Corrie A-Z: J is for Jailbirds

I don’t think any street in Britain has as many jailbirds as Coronation Street!

 

From Jed Stone to Jim McDonald and from Deirdre Rachid to Gail McIntyre, countless residents over the years have been behind bars – some justifiably but others innocently.

 

Upstanding resident Ken Barlow spent a night in the cells for protesting against the Vietnam war in 1967; Len Fairclough spent the night for being drunk in 1978 and cost him his council seat; Dennis Tanner has been in and out of prison over the years; Steve McDonald served two short prison sentences in the 1990s; Rita Sullivan spent the night in the cells for contempt of court; David Platt and Graeme Proctor have been in a young offenders’ institution; John Stape was in jail for kidnapping Rosie Webster; while do-gooder Hayley Cropper was jailed for kidnapping.

 

Tracy Barlow (much loved on this blog!) spent three years in prison for murdering Charlie Stubbs while Jim McDonald has been in HMP for the manslaughter of Jez Quigley, being on the run and attempted robbery! Not bad eh?

 

The most famous jailbird has to be poor Deirdre “I didn’t do any of it!” Rachid, who was wrongly jailed for fraud, thanks to her evil boyfriend Jon Lindsay in 1998. The campaign to ‘Free the Weatherfield One’ led to even PM Tony Blair asking for Deirdre to be freed – and that’s what happened! Producers have always claimed that was the original storyline, but who knows?

 

Can you think of any other Corrie jailbirds?

 

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