Over the course of 37 years, Rita has matured from a saucy songstress to pillar of the community. After a fling with Ken Barlow, Rita fell for and married Len Fairclough. Their marriage lasted for six years, before Len was killed in a car crash. After being wooed by Tony Cunliffe and Alf Roberts, Rita became involved in a serious relationship, this time with Alan Bradley. Between 1986 and 1989, Alan cheated and stole from Rita and when she confronted him, he tried to kill her. She escaped to Blackpool and when he chased her across the promenade, he was fatally hit by a tram. Rita eventually recovered and married Ted Sullivan in 1992, but he died of a brain tumour three months later. Since then, she’s had numerous gentlemen friends that include Fred Elliott, Alec Gilroy, Anthony Stephens, Archie Shuttleworth and Colin Grimshaw. Since 1973, Rita has been behind the local newsagents counter, called the Kabin. Her scenes with her loyal assistant Mavis Riley (1973-1997) were mainly of a comedy purpose and this is repeated today with her partnership with Norris Cole. Rita has considered selling the business and retiring many times, firstly when she was falsely accused of assaulting Chesney Brown and recently when Tony Gordon offered to buy her shop so he could expand his factory.
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