List of ''Coronation Street'' characters (1979)

This is a list of characters that first appeared in Coronation Street in 1979.

Bert Tilsley

Herbert Harrison "Bert" Tilsley was played by Peter Dudley. He was the first husband of Ivy Brennan and the father of Brian Tilsley. Prior to his debut in 1979, Ivy had referred to her husband as 'Jack' and mentioned that they were childless. During his final months on Coronation Street in 1983, Bert had been left partially disabled after being in an accident in Brian's garage involving a tyre compressor unit. This was because actor Peter Dudley had suffered a stroke in real life but wanted to continue to appear in the series and so the garage accident was devised to explain his condition. Bert's last appearance was in July 1983, and he died (offscreen) in January 1984 of a heart attack while in a psychiatric hospital, following a nervous breakdown. Actor Peter Dudley died in October 1983 (three months before the character's offscreen death) after suffering a further stroke and multiple heart attacks.

Bert's catchphrase, uttered 3 or 4 times an episode was 'You know what I mean?', this disappeared from his vocabulary after his stroke.

Bert was known to be more relaxed about Brian's life decisions, such as his marriage to Gail Potter, whereas Ivy was more critical.

Audrey Roberts

Audrey Roberts (also Potter), played by Sue Nicholls. Audrey made her first appearance on 16 April 1979 and appeared on a recurring basis for three years until 1982 and returned in 1984 before becoming a full-time regular character the following year in 1985. The character of Audrey Potter was created as the mother of established character Gail Potter (Helen Worth). After appearing as an occasional character for several years, she became a permanent member of the core cast in 1985. Actress Sue Nicholls auditioned for the part of Audrey Potter and went on to secure to the role. At the time the actress had been in many theatre, cabaret and TV roles and was continuing with her career whilst appearing in the show on a recurring basis until she was offered the chance to become a permanent cast member. Audrey made her first appearance in the episode broadcast on 16 April 1979.

Jack Duckworth

John Harold "Jack" Duckworth was a long-standing fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, a long-running serial drama about working class life in the fictional town of Weatherfield. He was played by actor Bill Tarmey. The character debuted onscreen during the episode airing on 28 November 1979. Jack was introduced by executive producer Bill Podmore. More than 20 years after first appearing, Tarmey eventually cut down filming due to problems with his health and often contemplated leaving the series. In April 2010, it was announced that Tarmey would leave the series later that year. His last appearance was broadcast on 8 November 2010, with ITV also airing a tribute documentary for him. Having been in the show for 31 years, he was one of the longest-serving characters. Jack's storylines have focused on his long-standing marriage to his wife Vera which has been complex and at times been described as "rocky". Other storylines include coping with his wayward son Terry and his hobby for pigeon keeping. In his final storyline he was portrayed as having incurable non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Jack has been characterised through his "joyless and gloomy" life in which he has a string of dead end jobs and his wife's death, but continued to pass witty remarks on life. Television critics have described Jack as a loveable rogue type character and have favoured his relationship with Vera. His exit storyline was fairly documented in the media, receiving positive reactions and many state he is fondly remembered for his love of pigeons.