List of Coronation Street characters introduced in 1989
The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street in 1989, by order of first appearance.
Dawn Prescott
Dawn Prescott, portrayed by Louise Harrison, was a shop assistant at Weatherfield Security Systems when Alan Bradley first opened the shop. She worked alongside him and Martin Platt and her duties were to manage the shop whilst Alan and Martin were on call-outs. Dawn found herself in a messy situation when she realised that Alan got the money to set up the shop from a mortgage he had taken out of No. 7 Coronation Street in the name of Rita's dead ex-husband Len Fairclough and had the letters addressed to the shop so she wouldn't find out. Alan subsequently attempted to rape Dawn, but she luckily elbowed him and ran off. He denied any allegations made against him and made it clear it was his word against hers. Alan was subsequently charged for defrauding Rita with the mortgage money. After leaving the security business, she worked as an estate agent and showed Mike Baldwin and Alma Sedgewick around a new flat on a new dockside development known as Weatherfield Quays. She subsequently dated Mike and ended up getting business dealings with [|Maurice Jones].Alison Oakley
Alison Oakley, played by Helen Swift in 1989 and Shelley Willetts in 1998, is a woman who Brian Tilsley meets in a nightclub on 15 February 1989 after splitting from his wife Gail. Brian tries to defend Alison against three young thugs who begin harassing her, which results in Brian being fatally stabbed. In her first appearance, she is only credited as "Disco Girl" and not by her name. Nine years later, Brian's son Nick seeks her out at a bar to learn the truth about Brian's death. Alison reveals that Brian had goaded his killer, shattering Nick's illusion of his father.Darren Whateley
Darren Whateley, played by Ian Aspinall in 1989 and Andy Robb in 1998, is Brian Tilsley's killer who stabs him when he defends Alison Oakley, a girl he has met at a club, from Darren and two friends. Darren stabs Brian in the abdomen whilst his friends hold him against a wall and leaves him to die in an alleyway. In his first appearance, he is only credited as "Disco Youth" and not by his name. He is subsequently found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Darren reappears in Weatherfield in 1998, by which time he is about to be paroled from his life sentence, when he appears at Brian's son, Nick's college as a guest speaker talking about life in prison. Nick, who was eight years old at the time of the murder, then realises that he is his father's killer. Nick then writes to Darren pretending to be his wife Leanne in order to trap him; however, this backfires, when Leanne's life is endangered after Darren arrives at her home. Leanne and Nick report Darren to the police and he is arrested and his parole is rescinded. He is subsequently returned to prison. However, Leanne and Nick's mother, Gail, later force Nick to tell the police that he set Darren up.[|Tom] Casey
Tom Casey, played by Edward Clayton, was the owner of Casey's Autos. The garage was Tilsley's Autos, which he bought after Brian Tilsley's murder in February 1989. After Brian's death, the garage was being managed by Kevin Webster. A few weeks later, Tom brought his son [|Mark] to work at the garage as he was eager for him to learn the ropes. Tom last appeared at Mark's 21st Birthday party, where he gave him Casey's Autos as a present, but being inexperienced in the business, by the end of 1991, Mark had run the business into the ground.[|Tina Fowler]
Tina Fowler, played by Michelle Holmes, made her first screen appearance on 13 March 1989. Tina was employed as a barmaid in The Rovers Return following the departure of Gloria Todd. She was interviewed by landlady Bet Gilroy in the pub during opening hours and given the job shortly afterwards. Curly Watts set his sights on Tina; however, she rejected him. Rovers cellarman Jack Duckworth became infatuated with Tina; she kept Jack at bay until one day when, for a laugh, she agreed to go out with him on what Jack thought was a date. Tina was happy to spend Jack's money but when he tried to get frisky with her she demanded he drive her home. Jack's wife Vera was furious when she found out about Jack and Tina's "date" and was even more furious when Tina revealed that she only went out with him for a joke which resulted in Vera throwing a pint which missed Tina and drenched landlord Alec Gilroy.Tina won the 'Newton & Ridley's Barmaid of the Month' competition. Tina almost didn't receive the award when she got into a row with Alec. She got revenge by arriving late, making Alec worry that she wouldn't turn up and embarrass the Rovers. The award was presented by Nigel Ridley, who was impressed by the young barmaid and started seeing her in secret. As Nigel was a top brewery director, Tina thought she'd struck gold and started taking liberties at work by not turning up for shifts and demanding a raise. Alec wanted to sack her for that alone, but Bet stopped him after seeing Nigel and Tina kissing. However, when Tina, bored of Percy Sugden 's war stories, told the pensioner that he was barred, Bet sacked her on the spot herself. Tina later saw Nigel at a wine bar to complain about the Gilroys; she found him with a girlfriend and, realising she meant nothing to him, threw a glass of wine over him.
Mark Casey
Mark Casey, played by Stuart Wolfenden, was a mechanic who worked at his father Tom's garage, Casey's Autos. He was the only son of Tom and [|Jean Casey]. He became friends with Kevin Webster and worked with him at the garage until 1990 when he was given the garage for his 21st birthday. He dated many people whilst working there, including Jenny Bradley and her housemate Flick Khan. When he took over the garage, he eventually sacked Kevin for doing cars that belonged to foreigners and due to his inexperience as a businessman, he ran the business into the ground and by the end of 1991, he leaned on Kevin's wife Sally Webster to see if she could persuade Kevin to help him out by giving him a job, but he decided he was not prepared to help him. Mark was Wolfenden's second role in the soap after playing a paper deliverer Craig Russell in 1986 and then returned in 2015 as Greig Hodge, however Mark was his only regular role.Nigel Ridley
Nigel Ridley, played by John Basham, is the son of Patrick Ridley and was appointed the Chief executive of the Newtown and Ridley brewery after Cecil Newton retired to the Isle of Man. In 1990, Ridley introduced the Theme Pub scheme, which clashed with Alec Gilroy. Tina Fowler won the 'Newton & Ridley's Barmaid of the Month' competition. Tina almost didn't receive the award when she got into a row with Alec. She got revenge by arriving late, making Alec worry that she wouldn't turn up and embarrass the Rovers. The award was presented by Nigel, who was impressed by the young barmaid and started seeing her in secret. As Nigel was a top brewery director, Tina thought she'd struck gold and started taking liberties at work by not turning up for shifts and demanding a raise. Alec wanted to sack her for that alone, but Bet stopped him after seeing Nigel and Tina kissing. However, when Tina, bored of Percy Sugden 's war stories, told the pensioner that he was barred, Bet sacked her on the spot herself. Tina later saw Nigel at a wine bar to complain about the Gilroys; she found him with a girlfriend and, realising she meant nothing to him, threw a glass of wine over him.Jean Casey
Jean Casey, played by Mary Cunningham, was the wife of Tom and mother of Mark. Her husband owned Casey's Autos and when he was not able to run his business, she knew enough about the trade to be able to run it herself. She first appears in June 1989 when she tries to convince garage manager, Kevin Webster not to encourage Mark's interest in banger racing. She last appeared at Mark's 21st birthday party when Tom gave him the garage as a birthday present, which he ends up driving into the ground by the end of 1991 due to his lack of experience in running a business.Wendy Crozier
Wendy Papadopoulos, played by Roberta Kerr, made her first screen appearance on 28 June 1989. Wendy worked for the council and had an affair with Ken Barlow, which led to his divorce from his wife, Deirdre.When Mervyn Watson joined Coronation Street as their new producer, he felt that the serial "needed gee-ing up slightly" and set about making changes. He implemented many fast-paced stories, including Wendy and Ken's affair. The storyline began in September 1989, when Wendy is fired from her job at the Town Hall after she leaks information to Ken. He subsequently offers Wendy a job working for his newspaper the Recorder. By October the pair had begun an affair. Kirkbride told Daran Little in his book The Coronation Street Story that she and Roache were upset by the storyline because it ruined their routine. Roache said that he had a hard time understanding why Ken would be unfaithful again. Wendy and Ken's relationship failed and he attempted to reunite with Deirdre. Wendy departed on 7 May 1990.
On 13 July 2012, it was announced Kerr had reprised her role and Wendy would be returning to Coronation Street later in the year. Wendy reappears again as a potential governor for Bessie Street Primary School and she discovers she is up against Ken for the role. The former couple get reacquainted, but Ken decides to keep Wendy a secret from Deirdre. Of Wendy's return, series producer Phil Collinson stated "Ken's affair with Wendy was one of Coronation Street's defining stories during the 1980s. Viewers were on the edge of their seats as they watched the disintegration of The Barlows' marriage and over 20 years later I hope they will be again. I'm delighted to welcome Roberta back as Wendy and can assure viewers that her reunion with Ken will be one of many must-see storylines this summer" Wendy returned on 24 September 2012.
While working as a secretary for the council's Planning Committee, Wendy begins leaking information about corruption to Ken, owner of the Weatherfield Recorder. Ken's wife, Deirdre, who is a councillor, finds out about the leaks and warns Ken and Wendy to stay away from each other. When Deirdre is threatened with removal from the committee, she exposes Wendy as Ken's mole. Consequently, Wendy is sacked from her job. Feeling responsible, Ken gives Wendy a position with the newspaper. Ken and Wendy grow closer and they share a kiss when she cooks him a meal for his birthday. They eventually begin an affair and Wendy decides to leave the newspaper so Ken can use the excuse of having to run the office by himself to stay out late. Wendy starts asking Ken to tell Deirdre about their affair and Ken agrees. However, he does not tell Deirdre and Wendy briefly stops seeing Ken. Deirdre finds out about the affair and throws Ken out. Wendy takes him in and helps him run the newspaper, while he sorts out his finances and the divorce. Deirdre demands half of the Weatherfield Recorder's profits and Ken sells the paper to the Gazette. He and Wendy are kept on in their jobs by the new owners. Wendy forms a bond with Ken's daughter Tracy. Wendy is offered Ken's job when he leaves the paper and their relationship eventually breaks down. Wendy asks Ken to meet her stepmother, Sylvia, but they end up arguing in front of her. Ken becomes depressed and admits to Wendy that he should not have left Deirdre for her. He then walks out on Wendy.
Twenty-two years later, Ken runs for the Chair of Governors at Bessie Street School and is shocked to learn Wendy is also a governor at the school. Things between them are initially awkward, but they go for a drink and agree to put the past behind them and focus on the school. Wendy tells Ken that a year after they parted, she married a man called Christos Papadopoulos and moved to Norfolk. However, Christos got sick and died fifteen years later, so Wendy moved back to Manchester. Now remarried to Deirdre, Ken initially tries to keep Wendy's return a secret from her, but she suspects something and follows him to Wendy's house. When Deirdre confronts Ken, he assures her the relationship is purely professional, with Deirdre reluctantly accepting this. However, Wendy later misconstrues Ken's friendliness and makes a pass at him. Ken politely but firmly turns her down, reasserting his love for Deirdre.
In 2022, Abi Webster is placed under the supervision of Wendy - now an experienced foster carer - as part of her attempt to regain custody of her infant son, Alfie. Wendy is unnerved to hear Abi lives on Coronation Street and tries to hide her reluctance to accompany Abi to visit her husband, Kevin Webster. Abi notices Wendy is uncomfortable on the street, and is shocked when they run into Tracy and she is abusive to Wendy, demanding she stays away. Wendy later admits to Abi that she has 'history' with Ken. After being encouraged by Abi to go and see Ken, she pays a visit to No. 1 and the two agree to put things behind them and become friends. She later develops feelings for Ken and after realising that he feels the same way about her, they decide to rekindle their relationship. Following the return of Ken's ex-lover Martha Fraser, she ends their relationship, having felt a lack of romance between them.