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The 50 greatest Coronation Street characters results
David the Wavid
Posts: 2,320 Forum Member
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Thanks to everyone who took Corriepedia's survey for the 50th anniversary. Results time!
The results will take the form of a top 50 characters countdown starting today, with a new result revealed every weekday. The results of the rest of the questions will be revealed on the 9th of December on the website (http://coronationstreet.wikia.com).
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50. Tony Gordon
First appeared: 16th September 2007
Last appeared: 9th June 2010
Profile: Scottish-born Tony wanted to make a million by his fortieth birthday, and would do anything to protect his investments. Tony showed his true nature when he had fiancé and business partner Carla Connor's secret lover Liam killed in a hit and run to get him out of the way, but lost Carla when she found out. To his surprise, he then found himself falling in love with Liam's pregnant widow Maria and his feelings were reciprocated. Tony was driven to protect his new happy life with Maria by trying to kill Roy Cropper after confessing his crimes to him when he was close to death after a heart attack, but guilt led Tony to rescue Roy and turn himself into the police. In 2010, he escaped prison with the intention of killing Carla for wrecking his life but Carla escaped his clutches again and left him to die in a factory blaze.
Remembered for: His evil stare. Disliking bats and Glasgow Rangers. Setting fire to the factory.
Played by: Gray O'Brien
The results will take the form of a top 50 characters countdown starting today, with a new result revealed every weekday. The results of the rest of the questions will be revealed on the 9th of December on the website (http://coronationstreet.wikia.com).
----
50. Tony Gordon
First appeared: 16th September 2007
Last appeared: 9th June 2010
Profile: Scottish-born Tony wanted to make a million by his fortieth birthday, and would do anything to protect his investments. Tony showed his true nature when he had fiancé and business partner Carla Connor's secret lover Liam killed in a hit and run to get him out of the way, but lost Carla when she found out. To his surprise, he then found himself falling in love with Liam's pregnant widow Maria and his feelings were reciprocated. Tony was driven to protect his new happy life with Maria by trying to kill Roy Cropper after confessing his crimes to him when he was close to death after a heart attack, but guilt led Tony to rescue Roy and turn himself into the police. In 2010, he escaped prison with the intention of killing Carla for wrecking his life but Carla escaped his clutches again and left him to die in a factory blaze.
Remembered for: His evil stare. Disliking bats and Glasgow Rangers. Setting fire to the factory.
Played by: Gray O'Brien
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Comments
Thanks for doing this.
Tony Gordon was more ham than Miss Piggy. Not sure this list is going to be much cop.
1. Ken Barlow
2.Emily Bishop
3. Rita Sullivan
4. Jack Duckworth
5. Elsie Tanner
6. Ena Sharples
7. Hilda Ogden
8. Stan Ogden
9. Annie Walker
10. Jack Walker
11. Minnie Caldwell
12. Vera Duckworth
13. Betty Williams
14. Liz McDonald
15. Kevin Webster
16. Gail McIntyre
17. Blanche Hunt
18. Audrey Roberts
19. Alf Roberts
20. Bet Lynch
21. Mike Baldwin
22. Alma Halliwell
23. Linda Baldwin
24. Curly Watts
25. Percy Sugden
26. Richard Hillman
27. Phyllis Pearce
28. Reg Holdsworth
29. Norris Cole
30. Linda Baldwin
31. Shelley Unwin
32. Maya Sharma
33. Steve McDonald
34. Raquel Watts
35. Natalie Barnes
36. Len Fairclough
37. Eddie Yeats
38. Janice Battersby
39. Jez Quigley
40. Fred Elliot
41. Becky McDonald
42. Roy Cropper
43. Hayley Cropper
44. Sally Webster
45. Leanne Battersby
46. David Platt
47. Ivy Tilsey
48.Deirdre Barlow
49. Tracy Barlow
50. Albert Tatlock
51. Linda Cheveski
52. Jim McDonald
53. Sarah Louise Grimshaw
54. Eileen Grimshaw
55. Tony Gordon
56. Florrie Lindley
57. Karen McDonald
58. Peter Barlow
59. Fiz Stape
60. Graeme Proctor
61. Maureen Webster
62.Carla Connor
63. Charlie Stubbs
64. Martin Platt
65. Ray Langton
66. Toyah Battersby
67. Maud Grimes
68. Ida Clough
69. Alec Gilroy
70. Fiona Middleton
71. Alan Bradley
72. Brian Tisley
73. Ernest Bishop
74. Sean Tully
75. Martha Longhurst
76. Valerie Barlow
77. Lucille Hewitt
78. Concepta Regan
79. Fred Gee
80. Les Battersby
81. Maria Connor
82. Nick Tilsey
83. Mary Taylor
84. Des Barnes
85. Samantha Failsworth
86. Tanya Pooley
87. Kirk Sutherland
88. Bill Webdter
89. Tyrone Dobbs
90. Ashley Peacock
91. Dev Alahan
92. Maxine Peacock
93. Chesney Battersby- Brown
94. Sunita Alahan
95. Sharon Gaskell
96. Jon Lindsay
97. Greg Kelly
98. Ciaran McCarthy
99. Jed Stone
100. Liam Connor
First appeared: 14th December 1960
Last appeared: 7th April 1976
Profile: In the early 1960s, the Snug of the Rovers Return was the stronghold of three pensioners. Minnie Caldwell was the quietest of the three, and usually sat in silence while her friends Ena Sharples and Martha Longhurst bickered, occasionally chiming in with an (often bizarre) comment. Often appearing docile or simple minded, Minnie was bossed around by her friends, with Ena usually taking making it her responsibility to talk Minnie out of her "daft ideas". As a widow with no children, Minnie lived alone at No.5 Coronation Street but supplemented her pension by taking in lodgers, including "Sunny Jim" Jed Stone, who to Minnie was the son she never had. Her biggest love (and obsession) was her cat, Bobby, much to Ena's bemusement.
Remembered for: Being able to silence Ena Sharples. Her cat obsession. Sunny Jim. Going missing.
Played by: Margot Bryant
I was surprised too but Minnie is a bit forgotten next to Ena, Elsie, Annie etc so her making the list at all is nice. If you prefer the older characters you won't be disappointed, there are a few characters you might not expect to make it in there too.
First appeared: 25th December 1990
Profile: When Sally Webster decided that only the best would be acceptable for her daughters, Rosie, being the eldest, became Sally's guinea pig. Rosie was therefore educated at Oakhill Grammer School, which instilled in her the idea that she was somehow better than her fellow Street residents, but she lacked the intelligence or maturity to succeed. Her ambitions were usually driven by glamour or money, and she enjoyed manipulating men, including John Stape, with whom she had an affair at 16. Her closest brush with wealth came when John gave her £150,000 by way of apology for holding her captive for several weeks, but she lost it when Luke Strong conned her into buying Underworld shares he didn't own. More recently, Rosie has supported her younger sister Sophie during Sophie's relationship with Sian Powers.
Remembered for: Being born in Don Brennan's taxi. The goth phase. Her kidnap by John Stape.
Played by: Emma Collinge (1990-1999), Helen Flanagan (2000-2010)
I was surprised at that one myself...
Besides which, you are not a moderator, so you needn't worry yourself about such matters.
There's a couple of other things she's very famous for.
First appeared: 27th October 1989
Profile: Fiery haired Liz moved into No.11 with ex-Army sergeant husband Jim and their twin sons Steve and Andy in 1989. Liz and Jim had a stormy marriage due to Jim's temper and paranoia over Liz's affairs, but Liz liked men with a hint of danger about them and kept going back to Jim after periods of separation. Liz was willing to wait for him when he was in prison for manslaughter but finally divorced him when he assaulted another inmate, preventing his early release. Liz's next serious relationship was with drummer Vernon Tomlin, but months after marrying him she realised he didn't excite her as Jim had, and she broke it off. In 2006, Liz became licensee and landlady of the Rovers Return, where she had worked on and off since 1990. Liz ran the pub with Steve, with them often battling for authority and living space.
Remembered for: Giving birth to Katie prematurely. Being assaulted by Jim. Her friendship with Deirdre.
Played by: Beverley Callard
Always liked Liz, I'm not sure I like her as landlady though. The Rovers certainly needs new blood, the McDonalds are great but I don't like them at the forefront of the show. I think Steve should go off the rails again, and lose the pub.
It seems as though Hollyoaks' Darren Osborne is living out Steve's life in reverse, and I think that's probably the right way to be heading.
I've noticed that none of Steve or Liz's storylines ever have anything to do with the pub, it's always their love lives. You could put them anywhere in the street and they'd be the same, whereas I could never imagine Annie or Bet being anywhere other than the Rovers.
We haven't seen the Rovers in that sense since the McDonalds took over. I could never imagine Shelley Unwin anywhere other than behind the bar at the Rovers, she and Fred kept the atmosphere alive.
First appeared: 5th April 1965
Profile: Peter Barlow was never his father's son. He grew up in Scotland, in the care of his late mum Val's parents following her death. After years of occasional visits to Weatherfield (with or without a Scottish accent), and a few years in the Navy, Peter returned permanently in 2000 and bought the Rosamund Street Bookies. Peter took a long time to settle down, as he didn't know what he wanted, particularly where his love life was concerned. In 2003 this lead to disaster when he married Lucy Richards and Shelley Unwin and led a double life as he tried to keep them from finding out about each other. Ultimately he lost both, but in 2008 he took custody of son Simon when Lucy died. Landed with a son he didn't want, Peter turned to drink and had a long battle with alcoholism. He was helped by Leanne Battersby, who he got engaged to in 2010.
Remembered for: So many, many actors. The bigamy. The booze.
Played by: John Heannaue, Christopher Dormer, Linus Roache (1973-1975), Joseph McKenna (1977-1978), David Lonsdale (1986), Chris Gascoyne (2000-2010)
First appeared: 9th May 2001
Last appeared: 29th September 2006
Profile: Shelley Unwin was installed as a barmaid of the Rovers Return by landlord Duggie Ferguson in 2001. Bubbly and friendly but also strong-minded, Shelley soon became a fixture behind the bar and popular with the locals. Her time in the Street was highlighted by two major romances which caused her much heartache - the first was Peter Barlow, who she married only to find out he was already married to Lucy Richards and he had lied to her, and the second was womanizer Charlie Stubbs, whose controlling nature caused her to develop agorophobia. It wasn't until hers and Charlie's wedding day that she realised he was to blame for destroying her life, and dumped him. In 2006, Shelley left Weatherfield and her mother Bev to take a job as landlady of a pub in the Peak District.
Remembered for: Dating Peter Kay. Dumping Charlie at the altar. Her bigamous marriage to Peter.
Played by: Sally Lindsay
First appeared: 23rd December 1974
Last appeared: 30th November 1987
Profile: Eddie Yeats wasn't a welcome face when he arrived in Coronation Street on release from prison in 1976. The disreputable Scouse had fallen on hard times and lived off the generosity of others, while making money by doing favours for any of his endless string of jailbird mates. People naturally didn't trust him but not because they thought he was dangerous - rather, they considered him useless and a leech, albeit a well-meaning one. He struck a chord with Stan and Hilda Ogden at No.13 and Hilda let him move in as a lodger when he got a full-time job on the bins, whereupon Eddie became something of a son to them. In 1983, he married Marion Willis and the couple moved to Bury to be closer to Marion's ill mother.
Remembered for: Comedy with the Ogdens. Liverpool. Helping Bet through her grief over Martin Downes's death.
Played by: Geoffrey Hughes
Average scores so far:
Tony Gordon: 6.24
Minnie Caldwell: 6.27
Rosie Webster: 6.31
Liz McDonald: 6.33
Peter Barlow: 6.35
Shelley Unwin: 6.43
Eddie Yeats: 6.46
43. David Platt
Score: 6.48
First appeared: 26th December 1990
Profile: The move of Martin Platt to Liverpool to start a new family in 2005 triggered a change in son David, who suffered from the loss of his father from his day-to-day life. With growing feelings of abandonment and resentment towards his family, David turned into an isolated lad who blamed mum Gail for his maladjustment, and, as revenge, committed acts specifically designed to distress her. In 2008 he found some purpose in life when he fell for Tina McIntyre, who went out with him for a year but has since went off him. David, however, remains determined to win Tina back with a dogged determination bordering on obsession. He is especially put out by the fact that Tina is now dating his best friend Graeme Proctor.
Remembered for: Evil David. Pushing Gail down the stairs. Tina.
Played by: Thomas Ormson (1990-2000), Jack P. Shepherd (2000-2010)
42. Albert Tatlock
Score: 6.51
First appeared: 9th December 1960
Last appeared: 25th January 1984
Profile: Albert Tatlock was a man whose glory years were well behind him even by the second World War. His most prized possessions were his war medals and memories of that time; it was to his consternation in his twilight years that someone who had fought for his country such as himself had to live on such a meagre pension. To many Street residents, Albert was a bitter old man, forever complaining about the trivial hardships he faced every day. He expected support from his family but was too proud to ask for it - it ultimately fell to his late niece Valerie's husband Ken Barlow to care for him in the latter years of his life. He died in 1984, having lived in the same house since 1919.
Remembered for: The grumpiness. Ken speaking fondly of him. The Rovers toilets being in his kitchen.
Played by: Jack Howarth
Will it be available as a full list somewhere later ?