List of Coronation Street characters (1988)

Coronation Street is a British soap opera, initially produced by Granada Television. Created by writer Tony Warren, Coronation Street first broadcast on ITV on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters introduced in the show's twenty-ninth year, by order of first appearance.

Harry Ashton

Harry Ashton was an OAP who enquired about a vacancy for a paperboy at The Kabin in January 1988. Rita and Mavis tried to politely refuse but he had an answers for all of their concerns - he got up early every day to walk his loyal dog Jimmy, and he was obsessed with keeping fit. To prove he could manage the early hours, he volunteered for a trial run. Alan Bradley gave Harry the toughest round to test him, and he returned with the same enthusiasm despite a gang of kids pinching his flashlight (he'd got it back when Jimmy frightened them away). Rita and Mavis were impressed and he was taken on.

While Harry insisted on being treated no differently from the other paperboys, Mavis gave him Priscilla Millbanks's round as it was the easiest. This didn't go down well with Priscilla and Wayne Pickles, who threatened to quit unless Harry was sacked as the job should go to a kid. Harry offered to resign, but Mavis instead called all parties to a meeting at Jim's Cafe where she got Wayne and Priscilla to agree to stay in exchange for reinstating their old rounds, and sharing Craig Atkinson's round between them while he was sick with a cold, but she made clear her feelings on their selfish, petty-mindedness.

As Mavis had saved his job, Harry asked her out to dinner at a place in the Precinct. Mavis tried to refuse but he wheedled a yes out of her. The evening was made awkward by the fact that Mavis thought Harry was spending what little money he had on her and tried to cut costs by suggesting they split the bill (which he refused) and then ordering an omelette and water (which Harry asked was for religious reasons). Harry told Mavis that he'd taken early retirement from his position as Senior at the Rates Office as his wife was ill but she died six months later, and so a job delivering newspapers coupled with his pension suited him very well.

A few days later, Mavis received a surprise visit from Harry's sister Muriel. Muriel was a spinster who, having lived with Harry since his wife's death, and been close to Harry since their parents' early deaths, was threatened by Mavis, and had come to the Kabin to inspect her. Muriel settled Mavis's worries about Harry's finances, telling her that Harry dabbled in stocks and shares but didn't give the impression of being wealthy as he didn't throw his money around. Muriel's motivation in visiting Mavis was obvious however, and Mavis was very embarrassed. Harry asked Mavis to take what Muriel said with a pinch of salt, but Mavis told him she wanted to keep things formal from now on.

In April 1988, Harry and Mavis saw Cry Freedom at the pictures.

Harry lived in Nelson Street. He told Rita that he knew of Len Fairclough as he did job as his neighbour's house a few years ago.

Priscilla Millbanks

Priscilla Millbanks was a young girl who delivered newspapers for The Kabin in 1988. Along with Wayne Pickles, Priscilla gave Rita Fairclough and Mavis Riley an ultimatum that newly appointed paper-pensioner Harry Ashton be sacked or they'd quit. Priscilla and Wayne thought the allowances made for Harry's age were unfair on them as Priscilla had been given a more difficult round so that Harry could have hers. Mavis called all parties to a meeting at Jim's Cafe where she got them to agree to stay in exchange for reinstating their old rounds and sharing Craig Atkinson's round between them while he was sick with a cold, but she made her feelings clear on their selfish, petty-mindedness.

Later that year, when Wayne beat up Jason Stubbs for stealing his round (when in fact Wayne had been sacked for not showing up for work five times in one month), Priscilla warned Mavis that Wayne was planning to go on giving Jason a hard time.

Priscilla had a sister, Cheryl, who was expecting a baby in 1988.

Gina Seddon

Gina Seddon is the younger sister of Sally Webster. Gina comes to Weatherfield to lodge with Sally and her new husband, Kevin. Gina has a one-night stand with Martin Platt while dating Billy Wyatt, leading to a fight between Martin and Billy. When Gina and Sally's father, Eddie dies in January 1989, Gina inherits £1,000 from his life insurance and leaves Weatherfield. Gina moves to Newcastle and marries a lorry driver, named Colin. Sally visits Gina off-screen in January 2001 after she suffers from appenditicis and looks after her children while Gina recuperates. When Sally is diagnosed with Breast cancer in 2009, she goes to stay with Gina for six months while she recovers from surgery.

Sandra Stubbs

Sandra Stubbs was cleaner and barmaid at the Rovers Return Inn from 1988 to 1989. Mother of thirteen-year-old Jason Stubbs, Sandra was fleeing from her abusive husband Ronnie when she started at the Rovers. When Social Services discovered she was leaving Jason on his own while she worked, Sandra had to quit the Rovers and move in with her mother.

Jason Stubbs

Jason Stubbs was the teenage son of Rovers Return cleaner Sandra Stubbs.

In 1988, Sandra and Jason fled to Weatherfield to escape from Sandra's abusive husband Ronnie. Jason missed his dad but was loyal to Sandra, having tried to defend Sandra from his violence on at least one occasion. In November 1986, when it was feared that Ronnie was a danger to Jason, a social worker visited the Stubbs but found no cause to remove Jason from his parents.

Sandra and Jason soon settled into their new lives; Sandra rented Flat 3, 44 Rosamund Street, got a job as the Rovers and settled Jason into a new school. Having had a paper round before moving, Jason asked at the Kabin if they needed anyone. They didn't, but the polite lad made an impression on Mavis Riley, who two days later decided to sack unreliable Wayne Pickles and give Jason his round. On his first day in the job, Jason was beaten up by Wayne for "stealing" the round, Wayne having guarded the round to see who had taken it over. Jason was intimidated enough to cover for Wayne, telling Rita and Mavis that he'd tripped over his bag strap, but the next time Wayne cornered him he fought back and knocked his bike over. The matter was resolved when Sandra got the truth from Jason and threatened Wayne's mum in the Kabin.

A few weeks later, Ronnie re-appeared on the scene, having tracked Sandra and Jason down. Adamant that there was no way back for her and Ronnie, Sandra refused to acknowledge him, and so he turned to Jason, turning up at his school at lunchtime as a surprise. Although glad to see his dad, Jason refused to divulge their new home address, and fortunately Sandra arrived on the scene before Ronnie could interrogate him further. Ronnie remained in the area until he was due to return to the ships, working on Sandra and her friends to persuade her to give their marriage another try. The night before he was due to leave, a drunken Ronnie followed Sandra home, where he pleaded with her one last time. Met with unwavering defiance, Ronnie became violent, breaking a promise he'd made seconds before. Jason raced to the Rovers to get help, however by the time Ken Barlow, Kevin Webster and Alan Bradley arrived at the flat, Ronnie had fled the scene, leaving Sandra bruised and beaten. Upset to see his mother so vulnerable, Jason was taken in by Bet Gilroy at the Rovers for the night while Sandra was kept in hospital.

In November, Jason admitted to Mavis that the paperboys were joking about Derek Wilton not showing up at their wedding. The lads were well aware of Mavis and Derek's disastrous first wedding, in which they'd jilted each other. Also that month, Jason told Rita that he wasn't looking forward to an upcoming parent/teacher evening at school, as he hadn't been doing the work.

In 1989, Jason fell in with the wrong crowd and on one afternoon in February, while Sandra was at work, Ken Barlow caught Jason and his mates having a booze-up in the flat, drinking lager from cans purchased at the Corner Shop. The boys ran off at the sight of Ken, who had called at the flat to offer Jason a paper round with the Weatherfield Recorder. After helping Jason tidy the living room, Ken advised the boy to choose his friends better. The incident would remain a problem for Sandra and Jason to sort themselves, but for Jason's friends being caught by the police vandalising a car, and giving them Jason's address. Discovering both that Jason had been drinking and that he was routinely left on his own, WPC Morgan contacted Social Services, and a social worker, Mrs Lambert, was assigned the case. Sandra was informed that it was illegal for her to leave Jason on his own while she worked, and that something would have to change. With immediate effect, Sandra quit her job and moved out of the flat and in with her mother temporarily, uprooting the family once again.

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