Top 50 Coronation Street Characters

14. Roy Cropper

Roy was brought into the soap in 1995 as the eccentric neighbour of Deirdre Rachid at Crimea Street. A secondary character for two years, then producer Brian Parks decided he had potential and made him a partner at the café with Gail Platt. Roy was and still is a popular and well loved character, known for his historical linked conversations and for being a bit serious. A year after he became a regular, a love interest for Roy was introduced, in the form of Hayley Patterson. But Hayley was no ordinary woman – she was a transsexual. Although controversial, Roy and Hayley married in 1999, although not by deed poll, in the café after being rejected by the church. Over their decade of a marriage, the Croppers have been established as a popular couple, in the same league as Jack and Vera, Stan and Hilda and Ken and Deirdre. Roy has starred in many storylines that include thinking he was the father of Tracy Barlow’s daughter Amy, taking Fiz Brown and Becky Granger in, being suspected of dealing drugs with Ken Barlow and finding out that Hayley had a son from when she was called Harold.

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Top 50 Coronation Street Characters

15. Fred Elliott

I did think of repeating every sentence in this paragraph, as that what Frederick Handel Elliott would’ve done. But, I won’t. Known for his booming voice and for his role as the local butcher, Fred was introduced as a friend of Alf Roberts in 1994 and who had a soft spot for Alf’s wife Audrey. As well as running a butcher’s, he was the Rovers landlord for six years, until he retired and sold it to Steve McDonald. Fred is also known for his tendency to propose to every woman he dated and those included Rita Sullivan, Doreen Heavey, Audrey Roberts and Penny King. He also became engaged to con woman Stacey Hilton (impersonating a Thai bride). But he did manage to get two women down the aisle during his twelve year tenure: Maureen Holdsworth in 1997, but she left him for Bill Webster a week later, and Eve Sykes, who turned out to be a bigamist. He was on his way to marry his fourth wife (first wife Sybil had died before he was introduced) Bev Unwin when he collapsed of a heart attack in old flame Audrey’s house in 2006. In 1999, Fred was revealed as the father of ‘nephew’ Ashley Peacock.

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Top 50 Coronation Street Characters

16. Becky McDonald (known as Becky Granger)

In the course of three years, Becky has developed from a drug dealer who stole Roy and Hayley Cropper’s Morris Minor with friend Neil Ackroyd to a funny and loveable part of the cobbles, now that she’s married to Rovers landlord Steve McDonald. She was brought in as an old friend of Kelly Crabtree in 2006, who she soon framed for theft. She fled the street but returned and found refuge at Roy’s Rolls, but she took advantage by stealing from the till and threatening customers. As always, Roy and Hayley forgave her and thus began a wonderful trio. When Hayley left the street for a year to build a school in Africa, Becky moved in with Roy and a double act was born, as well with café worker Ken Barlow. Although she’s best known as a comic, Becky has starred in key storylines, making her one of the strongest females in the soap’s history. Storylines including a romance with Jason Grimshaw, a love triangle between herself, future husband Steve and Steve’s girlfriend at the time and Becky’s best friend, Michelle Connor and being framed for keeping drugs by a bent copper.

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Top 50 Coronation Street Characters

17. Betty Williams (known as Betty Turpin)

Betty holds two records: the longest serving barmaid in soap history and the oldest barmaid in soap history. Nearly ninety, she’s still pulling pints behind the Rovers bar, forty years after she first did it. First husband Cyril Turpin was a policeman and Betty was heartbroken when he died of a heart attack in 1974. The same year she was revealed as the mother of her ‘nephew’ Gordon, a storyline that angered Bill Kenwright (Gordon Clegg) and Irene Sutcliffe (Maggie Cooke). It would be 21 years before Betty, now 75, would walk down the aisle again. Second husband Billy Williams was an old flame from the war and they met on the fiftieth anniversary of VE Day. He died in 1997 of the same fate as Cyril. Betty is famous for her Lancashire hotpot, a dish she has served since the seventies. Betty has always been popular with the punters and has been a shoulder to cry on to many. She formed a close friendship with co barmaid Bet Lynch in 1970 that lasts to this day and although she didn’t like being bossed around by her, she respected her boss of 14 years – the formidable Mrs Annie Walker!

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Top 50 Coronation Street Characters

18. Mike Baldwin

Mike Baldwin was brought into the serial as the owner of the new built factory in 1976. His affair with Deirdre Barlow in 1983 made headlines and began his long feud with her husband Ken. In 1986, he angered Ken more when he married his daughter Susan. Their marriage lasted two years, ending when Mike rejected Susan’s intentions of having a child. Three years later he married Jackie Ingram, who he married for her money. A week after the wedding, Jackie confronted him with a gun and they later divorced. A year later, he married Alma Sedgewick. They’d previously dated before Mike married Jackie and their marriage lasted nine years and ended when Alma found out about Mike’s affair with Julia Stone. In 2000, Mike married Linda Sykes but that also ended within the year after Mike found about Linda’s affair with his son Mark. In 2006, Mike began behaving strangely and was later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s’. While walking confused on the street, he was found by old rival Ken and suffered a heart attack and died in Ken’s arms.

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Top 50 Coronation Street Characters

19. Minnie Caldwell

Personally, I don’t think there’s never been a character like Minnie Caldwell and there never will be. An original character, she graced the cobbles for 16 years and although she didn’t have a great effect on the street, viewers think of Minnie with affection. Known for her love of cats, Minnie was part of the trio in the snug with Ena Sharples and Martha Longhurst. Martha’s sudden death in 1964 brought Minnie and Ena closer and they were untied for the next twelve years. A soft touch, she kept lodgers – the most famous being ex con Jed Stone in the sixties who fondly called Minnie ‘Ma’. As well as cats (Bobby and Sunny Jim), Minnie loved betting on the horses and was good friends with the bookie Dave Smith, although she did go missing when she went into debt. While Ena was her best friend, Minnie became engaged to Albert Tatlock in 1973 but she called it off when she found his habits annoying. In 1976, with Margot Bryant (who played Minnie) suffering memory loss, she was written out and was whisked off to Whaley Bridge with gentlemen friend Handel Gartside and we never saw her again.

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Top 50 Coronation Street Characters

20. Norris Cole

Following the footsteps of bumbling businessmen Leonard Swindley and Reg Holdsworth, Norris Cole made his first appearance in 1994, annoying Derek and Mavis Wilton by stealing gnomes! Don’t ask! He became a regular in 1999 when he found lodgings with Emily Bishop and secured a job as Rita Sullivan’s assistant in the Kabin, forming a new double act. Storylines that Norris has starred in include holding a séance in the Kabin backroom, winning a contest in the Rovers when he dressed up as Eartha Kitt and representing Manchester in the Commonwealth Games. He is also known for being rude and enjoys gossiping about the neighbours. As well as being a comic character, Norris has starred in serious storylines such as meeting up with half brother Ramsay Clegg, proposing to good friend Rita (she declined) and trying to convince street folk that Richard Hillman was a crook. Known for being camp, he surprised Emily and Rita when he became friends with Mary Taylor. She had fallen for him and wished to travel the world with him, but he was happy on the cobbles and Mary left without him.

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