Where are they now? Corrie Icons of the 70s - Bill Kenwright

Here we go with a look back at some of the Coronation Street icons from the 1970s. Let's find out what they've been up to since they left the show.

Bill Kenwright who played Gordon Clegg

Bill Kenwright played the role of Betty's son Gordon Clegg in Coronation Street from 1968 to 1969, and then intermittently until 1995. Bill reprised the role for the episodes following the death of Gordon's mother Betty in 2012.

In real life, Gordon always sent Betty Driver, who played Betty in Corrie, a bunch of flowers on mother's day.

And since he left Corrie, it's probably easier to say what Bill Kenright hasn't done than what he has!

Bill became a highly successful theatrical producer, his biggest hits being West End production Blood Brothers and a national tour of Joseph and the Amazing Techincolour Dreamcoat. He owns his own record label.

Bill staged a successful takeover of Everton Football Club in 1999, and became the chairman in 2004.

He's an amazing fella and has his own stage production company.  If you'd like a run-down on everything he's involved with, there's a biography of him on his website here.

Visit Bill Kenwright's website

See also: Meet Gordon Clegg

Read more Corrie news, interviews and spoilers here

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Corrie A-Z: C is for the Corner Shop (Part 1: 1960-1980)

With thanks to Daran Little’s Coronation Street: Around the Houses for all the info on the history of the Corner Shop prior to 1960.

 

For many years, the Corner Shop was a staple in every Corrie episode, where characters were seen talking and gossiping about goings-on in the street. And the shopkeeper had an integral part in the community: be it Florrie Lindley back in the early 1960s or Alf Roberts in the 1980s. But in recent years, the Corner Shop has lost its status and has dwindled into extinction, apart from the odd scene here and there.

 

At one time, the Corner Shop played a vital role in many episodes. Indeed, it played the central role in the very first episode back in December 1960 when Elsie Lappin handed the business over to Florrie Lindley after 30 years. It was through Florrie’s eyes that we met the characters as they came to the shop to introduce themselves to the new shopkeeper.

 

Prior to Coronation Street’s on-screen debut in 1960, the corner shop had proprietors since 1902. The first owners were Cedric and Lottie Thwaite who ran the shop until 1915. The Foyle family (including Tommy, Amelia, Lil, Elsie, Hilda and Shelagh) ran the shop from 1930 to 1947. Elsie, and her husband Les Lappin, bought the shop in 1947. Les died in 1952 and Elsie continued behind the counter until she sold the shop to Florrie Lindley in 1960.

 

Let’s take a closer look at who was behind the counter between 1960 and 1980:

 

Florrie Lindley 1960-1965

 

Florrie was a typical shopkeeper: a kind, caring and compassionate soul. During her stint behind the counter she installed a new window and doorway and opened a sub-post office. Irma Ogden became her assistant in 1964. But loneliness ate away at Florrie and led her to have a nervous breakdown and she wrecked the shop. In 1965, estranged hubby Norman re-entered her life and persuaded Florrie to join him in Canada. She agreed and sold the shop to Lionel Petty.

 

Lionel Petty 1965-1966

 

Petty was an ex-Army officer and ran the shop in an efficient but military way and his approach towards the customers was a stark contrast to Florrie. Even assistant Irma stayed off work to avoid him and when he was short towards Ena Sharples many of the residents boycotted the shop. As well as Irma, his daughter Sandra worked behind the counter as did Dennis Tanner. After only a few months, Lionel sold up the shop and returned to his native Wales.

 

David and Irma Barlow 1966-1968

 

Petty sold the shop to young married couple David and Irma. The first thing the Barlows did was close the sub-post office that had been in the shop since 1964 but in recent months had become unprofitable. They settled into shop life and were popular with residents. But within a few months Irma had grown bored and left the shop to work as a machinist at the PVC factory while mother Hilda took up the job of shop assistant, to David’s chagrin. Irma soon returned the shop and life was good until 1968 when David craved for a return to his football career. And when he was offered a place in an Australian team, he persuaded Irma that they should immigrate and sold the shop.

 

Les Clegg 1968-1970, Maggie Clegg 1968-1974, Irma Barlow 1970-1972 and Gordon Clegg 1974-1976

 

The Cleggs bought the shop as a new start due to Les’ alcoholism and a chance for him to stay sober. They arrived on the street with their ‘son’ Gordon. They were happy for two months before Les fell off the wagon and assaulted Maggie and thus ended their marriage. Needing help, Maggie took on Ena Sharples and Valerie Barlow as her assistants. Maggie’s overbearing sister Betty Turpin arrived on the street in 1969 to help her sister out but Maggie persuaded her to get a job as a barmaid at the Rovers. Valerie left her post as assistant at the end of 1969 when she got a job at Alan Howard’s hair salon. In 1970, Les and Maggie divorced and Maggie was given the shop in the settlement. Soon after, a widowed Irma returned from Australia and entered into a partnership with Maggie. As a result, Ena left her post as shop assistant. Hilda helped out now and again; Janet Reid was briefly an assistant in 1971 and Lucille Hewitt from late 1971 to early 1972. Irma sold her share to Maggie and moved to Llandudno in 1972.

 

Maggie was now the sole owner of the shop and took on Norma Ford as her assistant who stayed until the end of 1973. In 1974, Maggie appreciated the help of Alf Roberts. When he proposed, she rejected stating she only saw him as a good friend. But within a few weeks she married Ron Cooke and they immigrated to Zaire. Maggie passed the shop on to Gordon but when he clashed with Betty, he left for London and rented the shop to Welsh couple Idris and Vera Hopkins who moved to the shop with their daughter Tricia and Idris’ mother Megan. But they had a short stay when Megan found out that Betty was Gordon’s real mother and tried to blackmail Gordon into selling the shop to them at a lower price. Gordon had been told that Betty was his mother by Maggie when she visited in early 1975. As a result, the Hopkins were evicted and left in a midnight flit. Gordon did let Tricia stay in the shop flat with her best mate Gail Potter and they ran the shop until mid-1975 when Blanche Hunt took the reins with the young girls her assistants. When Blanche left the street in early 1976, Tricia and Gail took care of the shop. As Gordon was in London, it was Betty who looked after the shop’s financial side and reported to Gordon of any problems. In mid-1976, Gordon sold the shop to Renee Bradshaw.

 

Renee Bradshaw/Roberts 1976-1980

 

Renee took over the shop to be closer to her brother Terry. She soon sacked Tricia and Gail for being terrible assistants and Tricia left the area. Renee soon applied for an off-licence and waged a war against publican Annie Walker and won. Bet Lynch moves in as a flat tenant and Renee becomes her confidante. Alf Roberts romances Renee and they marry in 1978. When Alf is injured when a lorry ploughs into the Rovers, he retires from the GPO to help Renee at the shop. In 1980, the Roberts decided to sell the shop and move to run a sub-post office in Grange-over-Sands. But on the way from Grange, Renee is killed in a lorry-crash collision. Alf decides to stay put on the street and continue behind the counter.

 

To be continued...

 

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The Many Faces of Coronation Street

With the news that Ryan Connor is to return with a new head let's look back at some of the recastings that have taken place on Coronation Street over the years.

The earliest I remember is the tragic case of Blanche Hunt. The role was originally played by Patricia Cutts but she had only appeared in 2 episodes in September 1974 when she was found dead in her flat in London, having taken a massive dose of barbiturates and a considerable amount of alcohol. Blanche had been written into future scripts and the producers thought that she might turn into a long running character so instead of cutting the character they turned to their 2nd choice for the part. Maggie Jones took over and made the role her own over a period of over 35 years.

As far as I know Blanche Hunt has been the only character recast in such sad circumstances. At the opposite end of the scale, Gordon Clegg was recast due to the great success of the original actor, Bill Kenwright, in other projects. Although he was only a permanent cast member for a couple of years, he would return occasionally to see his mother, Betty. Away from Coronation Street Bill's career as a theatre impressario and chairman of Everton FC made it difficult for him to return at the whim of Corrie storylines and so in 2002 the role was taken by Geoffrey Leesley, who had played John Harrison in Brookside, for his occasional appearances. When Betty Williams sadly died, Bill Kenwright reprised his role as our Gordon and returned to sort out her effects.

Recasting has occured most often with child actors. As they generally don't take much of an active part in filming for a few years after their birth, the role can be recast several times without any major problem. The part of Peter Barlow has been played by 7 different actors over the years as his character has drfited in and out of the story but now that the character has reached maturity it would seem strange to see him played by anyone other than Chris Gascoyne.

Occasionally a child actor will last a remarkably long time. Nicky Tilsley was played by Warren Jackson from his birth right up to the age of 15. Having started as a babe in arms it couldn't be predicted at that early stage whether he'd actually be able to act as he grew older and the role demanded more than sitting in the background playing with his toys and the occasional response to one of his onscreen family. As he reached his teens, a lot more was expected of him and to be honest he never really made the grade when it came to acting and it was decided to recast the role. He was replaced by Adam Rickitt, who can at best be described as a prettier piece of wood than his predecessor. After a couple of years the lure of the pop charts and parliament deprived us of Adam Rickitt's acting, though he returned briefly to take part in Coronation Street's first gay kiss. Nick Tilsley returned with yet another face in 2009, played by Ben Price.

There was a running joke in the 80s about Tracy Barlow disappearing upstairs to play some tapes and reappearing some months or years later with a new head. To be fair this only happened twice. Tracy was played  by Christabel Finch for the first 6 years of her life to be replaced first by Holly Charmette and then Dawn Acton who was a wonderful troublesome teen. Having coped with life with Ken and Deirdre, a kidney transplant and a failed marriage it was therefore surprising that the producers decided to recast the role when Tracy returned with a major character transplant. Dawn auditioned for the part but lost out to Kate Ford.

Rosie and Sophie Webster, Susan, Adam and Amy Barlow, Sarah-Louise Platt and her brother David and the Peacock children have all been played by different actors over the years.

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Meet Gordon Clegg

With Betty's son Gordon Clegg returning to Coronation Street for Betty's farewell, our blogger Tvor takes a look back at the life of Gordon Clegg on Corrie.
Les, Maggie and son Gordon Clegg came to Coronation Street in April, 1968 and moved into the Corner Shop, which was still owned by Irma Barlow at the time. Les was a violent alcoholic and after being hospitalised when teenage son Gordon knocked him flat, he never returned and the marriage was over.

It wasn't long before Gordon, a nice looking 17 year old, fell for young Lucille Hewitt, who was Annie Walker's ward. Lucille only had eyes for Ray Langton who had a girlfriend already. Lucille did get to date Ray but reckoned he was not the gentleman that Gordon was and went to him instead. Ray and Gordon were at odds more than once over the lovely Lucille who dropped Gordon for a soldier but Gordon won out in the end and proposed to her.

Neither Annie nor Maggie approved of the relationship but the young couple were determined to be together and attempted to elope to Gretna Green. While waiting for a delayed train en route, they both had second thoughts and returned to Weatherfield but continued on as a couple, planning a proper wedding.

It was not meant to be, however, when Gordon got cold feet a week before the wedding, and ran off to London to be an accountant. After he moved out, Maggie's sister Betty moved in!

Gordon made a success in his chosen career and in little more than a year was able to lend his mother enough money to buy the partnership from Irma. He didn't return to Weatherfield until summer, 1974 when his mother married and emigrated to Zaire. He lived with his Auntie Betty until he could sort out the shop and rented it out to a Welsh family, the Hopkins. Lucille was not happy to see him back and left for Ireland where her step-mother, Concepta still lived but Gordon didn't seem to be bothered and had time to get out and date a few willing women.

His world was soon turned upside down when interfering Granny Hopkins discovered Gordon's birth certificate in the flat. It showed that his biological mother was his Aunt, Betty. Gordon knew nothing about this but Maggie told him rather than him hearing it from anyone else. Gordon was pleased that the man he hated was not his father.

After Maggie left, and an argument with Betty over the shop, Mrs. Hopkins let the cat out of the bag, writing Gordon a letter containing the information, thinking blackmailing him would give her family a chance to buy the shop cheaply. No such luck. Gordon chucked them out instead and installed Blanche Hunt in as manager for a while before selling up to Renee Bradshaw.

Betty admitted the truth and told Gordon that his father was a married sailor, Ted Farrell, that she'd met just after the war (Gordon was born in 1950). Maggie and Les agreed to adopt and raise the baby for her.

Gordon and Betty became close but Gordon wasn't planning on making Weatherfield his home. He left again and moved to London. He returned in 1982 to introduce his intended, Caroline to his mother. Caroline was a snob and thoroughly disapproved of Betty, a mere barmaid. Gordon married her anyway and lives in London with her and his son, Peter.

Betty visits regularly and Gordon has made occasional visits home. He was at her wedding to Billy Williams (though played by a different actor) and he came to see Betty on the occasion of her 84th birthday in 2004. He will return in April 2012 for his mother's funeral.

Gordon has mostly been played by Bill Kenwright though that one time was substituted by Geoffrey Leesley. Bill became very close to Betty Driver who played his real mother and sent her cards every year for Mother's Day.

Thanks to Itv.com, corrie.net, and several of Darren Little's Corrie anniversary books for the bio information.

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Gordon Clegg to return for Betty's funeral

Sharon Marshall revealed that Bill Kenwright will be returning to play Betty's on-screen son, Gordon Clegg for the funeral episodes in April. Bill last appeared as Gordon back in 1995, he was recast in 2002 with another actor, Geoffrey Leesley playing the role.

According to Sharon, Bill is the only actor who has been approached for the funeral episodes. It will be great to see Gordon back on-screen again, it would have been very strange if he didn't attend.

Source - Digital Spy

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50 Years Of Corrie In 50 Days – 1968

Day 8 of our 50 day countdown of Coronation Street - written by blogger Sunny Jim.

There had been many changes to Salford since the area had been scoured by Tony Warren and set designer Denis Parkin looking for streets on which to base the Coronation Street set. Many of the old back to back terraces had been demolished and the local council had plans to demolish them all by 1971. In 1968 Richard Everitt accepted the job of producer with the proviso that he could change the physical environment as he felt that the indoor set was ridiculous and it was time to bring the whole thing up to date.

His plan was to demolish the half of the Street that made up the raincoat factory and the mission hall and replace them with flats. This would bring the area more up to date and also allow the producers to bring in more characters. ‘Dramatically, it is a device to bring the old into conflict with the new, to change the street, but at the same time to retain some of its time-worn flavour’ is what he wrote to the Granada executives. The plans were agreed and an old railway yard near the studios was acquired.

Denis Parkin was asked back to oversee the construction. At first the sets were simply transferred from the studio, with a brick frontage added and a half roof built on. It was 18 months before more money was found so that the backs of the houses could be built. Seven maisonettes were built to complete the set but in spite of the original intentions, only three were occupied and only one of those by a new character.

In 1968, the corner shop changed hands again. A local couple, Les and Maggie Clegg bought it and moved in with their 17-year-old son Gordon. Up to that point there’d not really been any youngsters in the cast to appeal girls and young women. While filming at Granada, 23-year-old Bill Kenwright was invited to lunch with the producer and offered the role without even an audition. Having a desire to play Shakespeare and not wanting to be typecast at so young an age he initially turned the part down. Not long afterwards his mother asked him if he had any jobs coming up and he told her about the offer. She nearly dropped the washing up. She dragged him to the telephone and rang his aunties, uncles and grandma and said: ‘Just tell him. Tell him what it would mean to us to have my son in Coronation Street.’ The next morning he went back to Granada and said yes.

Also in 1968: Steve Tanner is murdered; Dennis Tanner marries Jenny Sutton; Dickie Flemming marries Audrey Bright; No. 11 becomes a hippy commune; Emily falls for Miklos Zadie; David and Irma Barlow move to Australia; the handpumps are removed from the Rovers; Annie is kidnapped by students for rag week and has to pay the ransom herself; Stan buys a window round.