If you remember, last year I had a series of posts looking at the top 12 faces of each Corrie decade - the 1960s, the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s and the 2000s. For the next few weeks or so, I’ll be looking at the top 12 faces of each year between 1960 and 2013.
If you remember, last year I had a series of posts looking at the top 12 faces of each Corrie decade - the 1960s, the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s and the 2000s. For the next few weeks or so, I’ll be looking at the top 12 faces of each year between 1960 and 2013.
When they arrived, Eddie and Anna had aspects of Stan and Hilda and Les and Janice – him being the layabout and she being a screech. Although not married, Anna took Eddie’s name. Introduced as a family that refused to pay Joe McIntyre for a kitchen refit, they soon moved into No.6, next door to Joe! Both Anna and Joe’s partner Gail tried to make amends between the two warring families but to no avail.
While Eddie got a job in Streetcars, Anna got a job as a waitress at Roy’s Rolls. Anna disagreed with Eddie’s scheming and scamming and was ashamed when Eddie stole and posed as Roy Cropper in a scam to get a free holiday. In 2010, the Windasses become interested in adoption and they take in Faye Butler. A troubled girl, Faye caused a rift between Eddie and Anna and when Eddie issued an ultimatum to Anna, she chose Faye and Eddie left for Germany.
Do you think Eddie suited Anna better than Owen does? Should the Windasses be at 46?
45. Don Brennan and Ivy Tilsley/Brennan, 1987-1994 (18 votes)
After first husband Bert died in 1984 and a romance with George Wardle in 1985, Ivy Tilsley met cabby Don Brennan in 1987 when he drove her home. Don was a widower, and he and Ivy married in 1988. Ivy’s life changed forever in 1989 when Brian was fatally stabbed. Already a staunch Catholic, she turned more towards religion and away from Don, leading to tension between them. Only being married for two years, Don soon realised that he had made a mistake in marrying Ivy as she became obsessed with the relationship of Gail with toy boy Martin Platt and the effect it had on Nick and Sarah Louise and even got Social Services involved. Don forced Ivy to apologise.
By 1992, Don had an affair with barmaid Julie Dewhurst and when Julie later dumped him, he attempted suicide and had to have his lower leg amputated. Ivy, devastated by his adultery, turned to drink. They soon reconciled, but slept in separate rooms. Don left Ivy in 1994 and she went on a long retreat to a convent, where she suffered a stroke and died. Although he’d asked for a divorce, Don was left a widower for the second time.
Were you a fan of the Brennans? Should they be at 45?
Ernest Bishop and Emily Nugent/Bishop (1969-1978) – After spending the 1960s finding a man, Miss Nugent met photographer Ernest in 1969 and found they shared the same interests – religion, community involvement, music and literature. They married in 1972 and settled at 3 Coronation Street. Middle-aged, they’d missed the chance of parenthood but had the opportunity of fostering in 1974. Ernie’s financial woes in 1976 strained the marriage somewhat as he accepted to accompany strippers on the piano at the local nightclub, much to Emily’s annoyance. He did find employment at the factory as a wages clerk but was gunned down in a robbery in 1978. Emily was heartbroken.
Dev Alahan and Sunita Pareck/Alahan (2004-2006, 2010-2013) – Sunita was Dev’s assistant at the Corner Shop and she was smitten with him. But it wasn’t until she had a brain tumour that Dev realised he loved her. Dev dumped his girlfriend Maya for Sunita who didn’t take it too well. She framed Sunita for bigamy and blew all of Dev’s shop up and tried to kill the Alahans by gassing them but they escaped. The Alahans then settled into married life and twins Aadi and Asha were born in 2006. But the marriage collapsed when Sunita found out about that Dev had fathered many children with his shop assistants! In 2009, Sunita re-entered Dev’s life and they decided to give it another go. But, in 2012, a bored Sunita had an affair with Karl Munro and Dev moved out. But after a few months, Sunita realised that she’d made a mistake and she reunited with Dev. But the reunion didn’t last long as Sunita caught Karl starting a fire in the Rovers and he pushed her down the cellar steps into the flames. Although she’d survived the fire, Karl finished her off in the hospital by dislodging her life support tube.
Ashley and Claire Casey/Peacock (2003-2010) – Ashley and Claire met when she became a nanny for his son Joshua. They married in 2004 and in 2006 their son Thomas, who was re-named Freddie after Ashley’s dad Fred died later that year. During their six year marriage, the Peacocks had their fair share of drama, from Claire’s post natal depression to Freddie being kidnapped by disturbed Casey Carswell who also tried to kill Claire and manipulate Ashley by having an affair with him. As well as dramas, Ashley and Claire starred in comic storylines that include a house swap with the Websters in 2008 and Claire forcing Ashley to have a vasectomy in 2009. The marriage came to a tragic end when Ashley was crushed by a beam in the aftermath of the tram crash in 2010.
Alf Roberts and Renee Bradshaw/Roberts (1977-1980) – After chasing Maggie Clegg in the early 70s, it was no surprise when Alf started courting shopkeeper Renee and many accused him of being interested in her because of the shop. After two proposals, they married in 1978. When Alf announced his retirement from the GPO, Renee was worried as she didn’t want Alf with her day and night. She felt awful when he was injured in the Rovers lorry crash in 1979 and was happy for him to be with her behind the counter. In 1980, they decided to sell up and move to Grange-over-Sands to run a sub-post office there. But while on the way home from a visit, learner driver Renee stalled the car and a lorry crashed into them. Renee died and Alf decided to stay on at the corner shop.
Don Brennan and Ivy Tilsley/Brennan (1987-1994) – Ivy met cabby Don in 1987 when he drove her home. Don was a widower, and he and Ivy married in 1988. But when her son Brian was stabbed to death in 1989, Ivy turned more to religion than to Don and the couple grew apart. Don soon found out that he’d made a mistake in marrying Ivy as she became obsessed with Brian’s widow Gail’s relationship with Martin Platt and the effect it had on the children. Don had an affair with Julie Dewhurst in 1992 and when she dumped him, he attempted suicide but it only resulted in him having his leg amputated. Ivy, devastated, turned to drink as she and Don slept separately. Ivy later left the street for a convent, where she died of a stroke in 1995.
Have you got favourites in this five? Well vote for two of them and we'll see where they'll be in the countdown! Voting closes at midnight on Monday, 2nd December.
It's Friday again so it's time for this week's fab Coronation Street
photo. This week's picture is brought to you courtesy of the Coronation Street plot recycling department as a crazy cabbie kidnaps one of the Street's residents.
It's a question the whole nation isn't asking. Apart from me that is. In the next few weeks we are about to witness, Street style, a complete character change as Karl Munro turns nasty. Yes nasty! Which got me thinking. Who was that other well-loved (Ok, possibly not) Weatherfield character who morphed from being a relatively jolly, dependable middle-aged bloke into a raving loon. Step forward Don Brennan.
Don, you may recall, was the Street's everyman for a while. He was a hard-working cabbie, liked a few laughs and had enough resolve to take on God-bothering Ivy Tilsley and her devotion to all things dead. Before long, Don became a drudge, a bore, a shadow of his former ebullient self. What followed was disaster heaped upon tragedy. There was the seedy stalking of Denise Hairdresser, a bitter feud with Mike Baldwin, Ivy's 'get me to a nunnery' exit, his liaison with the staggeringly dull, gruff-voiced Josie, the hounding of lovely Alma, the 'foot' incident, living with Ashley, more Baldwin and a welcome death.
Poor old Karl seems to be yet another member of the cast who seems to be without purpose. Weaving across the cobbles like Liam Gallagher's dad, he was originally an intriguing addition to the Street. The stomach-churning affair with Sunita turned him into a snide, nasty piece of work. Loveless and seemingly friendly, he now makes for uneasy viewing in the same way that Dead Don did back in the 1990s.
If history decides to repeat itself we can look forward to Karl delivering pervy phone calls to Maria, packing St Ella off to a convent (hurrah), attacking Jason with a chair leg whilst over-acting and then plunging Sunita into Weatherfield Quays whilst she yells 'no....." in an echo chamber.
Seriously though, it does feel as though Karl is about to tread that well-worn path of normal blokes who suddenly go bad. It doesn't make for particularly believable drama and can only end with Karl as a bitter, cynical and hollow version of his original self. Here's hoping this prophesy of doom comes to nothing but I have a feeling that we may be witnessing the beginning of the end for Mr Munro. Now - has anyone got the phone number for the nearest convent? Would they show pity on a beige nun?
Since the news is full of the possible suicide of John Stape, I wondered if there have actually been any successful suicides on Coronation Street? There are a handful that I can remember but they are few and far between. Soaps tend not to feature successful suicides so as not to be blamed for a fan doing the same. Thus, most people on soaps, Corrie included, who attempt to take their own lives are usually either saved at the last minute or are unsuccessful and are revived with medical attention.
The first Corrie character to die at his own hand was Joe Donelli. He killed Steve Tanner, a murder that Len Fairclough was suspected of committing. Joe had run off but returned a year or so later and held Hilda Ogden Minnie Caldwell (thanks commenter!) hostage. Stan changed places with him but couldn't prevent him from turning the gun on himself. We only heard the shot from the outside of the house.
Janet Barlow was Ken Barlow's second wife. They had a stormy marraige and separated in 1976. In early 1977, she returned and wanted a reconciliation but Ken rejected her. He found her in the morning, dead, having taken sleeping pills.
Don Brennan, who had terminal cancer, tried to get revenge on Mike Baldwin but in the end, drove Alma's little red sports car into the viaduct at the end of the street back in 1997. He died in the resulting fireball. The scorch marks were on those bricks for years until the Joinery was built last year and then all the bricks came down with the tram crash.
Katy Harris killed her father in a fit of rage. Her mother took the blame for it and Katy, a diabetic, overdosed herself on sugar, the guilt she felt having been too much for her.
Those are the only ones I can remember but maybe you can think of anyone else? Some characters, such as Sheila Birtles, Ken Barlow, Les Battersby and Bet Lynch have thought about it but were saved by a friendly face and encouraging word. David Platt drove his car into the canal but was only trying to ruin Sarah's wedding.
Thanks to Corrie.net who list over 120 characters (minor and major) and 2 animals that have died since the start of the Street.
