List of Coronation Street characters (1998)

The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street in 1998, by order of first appearance.

Hayley Cropper

Hayley Anne Cropper (née Harold Patterson) is a fictional character from the long-running soap opera, Coronation Street. She made her first appearance on 26 January 1998, and is played by Julie Hesmondhalgh. She is the first transsexual character in a British soap opera and was the first permanent transsexual character in the world of soaps. She is probably best known for her marriage to Roy Cropper (David Neilson). On 11 January 2013, Hesmondhalgh announced she had decided to quit Coronation Street, and she filmed her final scenes on 18 November 2013. Hayley's exit storyline saw her take her own life after being diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Her final appearance was aired on 22 January 2014. Hesmondhalgh has insisted that it was not a "right to die" storyline.

Morgan Middleton

Morgan Middleton is the son of Alan McKenna and Fiona Middleton. He was born on 2 February 1998. She had a drunken one night stand with Jim McDonald, father of her ex-boyfriend, Steve.

Her fling with Jim was revealed on her wedding day as Jim was worried that he was the father of the baby Fiona was expecting. Alan was so angry that he left Fiona and refused to have anything to do with her or the baby, despite medical tests proving that he was Morgan's father. Steve was disgusted with his father and got back with Fiona so he can help her bring Morgan up.

In May 1998, when Zoe Tattersall was grieving over the death of her baby daughter, Shanon, she kidnapped Morgan and went to the canal, where she planned to jump with him. However, she gave Morgan to a policeman, but panicked and jumped into the canal. However, good friend Gary Mallett also jumped in and rescued her. Fiona was furious at Zoe for kidnapping Morgan and decided to press charges on her, much to the anger of Zoe's then good friend, Ashley Peacock.

In September 1998, once Fiona and Steve's relationship broke down, Morgan and his mother left Weatherfield and hasn't been heard of since.

Log Thwaite

Log Thwaite was the eco-warrior girlfriend of Spider Nugent. She temporarily moves into Emily Bishop's home at No. 3 Coronation Street with Spider but a jealous Toyah Battersby drives them apart. Toyah allows Spider to catch Log eating a bacon sandwich she had prepared for Log, angering Spider who thinks that she is betraying her vegan principles.

Jackie Dobbs

Jacqueline "Jackie" Dobbs is a fictional character from the long-running soap opera, Coronation Street. She made her first appearance on 29 March 1998, and was played by Margi Clarke. Jackie is the mother of Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall), and was originally introduced as the cellmate of Deirdre Barlow (Anne Kirkbride). The character left in 1999, but returned again in 2008. Jackie then left again in 2009, before returning for the last time in 2010. She made her final appearance on 18 March 2010.

Greg Kelly

Gregory Paul "Greg" Kelly was played by Stephen Billington. Greg was the long-lost son of Les Battersby and is best known for his ultimately abusive relationship with Sally Webster.

Greg was the result of a holiday romance between Moira Kelly and Les Battersby when he was working on a travelling fairground on the Isle of Wight. Les never kept in touch and it was not until Greg turned up in Weatherfield in April 1998 that Les even knew he had a son. Greg's early years were hard, but when he was around two, his mother started working for Harry Wood whom she subsequently married and he brought Greg up as his own. Moira told Greg about his past when he was 7, but it took Harry's death in September 1997 to spur Greg on to seek his natural father.

Greg previously had played football for Stoke City F.C. when they had been playing at their former ground, Victoria Ground. A cruciate ligament injury however ended his footballing career, and so he followed Harry into the manufacturing and retail fashion business.

With his relationship with his less-than-exemplary biological father expanding, Greg became more involved in the happenings of the Street. He struck up a relationship with Maxine Heavey, the local hairdresser. Always looking for "something better" he had an eye for a business deal and prospective bed partner. Greg convinced Mike Baldwin to take him on as a business partner - he would suss out the deals and Mike would pay him on a commission basis. Mike, seeing this as a win-win proposition agreed. Greg went to work at the factory.

He soon turned his attentions to Sally Webster, who had just lost her mum. Sally had inherited £55,000 and this was very appealing to Greg. He was more interested in her money than her but set his cap to relieve her of some of it. He ended his relationship with Maxine after relieving her of her intended flat above the Corner shop. Sally left her husband Kevin and their daughters behind to enter into what she thought would be a commitment with a new, exciting man. Realizing that she needed her children with her, Sally and the girls moved into the one bedroom flat above the shop. It was a tight fit and one that Greg took an immediate dislike to but he needed Sally's money if he were to make a go of his new underwear venture so he tried to remember the girls' names (unsuccessfully) and play happy families. Greg did not want to be a parent and left the flat as often as he could. It became clear to all but Sally, that Greg was simply using her.

After stealing all the contacts from Mike's computer at the factory, he took Sally's money and started his own company. Mike, not easily taken, fought back and won the contracts back. By now Greg had opened a "shop" and had Sally as his secretary rather than business partner. He felt the "optics" would be better. The loss of the contracts proved a turning point in their relationship however. Unhappy with the living arrangements, and especially with the girls, Greg's temper simmered just below boiling point for weeks. Then upon discovering that Sally had inadvertently told Gail about the contracts, he exploded and hit her, blaming her for the loss.

Sally, stunned at the turn in the relationship, threatened to leave until Greg convinced her it was a one off and that it would not happen again. Of course Greg had spoken to his solicitor to find out what would happen if they broke up. The solicitor informed him that Greg needed Sally and her fast dwindling capital in order to stay in business. Greg needed to come up with another plan - one that would see him financially secure at the expense of Sally. The three of them were crowding his style as well as his apartment and he needed to be shut of the lot - Sally, Rosie and Sophie. But if he had to persevere, to achieve his goal of financial and personal freedom, he would.

It was a short-lived respite from the violence. After a second beating from Greg, Sally took the kids, and what remained of her bank account and fled to Rita's without looking back. Greg, having not paid his rent, was threatened with eviction from the pokey flat over the shop and his life careened out of control. Becoming more and more dishelved the suits looking less smart and his appearance slipping - he turned once again to Maxine who, after a short fashion, cottoned on to his scheme to finagle a free ride and accommodation until something better came along. She quickly sent him off and with nowhere else to go, he ended up at the Battersbys living with his father and his family.

Blaming Sally for all of his problems, Greg began stalking and threatening her. Sally lived in fear for her safety and that of her two young girls. Greg, drunk and unhinged, broke into Rita's apartment and threatened Sally that he would "make her pay for what she did". She escaped what looked to be her final beating, and fled to the safety of the Street. Greg left the Street, after stealing the last of the money from Janice Battersby's leccie tin, at the end of 1998. Greg made a return in May 1999 and held Sally and her two daughters hostage in their own home in an attempt to force her to help him blackmail Mike after he had proof that Mike had been seeing another woman behind his wife Alma's back. The police were called and in a last-ditch attempt to protect her daughters, she hit Greg over the head with a chair, knocking him out cold which was uncalled for. The police then stormed the house and Greg was arrested. He was later charged with false imprisonment.

Edna Miller

Edna Miller first appears in September 1998, as she is interviewed by Jack and Vera Duckworth for the new job as barmaid in the Rovers Return. Her immediate negativity is a turn-off and she fails to get the job. She reappears on 21 June 2000, when it is revealed that she has been working in packing in Underworld and is moved to the factory floor along with Karen Phillips.

It is not long before Edna gets herself into trouble when she gives journalist Ken Barlow a story about the poor working conditions in the factory, which he then publishes in The Weatherfield Gazette. Factory owner Mike Baldwin is livid at the publication and fires Deirdre Barlow, believing her to be Ken's source. Eventually Edna admits that she is the mole and is fired from the factory.

Rovers Return landlady Natalie Barnes then hires Edna as a cleaner in the pub in September 2000. She remains working there until her sudden death on 19 September 2001. In the days leading up to her demise, she claims that she can sense death and firmly believes that landlord Duggie Ferguson will soon meet his end. In a macabre twist of fate, Duggie finds Edna dead in his bed after a night of drinking in the pub. On 23 September 2001, Edna's funeral takes place and the Weatherfield residents meet her equally miserable sister Iris Merry.

Neil Flynn

Neil Flynn, played by Tim Dantay, made his first screen appearance on 31 August 1998.

When Neil was sent to prison for assault and GBH, he began sharing a cell with Ronnie Clegg. Years later, when Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor) comes looking for Ronnie in London, Neil pretends to be him. Toyah stays with Neil for a couple of days, but when she realises that he is not Ronnie, she tries to leave. However, Neil stops her and ties her up. He then takes her to some woods, but when he is distracted, Toyah manages to escape and is found by her parents.

The storyline attracted the attention of the Independent Television Commission, who believed that the episode featuring Neil's abduction of Toyah should have carried a warning before it was broadcast.^[1]

Ronnie Clegg

Ronnie Clegg, played by Dean Wiliamson, Appeared on the 4 September 1998.

Ronnie Clegg is the real father of Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor). Toyah's mother Janice Battersby (Vicky Entwistle) threw him out in 1984 when Toyah was only two years old, calling him "Ronnie Clegg, useless dreg". He ended up in London, spending time in Wormwood Scrubs and sharing a cell with Neil Flynn (Tim Dantay). After his spell in prison he settled down and married a woman named Paula with whom he kept both his prison record and daughter a secret from.

In August 1998 after a row with Janice and her step father Les Battersby (Bruce Jones), Toyah runs away from home and decides to travel to London to find Ronnie and goes to his old address not knowing that Ronnie has since moved and his mate from prison Neil Flynn now lives there. Toyah, thinking Neil was her father, stays with him for a couple of days but eventually realizes he is not Ronnie and tries to escape. However, Neil stops her and ties her up. He then takes her to some woods, but when he is distracted, Toyah manages to escape and is found by Les and Janice.

Ronnie appeared to live up to Janice's reputation as a selfish and useless father as he showed little concern for his daughter caring only that his wife Paula didn't find out about his past, he also failed to alert Les and Janice that Toyah might have wound up with a dangerous and violent man before it was too late

Dobber

Philip "Dobber" Dobson, played by John Donnelly, made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 4 October 1998. Dobber and Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor) were involved in a notable storyline surrounding the subject of under-age sex. After a holiday romance, Dobber persuaded Toyah into losing her virginity to him in the back of his car.^[2] Tony Purnell from the Daily Mirror called Dobber "Mr Wrong", while the Daily Record's John Millar stated he was "one of the sleaziest characters to ooze across the cobbles of Weatherfield."^[2][3] He added "From the first instant we laid eyes on shifty Philip Dobson, we've known he's no good. But love is blind and so Toyah is prepared to do anything for what she believes is the man of her dreams."^[3]

Linda Sykes

Linda Baldwin (née Sykes) was played by Jacqueline Pirie.

Linda arrived in 1998 and immediately found work as a machinist at Underworld Factory. She befriended fellow machinists Janice Battersby and Alison Wakefield, becoming bridesmaid at Alison's wedding to Kevin Webster in January 2000. She strongly disapproved of Hayley Cropper, as she was disgusted when she learned that Hayley was a transsexual, but they later became friends.

Linda had a particularly tough background. Her mother, Eve, walked out when Linda was young and she, being the eldest, had to help her father raise her three younger brothers. When she was 15, her close friend, Karen Phillips, moved in after she became estranged from her parents and they later went on to work as machinists in a factory called Wheelers.

Shortly after her arrival, Linda's boss Mike Baldwin and his wife Alma separated, following the revelation of Mike's affair with a former prostitute named Julia. Linda comforted her boss, who was 33 years her senior, and they soon started sleeping together. They began an affair which culminated when Mike proposed marriage and she accepted, knowing that he was a millionaire entrepreneur. As they planned to marry, Mike got in touch with his son Mark Redman and invited him to the wedding. Linda took a shine to Mike's son, who was not much younger than her, and she soon began an affair with him. However, as the wedding day approached, Linda decided to end the affair with Mark so that her wedding could go ahead. Mark, however, was infatuated with his father's fiancee and was devastated by her brush-off, so much so, that he halted the wedding by not coming initially and dragging Linda out of the church to speak to her. Linda's bridesmaid, Geena Gregory, stalled the ceremony with a worried Mike standing at the altar alone while Mark proposed to Linda. She turned him down and returned to the church, telling Mike that he'd need to get a new best man as Mark had scarpered. Mark drowned his sorrows while Mike and Linda got married on 10 September 2000. However, Mark arrived at the wedding reception to tell his father that he and Linda had been having an affair. The bride admitted to Mike that, in a moment of weakness, she'd had a brief fling with Mark when he first arrived but it was over and she loved him more than anything else. Taking his new wife's side over his son's, an angry Mike disowned a devastated Mark and left for his honeymoon with Linda.

After returning, Linda did almost everything in her power to make her marriage successful and keep Mike happy, so that he would not throw her out for her infidelity. However, it soon became apparent that he still had a soft spot for his ex-wife Alma. This became more apparent when both Mike and Alma and other residents of the street were held hostage on 12 October 2000 at the supermarket Freshco's by two young thugs. The police eventually burst in and one of the young thugs was shot. However, when Linda arrived at the scene, she not only found her husband with his ex-wife, but also recognised that the thug who had been shot was her younger brother Dean Sykes. Accompanied by Mike in the ambulance, a devastated Linda held her brother's hand as he died. After that she swore revenge on Emma Watts, the police officer who shot him.

It was then that Mike was introduced to Linda's family at Dean's funeral. Linda was very cold and distant to all her family members, treating them as if she was now above them, and she was especially hard towards her mother Eve. However, after the funeral Linda managed to patch things up with her mother and Eve returned to the street with her, where she met and fell in love with Fred Elliott.

Linda's marriage continued to go downhill as Mike learned that Alma was terminally ill with ovarian cancer. This led to him caring for her and going on trips around the country with her, resulting in Linda embarking on an affair with a man named Harvey, one of Mike's clients, in May 2001. After being caught in the act by Mike in June 2001, Linda finally snapped and went round to Alma's to have it out with her. However, during their heated argument Alma collapsed and after calling an ambulance, Alma was diagnosed with kidney failure and carried upstairs to her bedroom by paramedics where she died in peace on 17 June 2001 with Mike, her best friend Audrey Roberts and Audrey's daughter Gail Platt by her side.

Linda was racked with guilt over the entire incident, and Mike soon made it clear that he could never trust her again. He announced that he wanted a divorce, but Linda was not prepared to go without a fight. After enduring months of heated arguments, Mike finally set his wife up by bringing his son Mark back to the street. As Linda prepared to rekindle their old romance, Mike walked in on them and triumphantly announced that their marriage was over.

They stayed together for an extra only for appearances sake as her mother was preparing to tie the knot with Fred. However, as the wedding took place on 5 September 2001, Mike made it clear to Linda that she would be gone by the end of the ceremony. He called a taxi for her and, along with Mark, dragged her from her hotel room to the taxi and sent her packing. She was never seen again.

After her departure, there was much debate over whether Mike had killed Linda and disposed of her body or not. Her car was found near the canal, and both her mother Eve and her brother Jimmy vowed to find her. However, Eve later discovered from her ex-husband Ray that Linda was alive and well and living in Dublin with a rich fiance.

Tyrone Dobbs

Tyrone Sylvester Dobbs is a fictional character from the long-running soap opera, Coronation Street. He is played by Alan Halsall, and made his first appearance on 30 November 1998. He has been in the soap for 15 years. Tyrone has been married to Molly Compton (Vicky Binns), who died in the tram crash, and has had relationships with Fiz Brown (Jennie McAlpine) and Maria Connor (Samia Ghadie). In 2011, a love interest for Tyrone was introduced, in the form of Kirsty Soames (Natalie Gumede). Kirsty began physically abusing and controlling Tyrone throughout the course of 2012, and in 2013, Kirsty was arrested and sentenced for her treatment of Tyrone.

Billy and Becky Mallett

William "Billy" Mallett and Rebecca Joyce "Becky" Mallett are the twins born to Gary and Judy Mallett on Christmas Day 1998. Aged just nine months, the twins lose their mother when Judy suffers an embolism in September 1999 and their father Gary is forced to bring them up alone. A year later, Gary makes the decision to move away and the family leave Weatherfield for good in October 2000.

Alison Webster

Alison Webster (née Wakefield), played by Naomi Radcliffe, is the second wife of Kevin Webster. She is a friend of Linda Sykes and works with her as a machinist at Underworld.

She dates Kevin Webster for a while and they eventually move in together, causing trouble with Sally when Rosie and Sophie seem to prefer being with Alison to spending time with her. Eventually Kevin, Sally and Alison sort things out and Alison introduces Kevin to her parents and they tell him that Alison is responsible for the accident that caused the death of her younger sister, Cheryl. Kevin, currently raising 2 daughters himself, makes it clear that he believes that Alison, a child herself at the time, should not be held responsible for her parents' actions. Unsurprisingly, her parents do not react well.

They eventually marry and look forward to the birth of their first child but when she learns that her newborn son, Jake, dies from a Group B streptococcal infection that he probably caught from her during delivery, she has a breakdown. Sadly, a combination of grief, possible depression and the guilt that she feels about her sister's death lead her to snatch newborn Bethany Platt. When found together, Kevin convinces her to give Bethany to him, which she does, and then commits suicide by throwing herself under a passing lorry

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