls her a whore and she slaps him. He accuses Eileen of never giving Tony a chance. He makes her admit that Tony did once propose to her. Eileen tries to make Jason see what a lousy father Tony would have been. Jason gets his things and storms out. Eileen breaks down - she's worried that she's lost her son to Tony. To Tony and Merle's horror, Jason turns up saying that he's left his mum and has come to live with them. Eileen tracks Jason down to Merle's house. She and Tony have a huge row. Jason is disgusted with them and storms out. Jason arrives back at Tony's house only to find that he and Eileen are still rowing. Tony changes his mind and tells Jason he's very welcome to stay. Eileen pleads with him to come home but he chooses to stay with his dad. Merle demands that Tony must get rid of Jason as it's her house and she doesn't want him there. Tony can't bring himself to tell him. Eileen confides in Patrick how upset she is about Jason living with Tony. Jason starts his new job on the building site with his dad. Tony chats to him about his family. Jason is intrigued and wants to know more. Tony calls to see Eileen and asks her to try and persuade Jason to come home. Eileen agrees although she realises that she will be doing Tony's dirty work for him. Tony takes Jason to the Rovers where they bump into Eileen. Jason is gutted when Tony, under pressure from Merle, tells him that he'll have to move back to Eileen's house. Eileen can see that Jason is upset. She asks him if he wants his old bed back and he admits that he does. Tony tells Jason that he's found him some more work but it's in Warrington. Jason moans to Tony about the fact that Eileen has bought Todd a laptop and Todd is her favourite. Eileen is delighted when Jason turns down the offer of a drink with Tony in favour of going out in his new car. It is Jason's birthday. Eileen gives him a CD, Todd gives him the same CD and Tony gives him a sovereign ring. Jason and Tony agree to help Todd do his flat up. Tony and Jason rewire Todd's flat so that Todd's electricity now runs off the Bookies' supply downstairs. Todd is a little bit worried. Roy has a disastrous driving lesson and as he opens the car door to make his escape, he walks into the path of Jason's car. Jason is forced to swerve and crashes, leaving him with a fractured arm and Tony with a broken leg. Jason will be off work for six weeks, leaving Eileen to pay the car loan. Merle throws Tony out. She drops him and his belongings off at Eileen's house. She is not best pleased. Eileen is fed up with Tony living under the same roof. Jason explains to Tony how he lied to the insurance company and told them he was twenty-seven to get cheaper car insurance. Eileen is fed up with looking after Tony and Jason and worried about how she's going to pay the car loan now that Jason isn't earning. Eileen breaks down about her money worries to Tony. She's torn, but has no choice but to accept the £50 he offers her. Gail tells Peter about the dodgy wiring in the flat. Peter arranges for Tony Stewart to sort it out. Tony pretends that he's never been to the flat before. Against Sarah's better judgement Tony and Jason turn up at the flat to fix the wiring.

Tony gets £50 off Peter for fixing the faulty wiring in the flat. Peter then finds out that it was Tony's dodgy wiring in the first place and that Tony wired the flat so that the electricity ran off the bookies' supply. Peter is furious and demands his money back from Tony and Jason. Eileen is at her wits' end. She's no money and she's sick of supporting Tony. Eileen tells Tony to clear out. Tony gives a tearful Jason his forwarding address and leaves. Tony calls into see Eileen before he leaves and whilst Eileen's back is turned he steals the £700 takings from Street Cars. Eileen is horrified to find the money has been stolen. She realises that Tony must have taken it. Eileen explains how Tony has stolen £700. She asks Jason to find him. Jason is confused and upset. Jason realises that Tony must have stolen the £700. Jason and Todd pay Tony a visit. He admits that he stole the money and gives it to Jason. Jason is upset that his dad is a loser and a thief. He tells him he doesn't want to see him any more. Jason doesn't see his father for another ten years.

In 2014, Eileen is shocked to receive a visit from Tony. Jason is surprised to find Tony at home when he returns from the Rovers. None of the Grimshaws are pleased to see Tony's return, the boys pointing out what a lousy father he has been. Eileen suggests that Jason take him to the Rovers to get him out of the house. Tony suggests that he and Jason do building work together but his son is in no way convinced. Tony tells the Grimshaws that he's trying to make up for lost time but Eileen and Todd aren't convinced. Jason isn't entirely hostile to his father, though. Eileen is quietly hoping that Tony won't hang around for long. Liz enjoys it when Tony flirts with her. Tony buys drinks for Jason, Eva and Todd and asks Jason if they can be mates. Forgetting about Todd's dinner, Jason agrees to meet Tony for dinner at the bistro on Monday. Todd tells him he doesn't mind as it will make the evening more exciting. It is Todd's birthday but he is not looking forward to the prospect of his birthday meal at the bistro with Tony present. Jason assures a worried Eileen that his dad will be thrown out if he causes trouble but she confesses that her main worry is that Tony will hurt him. Tony turns up at the party with an expensive bottle for Todd. Tony assures Eileen that he's changed his ways and realises that he's been a rotten father. Jason is upset when Tony makes a comment about Eileen and tells him he's not welcome to join Todd's party in town. Eileen finds Tony confiding in Liz in the Rovers and makes it clear she isn't pleased.

Tony and Liz then begin a relationship, but soon in December 2014, he begins an affair with Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford). In the summer of 2015, Liz becomes aware of Tony and Tracy's affair and tells him not to come back to the Rovers. He returns months later and in November 2015, attempts to reconcile with Liz. He and Liz then get back together and Tony signs his papers of the Rovers back over to Liz. Tony is then about to propose to her but she rejects him and says that she will never forgive him for cheating on her and that she had tricked him. Liz then secretly still loves Tony but he leaves on 18 November 2015 and bids an emotional farewell to Jason, Eileen, Michael and Todd.

Sonia Marshall

Sonia Marshall was played by Tina Gambe. Sonia worked at Mike Baldwin's factory for two years from 2003 to 2005. She had a brief romance with resident Martin Platt, their relationship ended and she decided to become a Red Coat at a holiday camp and left the street for good. Her last episode aired on 18 April 2005.

Simon Barlow

Sean Tully

Maya Sharma

Penny King

Penny King is played by actress Pauline Fleming. She is the wife of local businessman Preston King, who often does business with Mike Baldwin. When Preston dies, Penny becomes friends with Fred Elliot, publican of the Rovers Return, who takes a shine to her and proposes marriage but she turns him down. Penny and Mike become close and a relationship ensues, creating tension between Mike and Fred, and the couple later become engaged. Mike's Alzheimer's creeps in and he kicks her out of his flat, confusing her with his ex-wife Linda, who had an affair with his son Mark.

Her final appearance is at Mike's funeral. Mike's grandson, Jamie Baldwin, works for her clothing company, King's Robes, up until late December 2006.

Cilla Battersby-Brown

Charlie Stubbs

Charles "Charlie" Nicholson Stubbs was a builder. He arrived in November 2003 and was a regular for three years until he was killed off on 15 January 2007. Charlie was portrayed by Bill Ward.

Charlie first appears with another builder in 2003, needing a parking space for his bulldozer, but Mike Baldwin refuses to move his car so Charlie moves Mike's Jaguar with the bulldozer in response. Mike only just manages to stop his car being smashed.

Charlie initially seems to be a nice person, although a bit of a ladies' man. He flirts with Deirdre Barlow on learning that she works for the council, hoping she'll recommend him for building contracts and has a casual relationship with Bev Unwin. Unfortunately Bev takes the relationship more seriously and doesn't react well when he ends it and starts dating her daughter, Shelley Unwin, causing trouble between Bev and Shelley. Struggling to cope, Bev leaves and Charlie's relationship with Shelley is happy for a while but slowly his true nature emerges. Although he rarely hurts her physically, Charlie isolates Shelley from her family and friends and as part of a campaign of psychological abuse, Charlie tells Shelley that he heard Sunita Alahan, her best friend, insult her behind her back. One day, he walks into the Rovers back room just as Shelley is leaving, accidentally giving her a black eye. Knowing what people will think, Charlie asks Shelley to stay out of sight until it heals. She agrees and stays in her bedroom. Charlie, wanting her to be comfortable, moves the sofa and television up from the back room but makes her agoraphobic. Initially thrilled that Shelley is solely dependent on him, he soon gets bored. Feeling bad about herself, she refuses to sleep with Charlie so he starts cheating on her by first kissing barmaid Violet Wilson, and brings another woman back to the Rovers, sleeping with her in the back room and on his stag night.

Shelley's mother, Bev Unwin, despises Charlie as he damages their relationship and does her best to split them up. Eventually, Charlie asks Shelley to marry him. She is over the moon and instantly agrees. The wedding takes place in September 2005, but Shelley jilts Charlie at the altar, delighting many Weatherfield residents who are convinced he is abusing her.

They split up and Charlie begins dating Tracy Barlow in December. After a brief relationship, Charlie invites Tracy to move in with him but is not pleased when she brings her daughter, Amy, with her. Charlie refuses to allow Amy to live with them so Tracy leaves Amy with her parents but plans to manipulate Charlie to allow Amy to move in. She tells him she is pregnant, much to his horror, so he gives her the money for an abortion but she spends it on shoes. Following her 'termination', Tracy claims that she needs her daughter so Charlie allows Amy to move in, as planned. Unfortunately Steve McDonald's girlfriend, Ronnie Clayton, tells him that she saw Tracy in a posh shoe shop when she was supposed to be having the termination so Charlie confronts Tracy, who admits her lie. Charlie doesn't end the relationship but warns her never to cross him again and throws away one of the shoes.

Charlie makes an enemy of pensioner Keith Appleyard, who refuses to pay a roofing bill, feeling it is too expensive. Charlie then removes the roof tiles and on learning that the house is for sale, meets Keith's landlord to make him an offer which is accepted. Charlie triumphantly evicts Keith, forcing him and his grandson, Craig, to leave Weatherfield. When Keith leaves, Charlie plans to renovate the property and sell it but Tracy convinces him that they should move in and rent out the flat and he eventually agrees.

In summer 2006, Shelley is moving to Derbyshire but Charlie plans to sleep with her to prove that he can. He succeeds and gleefully informs Shelley of his motives following their one night stand. A guilty Shelley reveals the fling to Tracy, who promptly slaps her and confronts Charlie. He denies it but Tracy doesn't believe him. However, at her leaving party, Bev is heartbroken by the news. Attempting to calm Bev, Shelley tells her it was a ploy to end his relationship with Tracy, unaware that Tracy has overheard them talking. In revenge, Tracy humiliates Shelley in front of a packed Rovers before reuniting with Charlie. Shelley returns in September and reveals that she is pregnant. Bev realizes that Charlie is the father and tells Deirdre who then tells Tracy, causing another fight. Charlie demands Shelley have an abortion but she refuses, telling him he will never know her child and leaves, leaving Tracy and Charlie's relationship in tatters. Tracy eventually forgives Charlie but warns him that if he ever cheats on her again, she would make him suffer. Charlie doesn't take her seriously and rents his flat to Maria Sutherland and they begin an affair in August 2006. Charlie lies about the state of his and Tracy's relationship and stages a burglary, attempting to make her dependent on him but loses control when David Platt, then infatuated with Maria, discovers the affair. David attempts to blackmail Charlie so Charlie tries to drown him but Maria finds out and rescues David. Horrified, Maria ends the affair and tells Tracy the truth, leading to a catfight on the Street. Enraged that Charlie has betrayed her again, Tracy begins plotting Charlie's downfall, coming up with a plan to make it look like he is domestically abusing her and convinces Claire Peacock, their next door neighbour to keep a diary of times when Charlie bullies, threatens or hurts her. Her family and the police get involved so Charlie asks Tracy to leave but she refuses, threatening to have an affair herself so when he finds Peter Barlow, in the shower, Charlie assumes that Tracy has slept with him and assaults Peter so he is jailed for a night. He wakes up in the cells the next day and while he's away, Claire and Tracy talk about the 'abuse' but Charlie sees them together and throws Claire out. Later, Charlie says he's got five days of community service before getting drunk to the song 'Whatever' by Oasis. Tracy turns up the music so Claire thinks that Charlie's attacking Tracy again. Just as Charlie is about to throw Tracy out, she lures him into a lap-dance. He sits down to watch her but Tracy attacks him with an iron statue before telling Charlie how much she hates him for what he's done to her and hits him again, knocking him unconscious. Tracy then puts a large knife in Charlie's hand, stabbing herself and trashing the room to make it look like they had a fight. Unfortunately the police don't believe her version of events and arrest her as Charlie is still alive and she fears that he will wake up and tell the truth. However, he dies that week and despite putting on a good front for the lawyer specialising in domestic abuse, is found guilty and is sentenced to 15 years. Much to everyone's surprise, Tracy's conviction is later quashed after it is revealed that the chief pathologist on the case is discovered to have fraudulent qualifications.

On 9 April 2007, it is revealed that Charlie Stubbs is the father of Holly Grimshaw. Holly's mother, Emma, gives Eileen her baby on Christmas Day 2006, thinking Jason is the father. Emma later reveals that Charlie gave a false name on the night they met. Consequently, Emma takes her baby to the Grimshaw residence, believing she is leaving her child with the father. However, after reading about Tracy's trial in the press, Emma realises her mistake and Holly is returned to her.

Although primarily remembered as a villain, Charlie did occasionally show a good-natured side of his personality - most notably, when he risked his life to save Sunita Alahan by running into a burning building and rescuing her after she and Dev were held hostage by Maya Sharma, and then running out into the road to stop Maya running Dev over minutes later. He also helped Roy Cropper when he was being bullied by fellow builder Vince, by punching Vince, sacking him and telling him to leave the area.

Chesney Brown

Karl Foster

Karl Foster was an overly confident nurse who was the best friend of Katy Harris. He was openly homosexual. Karl was also good friends with current Corrie Street resident Sean Tully. He was the second gay character to ever appear in the long running soap. He was fun loving and arrogant, yet had a soft side for friends.

In 2004, he embarked on a gay relationship with fellow resident Todd Grimshaw after the two had first struck up a friendship at the hospital they both worked and Todd had confided in him about his attempt to kiss Nick, the brother of his girlfriend Sarah Platt. The two gradually grew closer and their clandestine affair began after they kissed on a night out at a gay bar, remaining a secret until Todd revealed to Sarah that he was gay and that, in fact, Karl and he had been seeing each other. Despite Todd telling Sarah and his mother Eileen that he had fallen in love with Karl, their romance did not continue.

Following the revelation, Sarah and Todd's baby Billy was born prematurely following a placental abruption and died. While Sarah was recovering in hospital, Karl visited her and left flowers while she slept. Martin, Sarah's adoptive father walked in on his visit and blamed Karl and Todd for causing Billy's death. Despite Karl's reminder that Billy's death was due to a medical complication that was not caused by stress, Martin physically attacked Karl in the hospital corridor (in a later story, CCTV footage of this attack was replayed to Martin when he was in the frame for murdering neighbour Tommy Harris the following year).

After Billy's funeral, Karl briefly returned to Coronation Street, visiting the Grimshaw's home to catch up with Todd having not seen him since Billy died. After a long heart-to-heart, Todd admitted he still had feelings for Karl but the two agree it's best to remain friends, and after one last drink in the Rovers, the two hugged and parted ways. It was his final appearance on the cobbles to date. According to Inside Soap in 2004, a petition with 10,000 signatures was launched to get Karl back in the show, but nothing ever materialised.

Follow by his evil actions, Todd and Sean went to see him for a while.

Others

References