List of Coronation Street characters introduced in 2015
Coronation Street is a British soap opera first broadcast on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters that appeared in 2015, by order of first appearance.
All characters are introduced by series producer Stuart Blackburn. Beth Tinker's grandmother, [|Agnes] Tinker, and [|Hamish Young], a potential love interest for Michelle Connor, were introduced in January, while Linda Hancock, the estranged mother of Izzy and Katy Armstrong, began appearing from February. Michael Rodwell's long-lost son, [|Gavin Rodwell], began appearing from March, as did Jackson Hodge, the father of Faye Windass' baby. Faye and Jackson's baby daughter Miley Windass, Eileen Grimshaw's new love interest [|Adrian Mortimer] and the first regular character of the year, Cathy Matthews, a love interest for widower Roy Cropper, began appearing from April. A love interest for Liz McDonald and a face from Leanne Battersby's past, [|Dan Jones], and Robert Preston's secret wife, [|Joni], made their debuts in June and July respectively. August saw the arrivals of wildlife explorer [|Dougie Ryan], and his daughter [|Caitlin Ryan], as well as an extension to the Connor family, Aidan Connor. Cathy's nephew, [|Alex Warner], and Steph Britton's ex-boyfriend, Jamie Bowman, arrived in September. October saw the arrivals of Aidan's father, [|Johnny Connor] and sister, [|Kate Connor], as well as Cathy's sister and Alex's mother, Nessa Warner. Caz Hammond, Kate's fiancée, first appeared in November.
Agnes Tinker
Agnes Tinker, played by former Last of the Summer Wine actress Juliette Kaplan, made her first screen appearance on 5 January 2015. The character and casting was announced on 21 December 2014. Kaplan was initially set to appear in four episodes, but this was later extended to eight.Agnes is Beth Tinker's grandmother, who comes to Weatherfield for her wedding to Kirk Sutherland. She arrives with her daughter [|Nancy] and her granddaughter [|Arlene]. The women initially mistake Jason Grimshaw for Kirk and are disappointed when Kirk does eventually turn up. Agnes tells Arlene's daughter, Sinead that she will leave everything to her when she dies. Believing Kirk is not around, Agnes, Nancy and Arlene start making unkind remarks about him and his job. Beth and Kirk get married and Agnes leaves after the reception.
A few weeks later, Sinead is badly injured in a minibus crash and Agnes returns to the Street. She attempts to calm Chesney Brown down, after he is involved in a confrontation with Steve McDonald. Agnes visits Sinead and decides to stay for a while to help out. She tells Beth, Chesney and Kirk off for not pulling their weight when it becomes obvious that Sinead did most of the housework and cooking.
Nancy Tinker
Nancy Tinker, played by Kate Fitzgerald, is Arlene and Beth Tinker's mother. The character and casting was announced on 21 December 2014. She arrives in Weatherfield for Beth and Kirk Sutherland's wedding in alongside Arlene and Agnes Tinker. The women initially mistake Jason Grimshaw for Kirk and are disappointed when Kirk does eventually turn up. Believing Kirk is not around, Agnes, Nancy and Arlene start making unkind remarks about him and his job. Beth and Kirk get married and during the party in The Rovers Return Inn, Nancy takes two bottles of wine and is caught by Liz McDonald.She later returned for Sinead Tinker's wedding to Chesney Brown and was shocked when Chesney jilted her at the altar. The following year she attended Bertie Osbourne's christening and then visited Sinead on her deathbed.
Arlene Tinker
Arlene Tinker, played by Alison Burrows, is Beth Tinker's sister and Sinead Tinker's mother. The character and casting was announced on 21 December 2014. Arlene comes to Beth and Kirk Sutherland's wedding. The night before the wedding, Kirk comes down the stairs to find Agnes, Arlene and Nancy insult him. In The Rovers Return Inn, Arlene flirts with Dev Alahan, which makes Julie Carp and Mary Taylor jealous.Arlene returns for Sinead's wedding to Chesney Brown, and her grandson Bertie Osbourne's christening, before visiting Sinead on her deathbed.
Hamish Young
Hamish Young, played by James Redmond, made his first screen appearance on 5 January 2015. The character and casting was announced on 31 October 2014. Redmond was contracted for a three-week guest stint. Hamish was introduced as a love interest for Michelle Connor.Hamish comes to The Rovers Return Inn to ask Michelle to organise an event for his daughter's birthday. He also asks her out for a drink, but she turns him down. Michelle later changes her mind and they go to the bistro nearby. Michelle tries to keep their relationship professional, as she is just getting over her break-up with Steve McDonald. However, she and Hamish soon begin dating. After Michelle is involved in a minibus crash, Hamish comes to the Rovers to see her. When he learns of her intentions to get back together with Steve, Hamish leaves.
Michael Cregan from Inside Soap observed "There's a gleam in Michelle's eye tonight as she meets handsome new client Hamish. It's not hard to see why, as he's played by the lovely James Redmond". Caroline Corcoran from the Daily Mirror liked the character and felt sympathy for him when Michelle reconciled with Steve. Corcoran said "Oh Non Scottish Hamish! Poor Non Scottish Hamish. The most well-rounded, normal, least psychotic man to arrive on the cobbles in at least 20 years and he's binned off in the space of five dates, via that well-known break-up method where you get your ex-boyfriend along to hold your hand and hope that your new boyfriend gets the message." Corcoran hoped Hamish would return and become a love interest to another character.
Linda Hancock
Linda Hancock, played by Jacqueline Leonard, made her first screen appearance on 9 February 2015. Leonard's casting was announced on 18 November 2014, while the character has previously been mentioned by her on-screen family members. Of joining the cast, Leonard said "I am incredibly honoured and excited to be joining the amazing cast of Coronation Street. I love the Northern wit and humour along with the drama and tension that the wonderful scripts of Coronation Street encapsulate. So excited to start!" Linda returned in 2022 and again in 2023 for Chesney and Gemma's wedding.Linda is established character Owen Armstrong's ex-wife and the mother of Izzy and Katy Armstrong. She will come to Weatherfield from Portugal to try and develop a relationship with her daughters, with whom she has not had contact in years. However, Izzy and Katy "believe it's far too late to build bridges", as Owen told them that Linda walked out on them as young children as she could not cope. Daniel Kilkelly from Digital Spy reported that it soon becomes clear Owen has not told Izzy and Katy the whole truth. Linda's presence will also test Owen's relationship with Anna Windass.
Owen is horrified when Linda arrives out of the blue from Portugal, where she has remarried and divorced again, to see her daughters. Izzy recognises her and is equally upset by her arrival; however, Katy, who was much younger when Linda left, is intrigued to find out more about her mother. Izzy remains hostile as she believes Linda left because she couldn't cope with having a daughter in a wheelchair. She is shocked when Linda forces Owen to admit that this wasn't true and that he said it in revenge for Linda having an affair. Linda also reveals Owen blocked her attempts to have any relationship with her daughters after she left. After this, Izzy begins to warm to Linda and she and Katy enjoy spending time with their mother. Upset at the idea of leaving them when she returns to Portugal, Linda asks both her daughters to come to live with her there. Izzy says she can't take her son Jake away from his father, but Katy is tempted, despite being in a similar situation with her own son, Joseph. When Owen confronts Linda, she admits she still loves him and asks him for a second chance, suggesting he follow them to Portugal. Owen refuses, saying he loves Anna. Linda is upset but delighted when Katy, after being dumped by Callum Logan, opts to take her up on her offer. Linda returns to Portugal and Katy and Joseph later join her.
Gavin Rodwell
Gavin Rodwell, played by Mark Holgate, made his first screen appearance on 2 March 2015. The character's introduction was confirmed on 6 January 2015, while Holgate's casting was announced on 13 January. Gavin is Michael Rodwell's real son, his friend Andy Carver having pretended to be him.Andy's girlfriend, Steph Britton, the only person who knows his secret, goes to his flat and finds Gavin there. She explains that she is Andy's girlfriend and Gavin makes her stay for a drink. He tells Steph that he has just returned from Thailand and he lost his phone abroad, so he has not been in contact with Andy. Steph and Andy later try to remove any evidence from the flat; however, Gavin finds a payslip from Nick's Bistro in his name. Andy tries to tell Gavin he used his name to avoid his wages being used on his overdraft but, aware Gavin deserves to know about Michael's hereditary heart condition, admits the truth. Despite Andy pointing out that he could have the same condition as Michael, Gavin is not interested in seeing his father or finding out more, being still bitter about Michael leaving him as a child. Andy worries the shock of learning the truth could kill Michael and begs Gavin to keep quiet. Gavin tells Andy that he will – in exchange for £5,000.
When Andy takes the bistro's takings to the bank, he and Steph fake a mugging in order to give the money to Gavin. However, it isn't enough, and Gavin opts to blackmail Michael's fiancée Gail McIntyre instead. Gail is horrified by Andy's deception, but agrees to pay Gavin off to protect Michael. Gavin then plans to return to Thailand, but he crashes his car and dies soon afterwards. Having seen Gavin had been drinking, Andy and Gail believe Gavin simply lost control of the car. However, Michael's aunt Barbara Deakin later visits Gail and reveals Gavin had a heart attack at the wheel, meaning he inherited Michael's heart condition.