List of Coronation Street characters introduced in 1994
The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street in 1994, by order of first appearance.
Eric Firman
Eric Firman, portrayed by Malcolm Terris, was the owner of Firman's Freezers who appeared on a recurring basis between 1994 and 1998. He first appeared as the best man at Reg Holdsworth's wedding to Maureen Naylor in January 1994. This was mainly as part of a business launch and Eric was the guest of honour, although they knew each other through WARTS, they barely knew each other. In 1995, Eric encouraged Reg, who was manager of the Weatherfield branch of Firman's, to take on Curly Watts as the assistant manager after working with him at Bettabuys. Later that year, he employed his nephew, Leo Firman as the store manager, but later sacked him after Curly reported him for sexually harassing Anne Malone and Raquel Wolstenhulme, the latter he also attempted to rape and subsequently confided in him. In 1996, he accepted Curly's resignation and re-employed Reg as store manager and promoted Anne to assistant store manager.In 1997, Eric took a liking to new shop worker, Alma Baldwin and made her employee of the month as well as putting up blown up photos of her around the shop, without her prior knowledge. After appointing her reluctantly as the face of Firman's Freezers, Eric used her poster to advertise their poorest selling stock, which succeeded in boosting sales. In 1998, Eric stood up against Spider Nugent, who objected to the sales of his Norwegian prawns on the grounds that it supported whaling. The insurance company refused to pay out after Spider sprayed the prawns with antifreeze. In August 1998, Eric sold Firman's Freezers to Freschco.
Tricia Armstrong
Tricia Armstrong, played by Tracy Brabin between 1994 and 1997. Brabin was Labour MP for Batley and Spen from 2016 to 2021, and following that became the inaugural Mayor of West Yorkshire; coincidentally, her last appearance as Tricia aired on 2 May 1997 – the day Tony Blair took office as prime minister.Tricia first appeared when her son [|Jamie] was accused of shoplifting at Bettabuys supermarket. Tricia befriended assistant manager Curly Watts to get Jamie out of trouble and pleaded with Curly to go easy on him. Tricia developed an attraction to Curly and they began dating but the relationship ended when Tricia's ex-husband, Carl, assaulted Jack Duckworth who had been babysitting whilst she and Curly were out on a date.
In January 1995, Tricia and Jamie moved into No. 1 Coronation Street. Tricia befriended her neighbour Vera Duckworth, Jack's wife. Tricia was evicted by her landlord Mike Baldwin after giving him a good run for his money. Percy Sugden helped Tricia secure the house, meaning Mike could not get in, and Jamie even emptied a bowl of water over him whilst the rest of the street were all laughing. Despite this, Tricia and Jamie moved out after Deidre persuaded Mike to let her rent one of his flats he owned on Crimea Street. She befriended her new neighbour, Deirdre Rachid, who helped look after Jamie whilst Tricia worked. Facing financial difficulties, Tricia attempted to get money from Mike by offering to have sex with him but he refused. In January 1996, Tricia was imprisoned for a week for failing to pay a fine for her TV licence. On release, she was overjoyed to be reunited with Jamie. In May, Tricia's unemployment benefits were stopped when she was found to be working as a cleaner for Mike but this time Mike offered to help and gave her a job as a machinist at his factory.
In June, Tricia was attracted to Terry Duckworth, Jack and Vera's son, after he returned to Weatherfield. One night, Tricia got drunk in The Rovers and Terry took her home. Despite Tricia losing her keys, Terry used a credit card to help her gain entry to her flat and they slept together. As a result of this one-night stand, Tricia got pregnant but Terry was not interested in being a father. Jack and Vera let Tricia move into The Rovers with them and she gave birth unexpectedly to her son, Brad, on 14 February 1997 in the back of the pub. Jamie and barmaid Betty Williams helped deliver him. Shortly afterwards, Tricia met decorator Ray Thorpe. They became close and started dating but in April 1997, Terry returned to Weatherfield. Tricia realised that Terry would never be a good role model for her sons and after speaking to Jack, who understood her concerns about Terry and encouraged her to be with Ray, Tricia left Weatherfield with Ray to start a new life with him and her children.
Jamie Armstrong
Jamie Armstrong, played by Joe Gilgun. He lived on Coronation Street for a period of three years between 1994 and 1997.10-year-old Jamie was first seen when he was caught shoplifting from Bettabuys by assistant manager Curly Watts. His mother Tricia flirted with Curly in order to get Jamie out of trouble and they briefly began to date, until her violent ex-husband Carl turned up. Jamie was being looked after by Jack Duckworth whilst Tricia and Curly were on a date, when Carl arrived and attacked Jack. As Tricia and Jamie settled into the street – befriending not only the Duckworths, but Deirdre Barlow and Roy Cropper – Jamie developed interests in Jim McDonald's motorbike and Jack's pigeons. After he turned eleven, Jamie moved from Bessie Street Juniors to Weatherfield Comprehensive. He started looking after Jack's pigeons to get some extra money but seemed genuinely interested in them, cooing and stroking them just like Jack.
Jamie had a reputation of being a troublemaker, and was often the first suspect whenever things went wrong – even if it was not his fault. When he saw someone stealing Josie Clarke's bike he tried to get it back for her, and he was spotted hanging round the back door by Percy Sugden, who thought he had stolen it when the bike was reported missing. Because of his reputation, it was difficult to make people believe him when he was telling the truth. Tricia always defended her son and told everyone to stop picking on him, but would often order him to tell the truth once they were alone.
However, Jamie did have a mischievous streak. He once implemented a bike puncture scam to get some extra money. People came out of their houses and realised they had a puncture. Jamie would be nearby and happened to have a repair kit and offered to fix the tyres and receive money in return. He also helped his mother to get revenge on Mike Baldwin for evicting them, by emptying a chamber pot over his head.
Jamie did not like being without his mother and was extremely close to her. When she was in prison for non-payment of her TV licence, he ran away from the foster home he had been staying at and went back to their flat. Deirdre saw him outside and took him in for the evening. Jamie was very good at assuming an innocent expression that appealed to people's maternal instincts. He was also very concerned when Tricia discovered she was pregnant with Terry Duckworth's child and was trying to decide what to do. Jamie did not know what the problem was, but he wanted to help, and made Tricia breakfast in bed. They moved in with Jack and Vera and Jamie later helped along with Betty Williams to deliver his baby half-brother Brad in the back room of The Rovers.
Jamie finally left the street with Tricia and Brad, when Tricia decided to start a new life for them with decorator Ray Thorpe. She had realised that Terry would never be a suitable father to her children. Jamie was upset at having to leave the street, but Jack and Vera reassured him and they bid a bitter-sweet farewell.
Norris Cole
Norris Cole, played by Malcolm Hebden, made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 11 March 1994. Hebden had previously played the role of Carlos, Mavis Riley's Spanish lover, in 1974. Norris appeared on a recurring basis, until he was axed in April 1997 by Brian Park. However two years later, the character was reintroduced on a regular basis. He has lived for several years with fellow character, Emily Bishop at 3 Coronation Street, first as a lodger, and more recently as the house owner. Hebden retired from acting in 2021 and the character was killed-off offscreen.Sister Radford
Sister Radford, played by Nimmy March, was a nurse at Weatherfield General. She was training Martin Platt, and was present when his seven-year-old adoptive daughter Sarah-Louise was recovering from appendicitis in the children's ward.In March 1994, Sarah-Lou's appendix ruptured and she had an emergency operation. Whilst she was recovering, both Martin and his then wife Gail were disgusted with the lack of attention the patients received. This caused a furious Martin to accuse Sister of focusing on her own priorities rather than help children who needed medical treatment. This upset Sister Radford very much, and she refused to forgive Martin after he apologized. She told Gail and Sarah-Lou's paternal grandmother Ivy Tilsley that Sarah-Lou was making an excellent recovery.
The next day, Sister Radford told Martin that he needs to respect her more in training and they both called a truce, making the excuse that work was stressing them both.
Jon Welch
Jon Welch, portrayed by David Michaels, was a hair stylist with 12 years experience who rented a chair at Denise Osbourne's salon and was successful with customers and colleague, Fiona Middleton. In December 1994, Denise offered Jon first refusal to purchase her salon, but he refused due to marriage complications.In February 1995, Jon entered a hairdressing competition using Raquel Wolstenhulme as a model. As a result, he was awarded second prize. Feeling encouraged, Fiona entered the men's category by styling Steve McDonald's hair and received a special commendation for her achievement at her first competition. As time went by, Jon began to build a relationship with Denise, but nothing materialised. In February 1996, Jon left to reunite with his ex-wife, and Fiona purchased the salon off Denise.