Rita Sullivan in Coronation Street (also known Rita Tanner and Rita Fairclough),is a former nightclub singer, one-time owner of the Kabin, and all-round Weatherfield legend.
She appeared in Corrie briefly in 1964 when she was still Rita Littlewood, a belly dancer at the Viaduct Sporting Club.
She shocked the street by moving in with Dennis Tanner while his mother Elsie Tanner was away. But that wasn’t her only scandalous affair as she also embarked on a relationship with married man Anthony Stephens in 2000.
Read more: Who plays Phill’s ex-wife Camilla in Coronation Street? Where have you seen her before?
Who was Rita married to?
Rita returned to Weatherfield full-time in 1972.
When she first returned to Weatherfield, Rita was in a relationship with a chap called Harry Bates.
But when Len Fairclough caught her eye, she realised it was Len she wanted. After a lot of ups and downs in what was a pretty stormy romance, Rita and Len got married in 1977.
Len even bought the Kabin and made Rita manageress.
The pair wanted to adopt children but found out they were too old, so instead they became foster parents – Sharon Gaskell was the one of their foster kids.
Rita and Alan Bradley
After Len’s death, Rita took in another foster daughter – Jenny Bradley – and when Jenny’s dad, Alan Bradley arrived on the street, the pair began a relationship.
But Alan was not a good man. He cheated on Rita with Rovers barmaid Gloria Todd, arranged a wedding out of the blue – which Rita refused – and even posed as Len to remortgage Rita’s house.
When Rita found out about the con, she confronted Alan. He tried to strangle her and was charged with attempted murder.
Alan, though, got found not guilty and began stalking Rita. He followed her to Blackpool where a terrified Rita ran away from him and Alan got hit by a tram and died – in one of Corrie’s most iconic episodes.
When did Rita marry Ted Sullivan?
Rita – wisely – stayed single for a while until she met Ted Sullivan. The pair planned a wedding but just before they tied the knot, Ted admitted he had a terminal brain tumour.
He died just a few months later.
Rita, who had been planning to retire abroad with Ted, gave up her plans and stayed put on the cobbles.
Did Rita marry Alec Gilroy?
After Ted’s untimely death. Rita had a marriage proposal from Alec Gilroy, who’d rescued her from a carbon monoxide leak.
Rita said no at first, then changed her mind.
But after the pair got engaged, they decided they couldn’t trust one another and said their goodbyes. Rita later got a proposal from Norris Cole, but turned him down.
Who was Anthony Stephens in Coronation Street?
Rita met mild-mannered bookseller Anthony Stephens in 2000.
Their meeting began one of her most scandalous relationships ever.
He and Rita became close friends, but it was revealed his wife, Isabel, was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
Anthony revealed he was lonely without his wife and wanted companionship from Rita. But it soon led to more when they shared a kiss.
Rita met his children, Gregory and Amanda, who made it very clear they didn’t like her. Amanda in particular, made it her mission to get rid of Rita.
Although Rita remained strong, even moving Anthony into Alec’s old flat, which shared an adjoining door with her place. However, when Anthony decided to file for divorce she was horrified.
When Isabel died, Anthony felt guilty and things between him and Rita deteriorated. He ended up going to New Zealand to stay with his sister.
He asked Rita to join him but she declined.
Anthony then tried again once he was there, writing to her asking her to come over, but she ended their relationship for good.
When did Rita marry Dennis Tanner?
Rita’s next serious relationship was with old flame Dennis Tanner turned up in the street.
He’d fallen on hard times and Rita spotted him at a soup kitchen.
The pair tied the knot – after a bit of drama with loan shark Rick Neelan.
But Dennis’s head was turned by Gloria Price and he and Rita were soon on the rocks. Poor Rita was humiliated when Gloria left Weatherfield – and Dennis went too.
Who plays Rita?
Legendary actress Barbara Knox plays Rita. She was a stage and television actress before she landed the role of Rita, and she’s the second-longest-serving cast member in Corrie, behind William Roache, who plays Ken Barlow.
Barbara has won reams of awards for her performance as Rita, including a lifetime achievement award at the British Soap Awards in 2004.
She has been married and divorced twice, and has three children.
How old is Barbara?
Barbara was born in September 1933, making her 88 years old.
Is Rita still in Corrie?
Though recently, the focus has been on the younger Corrie cast members, Rita is still part of the show and is very popular with fans.
And more of her can be seen in Classic Corrie on ITV3, where the scandalous Anthony affair is being played out.
Want more spoilers from Coronation Street? Entertainment Daily has a dedicated Coronation Street spoilers section for you to get your fix before the latest episodes air.
Coronation Street usually airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV.
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