Coronation Street characters: The top 60 for the soap’s 60th anniversary

Coronation Street officially turns 60 years old on Wednesday (December 9 2020).

To celebrate we have put together a list of Entertainment Daily’s top 60 Coronation Street characters.

Over 60 years viewers have seen many great Coronation Street characters come and go. But who are some of the greatest?

Coronation Street characters: Top 60

60. Albert Tatlock

Albert was played by Jack Howarth. The character appeared from 1960 – 1984.

He was one of the original coronation street characters. His wife Bessie died in 1959 leaving Albert a widower.

He had a daughter named Beattie. In 1984, whilst visiting Beattie Albert died in his sleep.

59. Ena Sharples

Ena was played by Violet Carson from 1960 – 1980.

Another of the original Coronation Street characters, Ena was respected but feared by many.

She married Alfred Sharples in 1920, however he died in 1937. Together they had three children Vera, Madge and Ian.

In 1980 she decided to move to St Annes and never returned to the Street.

58. Janice Battersby

Vicky Entwistle played Janice from 1997 – 2011.

Janice first appeared in early 1997 and later that year, Janice, husband Les, daughter Toyah and step daughter Leanne moved into 5 Coronation Street.

The Battersbys were unpopular with their neighbours due to their antisocial behaviour.

Janice and Les didn’t end up staying together.

In 2011, Janice decided to travel the world with boyfriend Trevor. Although she has been mentioned since, she hasn’t returned.

57. Fiona Middleton

Played by Angela Griffin from 1992 – 1998. She also made a brief appearance in 2019.

Fiona Middleton was a hairdresser. She had an on and off relationship with Steve McDonald. In 1997 she gave birth to Alan McKenna’s son, Morgan.

Fiona left the cobbles in 1998 with her baby boy.

Last year it was revealed Fiona was pregnant with Steve’s child when she left Weatherfield in 1999.

Steve got a shock when he discovered his neighbour Emma Brooker was actually his daughter.

Although Fiona has never returned to the cobbles, she appeared in a video call last year when talking to Emma.

56. Kirk Sutherland

Kirk is played by Andy Whyment and is one of the current Coronation Street characters.

Appearing from 2000 until present. Andy celebrated 20 years on the cobbles this year.

Kirk didn’t have much luck with love until he met Beth Tinker. The pair married in 2015 and although he soon found out she was a bigamist, they remained together.

Kirk became a father figure to Beth’s son Craig.

55. Tim Metcalfe

The character Tim is played by Joe Duttine.

Tim first appeared in 2013 and is still on the cobbles.

Street youngster Faye got in contact with Tim online and it was revealed he is her biological father. He went on to marry Sally Metcalfe, but after discovering he is a bigamist, he divorced his wife Charlie and married Sally for real in 2020.

This year Tim defended his dad Geoff, believing he was being abused by his wife Yasmeen. But Tim was disgusted to learn that Geoff was the abuser.

54. Abi Franklin

Abi is played by Sally Carman and, like most Coronation characters, she has had some dramatic storylines.

She first appeared in 2017 as Seb’s mother. She struggled with addiction and eventually her twins Charlie and Lexi were taken into care.

The mechanic started to turn her life around after coming to the cobbles. After sharing a cell with Sally Metcalfe in prison, the two became close friends and, when Abi was released, Sally offered her a place to live.

Abi now lives with Kevin and his son Jack and often has contact with Seb.

53. Becky McDonald

Played by Katherine Kelly, Becky first appeared in 2006 and left in 2012.

She had a relationship with Steve McDonald and in 2009, Becky was the third woman to become Mrs McDonald. However the two split in 2011.

Tracy and Steve had a one-night stand and she fell pregnant with twins, however she had a miscarriage. She fell down the stairs during an argument with Becky, she claimed Becky pushed her and the fall caused her to lose her babies.

Steve then went on to marry Tracy in 2012, but Becky dramatically provided evidence proving Tracy lost the babies before she fell down the stairs.

Becky then moved to Barbados with her new boyfriend Danny.

52. Sophie Webster

Currently played by Brooke Vincent, she is one of the Coronation Street characters who have been played by more than one actress.

Sophie was previously played by Ashleigh Middleton from 994 until 1997, then by Emma Woodward from 1997 until 2004.

Brooke took over the role in 2004 and has played Sophie ever since.

Last year, Sophie left the cobbles to go travelling. In real life, Brooke went on maternity leave to have her son Mexx.

Brooke is now expecting her second baby.

51. Sean Tully

Sean is played by Antony Cotton.

Sean first appeared in 2003. In 2008, Sean became a father to Dylan after he and best friend Violet slept together.

Violet cut contact with Sean when she moved to London. However he got back in contact with her a few years later and she allowed him to see his son.

He currently works behind the bar of the Rovers and as a machinist at Underworld, and his son Sean made his return to Weatherfield this year.

50. Leanne Battersby

The character Leanne has been played by Jane Danson since 1997.

Leanne, stepsister Toyah, dad Les and stepmother Janice first moved to the cobbles in 1997 and weren’t the most popular neighbours.

She has been married to Nick Tilsley twice and Peter Barlow.

Recently Leanne and Steve’s son Oliver died. The little boy was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease earlier this year.

49. Maria Connor

Samia Longchambon has played Maria Connor since 2000.

In 2008, she married Liam Connor but he was killed not long after. Maria was pregnant with her and Liam’s son and in 2009 she gave birth, naming her baby after his dad.

Earlier this year, Maria remarried. She is now wed to Gary Windass, unaware of some of the crimes he has committed. But for how much longer?

48. Adam Barlow

Adam Barlow first appeared in 2001. He was originally played by Iain De Caestecker from 2001 until 2003.

But in 2004 Samuel Robertson took over the role.

Adam married Sarah Platt earlier this year. However they split not long later.

He recently had a one-night stand with his uncle Peter’s girlfriend, Carla.

47. Alma Halliwell

Alma was played by Amanda Barrie on and off from 1981 until 2001.

Amanda married Mike Baldwin in 1992. They ended up getting a divorce after Alma became fed up of Mike’s cheating.

But when she died in 2001 Mike, Ken Barlow and Audrey Roberts were by her side.

She had terminal cancer of the cervix and slipped away peacefully at Audrey’s home.

46. Mel Hutchwright/Lionel Hipkis

Lionel, aka Mel, was played by Sir Ian McKellen from May 1 2005 until May 22 2005.

Lionel was a free-loading conman who had a fake name, Mel Hutwright.

He pretended to be an author and tried to get cobbles residents to pay for his next book to be published.

Eventually Ken found out who he really was and he was forced to leave the cobbles.

45. Billy Mayhew

Billy is played by Daniel Brocklebank and one of the current Coronation Street characters.

He first appeared in 2014 and is still on the cobbles.

In 2017, he became the guardian of his goddaughter Summer when her dad, Billy’s ex-boyfriend, Drew died.

He recently became Archdeacon and is currently living with Summer and his boyfriend Paul in 19a Rosamund Street.

44. Schmeichel

Some Coronation street characters are more memorable than others.

Schmeichel first appeared in 2004 when Tyrone Dobbs found him on his doorstep.

Tyrone struggled to look after Schmeichel and his other dog, Monica, and gave him to Chesney.

Chesney and Schmeichel became the best of friends. But in 2011, Chesney had to make the heart-breaking decision to have him put to sleep after he was diagnosed with liver cancer.

43. Liam Connor

The character Liam was played by Rob James-Collier from 2006 until 2008.

He is the brother of Michelle Connor.

Despite being engaged to Maria Sutherland, he had an affair with Carla Connor (who had been married to his late brother, Paul).

But when Carla’s fiancé Tony learnt of their affair, he arranged for Liam to be killed in a hit and run. He died before Maria could tell them she was pregnant with their son.

42. Brian Tilsley

Brian Tilsley was played by Christopher Quentin from 1978 until 1989.

He was Gail’s first husband and the biological father of Nick Tilsley and Sarah Barlow.

Brian and Gail were on and off, marrying twice; the first time in 1979 and the second in 1988.

In 1989, Brian died after he was beaten up by a group of thugs outside a nightclub.

41. Alan Bradley

Alan  was played by Mark Eden from 1986 until 1989.

He famously had a relationship with Rita Sullivan, who became a mother-figure to his daughter Jenny.

But Alan became abusive. He was killed in 1989 when he ran in front of a tram in Blackpool chasing Rita, who was trying to get away from him.

His daughter Jenny is currently the landlady of the Rovers.

40. Spider Nugent

Geoffrey ‘Spider’ Nugent was played by Martin Hancock on and off from 1997 until 2003.

He is the nephew of Emily Bishop.

During his time he had a relationship with Toyah Battersby and, after they both left the cobbles, they spent many years together.

But they eventually split up. Spider is now living and working in Peru.

39. Elsie Tanner

One of the earlier Coronation Street characters, Elsie was played by Patricia Phoenix on and off from 1960 until 1984.

In her life, Elsie had four husbands. But she had two children, Linda and Dennis, with her first husband Arnold.

After her time on the cobbles, Elsie moved to Portugal. However she and her husband Bill were found dead in a sports car which had been driven off a cliff.

38. Bethany Platt

Originally Bethany was played by twins Amy and Emily Walton from 2000 until 2007. However in 2015, Lucy Fallon took on the role.

Bethany is the daughter of Sarah Barlow. When Sarah was 13, she was shocked to discover she was pregnant.

In 2007 Sarah and Bethany moved to Milan, but Sarah was forced to come back to Weatherfield in 2015, when Bethany ran away to the cobbles.

Bethany left the Street earlier this year for an internship in London.

37. Eccles/Lady Freckles

Eccles the dog was on-screen from 2006 until 2020 and was played by two dogs.

Lady Freckles’ owner Lena died in 2006, and Lena left her to Blanche. Blanche looked after the dog and renamed her Eccles.

When Blanche died in 2010, Deirdre looked after her. But when Deirdre died in 2015, Ken became Eccles’ owner.

Eccles died in 2020 leaving Ken and the rest of the Barlow family devastated.

36. Michelle Connor

Kym Marsh played Michelle Connor from 2006 until 2019.

Michelle had an on-off relationship with Steve McDonald over the years. But they split for good in 2017 when she found out he fathered Leanne’s son, Oliver.

Last year Michelle left the cobbles after ex-fiancé Robert Preston died. Michelle moved to Ireland.

35. Tyrone Dobbs

Alan Halsall has played Tyrone Dobbs since 1998.

Tyrone was never close to his mother Jackie and Jack and Vera became his surrogate parents.

In 2018, Tyrone found out Jackie wasn’t his biological mother. He went to track down his mother and he found his grandmother Evelyn.

Tyrone is a co-owner of Websters’ auto-centre, where he is also a mechanic. He currently lives with his grandmother Evelyn, girlfriend Fiz and their daughters Hope and Ruby.

34. Evelyn Plummer

Evelyn is played by Maureen Lipman. She first appeared in 2o18 when Tyrone was trying to track down his birth mum.

She is Tyrone’s maternal grandmother. Currently she lives with Tyrone, his girlfriend Fiz and their daughters Hope and Ruby in number 9 Coronation Street.

33. Emma Brooker

Alexandra plays Emma Brooker, one of the Coronation Street characters from the present day. Emma first appeared in 2018.

Last year it was revealed her mum is former cobbles resident Fiona Middleton and she is the daughter of Steve McDonald.

She currently works as a hairdresser at Audrey’s and as a barmaid in the Rovers.

32. Reg Holdsworth

Ken played Reg Holdworth from 1989 until 1995.

Reg was manager of Bettabuy and Firmans Freezers. He married Veronica Hardback in 1989. However they split and he married Maureen Naylor in 1994.

His final appearance was in 1995 but, in 2010, he appeared in Coronation Street: A Knight’s Tale – which was a spin off.

31. Annie Walker

Annie was played by Doris Speed MBE from 1960 until 1983.

She was the first on-screen landlady of the Rovers pub and was one of the original Coronation Street characters.

Annie and Jack ran the pub but, in 1970, Jack died. In 1983, Annie retired and her son Billy ran the Rovers for a short time.

30. Dev Alahan

Dev is played by Jimmi Harkishin and first appeared in 1999, and is still on the cobbles.

Over the years, Dev has been involved in a number of big storylines, including when his ex-girlfriend Maya Sharma tried to kill both him and Sunita.

Dev is known to have four children, Shareen, Amber, Asha and Aadi. However, as Dev was known to have relationships with his employees, it is thought he has more kids.

29. Alf Roberts

Alf was played by Bryan Mosely on and off from 1961 until 1999.

Alf was a shopkeeper and councillor. In 1985 he married his third wife, hairdresser Audrey Potter.

Alf served as a councillor for over 30 years, but he lost his seat to Deirdre Barlow in 1989. Shortly after this he had a heart attack. In the 90s Alf was elected as a councillor again.

At Nick Tilsley’s 18th birthday party on New Year’s Eve 1998, Alf sat in a chair worn out from dancing.

Party-goers thought he had fallen asleep, but it turned out Alf had a stroke. It wasn’t until Audrey tried to wake him up that they realised he had died.

28. Tracy McDonald

Tracy first appeared in 1977 and is still on the cobbles to this day. Tracy was originally played by Christabel Finch. In 1985 Holly Chamarette played the role for three years.

In 1988 Dawn Acton took on the role and left the show in 1999 after eleven years of playing Tracy.

Back in 2002, Tracy returned played by Kate.

Currently, Tracy is married Steve McDonald. The couple have a daughter, Amy, together. She’s also a killer and served time in prison for knocking off lover Charlie Stubbs.

27. Pat Phelan

Phelan was played by Connor McIntyre on and off from 2013 until 2018.

In 2013 he went into business with Owen Armstrong. However he tried to blackmail Owen out of his share.
He later forced Owen’s partner at the time, Anna Windass, into sleeping with him to protect her son Gary, after he assaulted Phelan.

Phelan later went on to kill Andy Carver, Luke Britton, Vinny Ashwood and Michael Rodwell.

He eventually married Eileen Grimshaw. However when the truth about Pat’s crimes came out, he went on a rampage in the Bistro holding guests of Michelle and Robert’s wedding hostage.

But he was taken down by Anna Windass who stabbed him, killing him.

26. Steve McDonald

Steve is played by Simon Gregson. Steve first appeared in 1989 with his brother Andy, mum Liz and dad Jim.

Over the years, Steve has been married seven times to five different women.

He is currently married to Tracy Barlow and has four children. Sadly his son Oliver was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease earlier this year and recently died, Steve’s son Ruairi was born prematurely in 2017 and died.

Steve currently lives with Tracy and his daughter Amy.

25. Peter Barlow

Peter first appeared in 1965 and over the years has been played by seven different actors.

Currently Peter is played by Chris Gascoyne who took on the role in 2000.

Over the years, Peter has struggled with alcohol addiction.

Peter married Leanne Battersby in 2010. Their relationship was on and off for many years however they didn’t last and eventually split for good.

Despite them splitting up, Leanne remained a mother-figure to Peter’s son, Simon, whose biological mum Lucy died in 2008.

He has had an on and off relationship with Carla Connor for years.

In the last few years, Peter and Carla got back together and are currently living in the Rovers with Jenny and Johnny Connor.

However, Peter is set to discover Carla slept with his nephew Adam and all hell will break loose.

24. Mike Baldwin

Mike Baldwin was played by Johnny Briggs from 1976 until 2006.

During his time on the cobbles, Mike had a famous feud with Ken Barlow. In 1982, Mike became close to Ken’s wife Deirdre and the two had an affair.

But Ken found out and, in the end, Deirdre chose Ken.

He later went on to marry Ken’s daughter Susan Barlow, much to Ken’s annoyance. Mike and Susan had a son together named Adam.

Having suffered with Alzheimer’s for several months, Mike had a shock heart attack on the cobbles in April 2006. He ended up dying in the arms of his nemesis, Ken, in heart-breaking scenes.

23. Norris Cole

Norris is played by Malcolm Hebden. Norris has been on and off from 1994 until present.

Over the years, Norris has struck up good friendships with Rita Sullivan, Emily Bishop, Ken Barlow and Mary Taylor. He worked in The Kabin with Rita for many years.

Norris and Mary married in 2017, however it was part of a competition.

Over the past few years, Norris has appeared on and off in the show. In 2017, Malcolm suffered a heart attack and was off-screen for some time.

However Norris visited Weatherfield last year, to announce he was selling No.3 and he and his fiancée Freda would be moving to Edinburgh.

Earlier this year, Ken moved into a local retirement home with girlfriend Claudia and was shocked to find Norris and Freda living there.

22. Emily Bishop

Emily is played by Eileen Derbyshire.

She first appeared in 1960. Currently the character Emily is off-screen living in Edinburgh.

During her nearly 60 years on the cobbles, Emily had an eventful life. In 1972 she married Ernest Bishop and the two had a happy marriage. But Ernest was shot and killed in a robbery.

Emily found love again with Arnold Swain and the two married in 1980. However she soon discovered he was still legally married to his first wife.

Last year, Emily appeared via video call to wish her friend, cobbles resident Ken Barlow, a Happy 80th Birthday.

21. Hayley Cropper

Character Hayley was played by Julie Hesmondhalgh from 1998 until 2014.

Hayley was the first transgender character in a British soap opera.

During her time on the show, Hayley met Roy and the two became a couple. As the pair couldn’t have children of their own, they fostered Fiz Brown in 2001 and later became foster parents to Wayne Hayes.

Roy and Hayley got married in 2010.

In 2013 Hayley was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In January 2014, Hayley made the decision to take her own life and died in Roy’s arms.

20. Sally Webster

Tina was played by Michelle Keegan from 2008 and 2014.

In 2014, Tina was killed by Rob Donovan when she threatened to expose his and Tracy’s knock-off stuff in their shop.

Tina had also been having an affair with Peter Barlow, who was in a relationship with Rob’s sister Carla.

After Rob attacked Tina, she went to hospital where she required surgery for a brain injury. However she died a few days later.

Peter went to court after being charged with Tina’s murder. But eventually Rob confessed to the crime.

18. Mary Taylor

Mary is played by Patti Clare. She first appeared in 2008 and is still on the cobbles.

Mary is well-known for her truly hilarious one-liners and love of TV host Ben Shephard.

Over the years she became good friends with Norris Cole. The two married in 2017 but their relationship was never romantic.

In 2016, Mary confessed she had given birth to a baby in the ’80s and was forced to give him up. In December of that year, she met her son Jude.

She later met her daughter-in-law Angie and grandson George. But as time went on, Mary learnt Jude had been lying about his job and caused many problems for her.

Jude left Weatherfield last year after splitting from his wife. Soon Angie and George moved back to South Africa, saying an emotional goodbye to Mary.

Mary is currently living with Sean, Eileen and Todd at number 11.

17. Jason Grimshaw

Jason was played by Ryan Thomas from 2000 until 2016. He is the son of Eileen Grimshaw and half-brother of Todd.

In 2014, Jason was reunited with his father Tony Stewart. However he left the cobbles in 2015 and died five months later, leaving Jason devastated.

Later Tony was blamed for Callum Logan’s murder, when it was actually Kylie Platt who killed him.

In 2016, Jason left the cobbles to go and live in Thailand. The character is still mentioned regularly.

16. Craig Tinker

He first appeared in 2011 alongside his mum Beth, who was meeting her old flame Steve McDonald. However Steve only arranged the meeting to make his wife at the time, Becky, jealous.

Craig is now a Weatherfield police officer and has found love with Faye. But for how long if he discovers she slept with boss Ray?

15. Liz McDonald

Liz is played by Beverley Callard.

Liz first appeared in 1989 alongside her husband Jim and sons Steve and Andy.

In 2006 she became landlady of the Rovers Return and ran the pub alongside her son Steve. Although Stella Price bought the pub in 2011, just two years later, Steve bought the Rovers back and Liz ended up back behind the bar.

Recently Liz left the cobbles, however her exit was not seen on-screen.

Although Liz has left, Beverley has teased coming back to film proper exit scenes.

14. Roy Cropper

Roy is played by David Neilson.

Roy first appeared in 1995 when he was living in the block of flats Deirdre Barlow moved into.

In 1998 Roy met Hayley. The two became a couple.

In 2013, Hayley was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and, in January 2014, she took her own life, leaving Roy heartbroken.

Currently Roy lives above the café Roy’s Rolls with his niece Nina Lucas.

13. Jack Duckworth

Jack Duckworth was played by William Tarmey from 1979 until 2010.

Jack and Vera married in 1957 before their time on the cobbles and have a son, Terry, together.

While Jack and Vera’s marriage was far from perfect, they are an iconic Coronation Street couple.

Jack famously loved his pigeons, although Vera couldn’t stand them.

In January 2008, Jack was devastated when Vera died.

Jack died two years later in 2010 shortly after telling Tyrone he had non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Actress Elizabeth Swan returned for Jack’s final scene as Vera appeared before him and they danced together. Sob!

12. Vera Duckworth

Vera Duckworth was played by Elizabeth Dawn from 1974 until 2008.

She was known for her fog-horn mouth and fulfilled her dream of becoming Rovers landlady for a time.

In January 2008, Vera died from heart failure in her sleep. Her death left, Jack, Tyrone and the rest of her neighbours and friends devastated.

11. Betty Williams

Betty was played by Betty Driver from 1969 until 2011.

She originally arrived on the cobbles to help Maggie Cooke run the corner shop. She moved into the flat above with her husband Cyril.

Betty became famous for her hotpot which was served in the Rovers pub.

Betty made her last appearance in 2011. However in 2012, it was revealed the character had died.

Stella Price, who was the Rovers landlady at that point, put up a picture of Betty in the pub in her memory.

Cobbles residents can still buy Betty’s hotpot from the Rovers.

10. Rita Tanner

Rita Sullivan, aka Rita Tanner, is played by Barbara Knox.

Barbara first joined the ITV soap as Rita in 1964. Rita was working in a club and it was here that she crossed paths with Dennis Tanner.

In 1972, Rita became a regular character and she is still on the cobbles to this day. Her most iconic plot was that Blackpool special and husband Alan’s demise.

9. Bet Lynch

Bet was played by Julie Goodyear on and off from 1966 until 2003.

She was recruited as a barmaid for the Rovers by Billy Walker in 1970. Bet spent 25 years behind the bar. In 1985 she became the manager.

In 1987, she married Alec Gilroy. When the brewery decided to sell the tenancy for the Rovers, Alec bought the pub and Bet stayed on as a manager until her departure in 1995.

In the earlier 90s, Bet and Alec’s relationship began to fall apart and, in 1995, Bet left Weatherfield.

She returned in June 2002 for Betty retirement party. And in 2003, she crossed paths with Liz McDonald, at a Newton & Ridley function.

8. David Platt

David Platt was first played by Thomas Ormson from 1990 until 2000. The same year, Jack P. Shepherd took on the role and is still paying David to this day.

In 2011 David met Kylie Platt and the two married the same year. David became a stepdad to her son Max and in 2013, Kylie gave birth to their daughter Lily.

In 2016, David was devastated when Kylie was killed by Clayton Hibbs.

David went on to meet Shona Ramsey. But when he found out she is the mother of Clayton, he ended things.

He then decided to give their relationship a chance. More recently he was at the centre of an horrific rape storyline.

7. Hilda Ogden

Hilda was played by Jean Alexander from 1964 until 1987.

Hilda was well-known for her tightly-rolled curlers, floral headscarves and marriage to Stan.

In 1964 Hilda, Stan and daughter Irma moved into No.13 Coronation Street. She soon began working in the Rovers Return as a cleaner.

For many years, Hilda had three plaster flying ducks hanging on her ‘mural’ in No.13.

The three ducks are now considered icons of the show. The Bailey family, who live in No.3, have three framed hummingbird pictures.

The soap recently unveiled the Coronation Street special 60th anniversary cast photo, which also includes Hilda’s three flying ducks.

Hilda made her last full appearance on the show on Christmas Day 1987. But she returned for a couple of specials in the 90s.

6. Blanche Hunt

Blanche appeared on and off from 1974 until 2009.

Actress Patricia Cutt played Blanche for her first two appearances. However Maggie Jones took over the role afterwards and continued to play Blanche for 35 years.

Blanche was well-known for her brutal honesty and hilarious one liners.

She was married to Donald Hunt and together they had a daughter, Deirdre. However Donald died before Blanche’s life on the cobbles.

Blanche’s last appearance was in 2009. She went to Portugal to visit her friend Maggie Penn. In May 2010 she was due to return home but died that morning.

5. Gail Platt

Read more: Coronation Street: Who is Annie Walker? What happened to the Rovers’ first on-screen landlady?

At position 5 is Gail Rodwell, aka Gail Platt, played by Helen Worth.

Gail first appeared in 1974 and is one of the longest-standing Coronation Street characters.

Over the years, Gail has had five husbands and been married six times. Her children are Nick Tilsley, who is the son of Brian Tilsley, Sarah Barlow, who is Brian’s biological daughter, but was adopted by Martin Platt, and David Platt, who is Gail’s son with Martin.

Currently, Gail is living with David, daughter-in-law Shona and grandchildren Max and Lily in No.8 Coronation Street.

4. Carla Connor

Carla is played by Alison King. She first appeared in 2006 and is still on the cobbles to this day.

She is one of the most-loved Coronation Street characters of all time.

Carla was married to Paul Connor, Michelle and Liam’s brother, but he died in 2007.

While Carla was in a relationship with Tony Gordon, she had an affair with Liam Connor, who was engaged to Maria Connor.
Tony eventually found out the truth and hired someone to kill Liam in a hit and run.

Over the years, Carla remained good friends with Liam and Paul’s sister Michelle.

Ever since her arrival in Weatherfield, Carla has had a hand in the Underworld factory. Even though she stepped back from her job after the factory roof collapse, she has since returned. She is helping run Underworld with Sarah Barlow and Nick Tilsley.

In 2015, she discovered that Johnny Connor was her real dad and her mum Sharon had an affair with him many years ago. She realised this actually made her cousins with Michelle, Liam and Paul.

3. Deirdre Barlow

Deirdre Barlow was played by Anne Kirkbride from 1972 until 2014.

Over her life Deirdre was married four times and had three different husbands. However her true love was Ken Barlow. While Tracy was the biological daughter of Ray Langton, Ken adopted her and became her father figure.

Deirdre and Ken were on and off over the years. They originally married in 1981, but Deirdre had an affair with Mike Baldwin in 1983. Ken eventually forgave Deirdre but, seven years later, Ken had an affair with his secretary Wendy. Deirdre ended up throwing him out.

In the 90s, Deirdre began a relationship with Jon Lindsay, who was apparently an airline pilot. He treated Deirdre to an extravagant lifestyle but it was all funded by crime and deception.

Deirdre was unaware of this until Jon implicated her in his numerous scams, making her out to be the brains behind it all, when in fact, she had no idea any of it was going on.

She was sentenced to 18 months in prison and so began the “Free the Weatherfield One” campaign, which was so bit it became national news. But when one of Jon’s other victims came forward, Deirdre was released.

Eventually Deirdre and Ken reconciled and remarried in 2005. It wasn’t all smooth sailing, especially when Tracy went to prison for Charlie Stubbs’ murder.

In 2014, Deirdre went to stay with friend Bev Unwin. In July 2015, she was due to return home for her 60th birthday, but Bev arrived and delivered the sad news that Deirdre had died from an aneurysm.

2. Raquel Watts

Raquel Watts was played by Sarah Lancashire on and off from 1991 until 2000.

She was one of the most popular Coronation Street characters of all time.

Raquel was a barmaid at the Rovers. She met her first husband Norman ‘Curly’ Watts at Bettabuy.

Over the years, she only saw Curly as a friend. She was constantly on and off with Des Barnes, who continually cheated.

But in 1995, Raquel and Curly got married. However the following year, Raquel left Curly and went to France.

In 1997, she gave birth to Curly’s daughter Alice. In France she was the housekeeper of Armand de Beaux, but they soon fell in love and had a child together.

Eventually Raquel returned to the cobbles asking Curly for a divorce and to tell him about Alice.

1.Ken Barlow

Ken is played by William Roache MBE and the star is one of the original Coronation Street characters and the only remaining regular.

William has played Ken since December 9 1960 – the soap’s first episode.

Over the years Ken has had many storylines, including affairs, family drama and a famous feud with Mike Baldwin.

He has five children, Lawrence Cunningham, Peter Barlow, Susan Barlow, adopted daughter Tracy Barlow and youngest son, Daniel Osbourne.

While Ken has had quite a few lovers in his time, the love of his life was Deirdre. Sadly Deirdre died in 2015, leaving Ken devastated.

Although Ken moved away from the cobbles this year, he soon returned back to the street as he missed his home. And he is playing a big part in the 60th anniversary episodes airing this week.

William is listed in the Guinness World Records as the longest-serving male television star in a continuous role. Recently, the Coronation Street production team commissioned a portrait to be done of William to celebrate his six decades on the show.

Well, that is it! Our top 60 Coronation Street characters. Happy 60th anniversary Coronation Street – thanks for all the entertainment and education you give us.

And congratulations to William on 60 years on the cobbles!

Here’s to another 60 years of the best show on the box.

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