Corrie Stalwart - Bet Lynch

She is not only the most famous barmaid of the Rovers Return, but in British soap history. Hired by Billy Walker in 1970, Bet served behind the bar for 25 years, ten of those as the pub’s landlady. Following the footsteps of Elsie Tanner, she became the Street’s siren and her conquests include Len Fairclough, Ken Barlow, Mike Baldwin and Jack Duckworth. Bet is also remembered for her comic scenes with snobbish landlady Annie Walker, matronly barmaid Betty Turpin and grumpy cellar man Fred Gee in the seventies and eighties. After fifteen years of trying to find a husband, she married Alec Gilroy. They became popular due to their sarcastic banter. Their marriage lasted five years, and ended when Bet refused to move to Southampton with Alec. Bet continued behind the bar until 1995, when she went into debt. When old friend Rita Sullivan refused to lend her money, she sold the Rovers and left the cobbles. Since her departure, she has made three comebacks. In 1999, she returned to congratulate co-barmaid Betty on thirty years behind the Rovers bar, in 2002 when she reconciled with Rita, and finally in 2003 when viewers saw her whirlwind romance with former brewery owner Cecil Newton. Cecil died of a heart attack before the ceremony.