List of ''Coronation Street'' characters (2016)

Coronation Street is a British soap opera first broadcast on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters introduced in 2016, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by series producer Stuart Blackburn, or his successor Kate Oates. Marta Zarek (Edyta Budnik) arrived in February, igniting a child slavery storyline, as did Alya Nazir's (Sair Khan) best friend, Rana Habeeb (Bhavna Limbachia). In March, Freddie Smith (Derek Griffiths) was introduced as a new friend for Kylie Platt (Paula Lane). He was followed by the birth of Callum Logan (Sean Ward) and Sarah Platt's (Tina O'Brien) baby son, Harry, as well as Michelle Connor's (Kym Marsh) childhood lover, Will Chatterton (Leon Ockenden). Pablo Duarte (Shai Matheson) made his first appearance in April, as the homosexual husband of Maria Connor (Samia Longchambon). July saw the introduction of murderous teenager Clayton Hibbs (Callum Harrison), followed by an acquaintance of Pat Phelan (Connor McIntyre), Vinny Ashford (Ian Kelsey), and Sonia Rahman (Sudha Bhuchar), a family friend of the Nazirs, in August. Seb Franklin (Harry Visinoni), the boyfriend of Faye Windass (Ellie Leach), first appeared in October. December saw many new arrivals, including troubled Shona Ramsey (Julia Goulding) who would become involved in a storyline with David Platt (Jack P. Shepherd), Nathan Curtis (Christopher Harper) and his assistant Mel Maguire (Sonia Ibrahim), which began the child grooming and sexual exploitation storyline involving Bethany Platt (Lucy Fallon), and Mary Taylor's (Patti Clare) long-lost son Jude Appleton (Paddy Wallace).

Marta Zarek

Marta Zarek,^[1] played by Edyta Budnik, made her first on-screen appearance on 5 February 2016.^[2] The character and casting was announced on 29 January 2016.^[3] Marta will be being introduced as part of a modern slavery storyline.^[3] Eva Price (Catherine Tyldesley) finds Marta hiding at the Underworld factory on Coronation Street and Marta tells her that she has been forced into slavery by Richie (James Midgley) and Julia O'Driscoll (Malgorzata Klara), Underworld's new clients.^[3] She also explains that she cannot escape as she is worried about her family's safety back in Poland.^[3] Mark Jefferies of the Daily Mirror reported that producers consulted experts to ensure the storyline would be accurate.^[3] A spokesperson commented, "Obviously, Coronation Street tries to tackle difficult subjects and has done storylines about serious illnesses and violence before. But this is the first time slavery has appeared."^[3]

Aidan Connor (Shayne Ward) and Eva went to a party at the O'Driscolls, driving there in the Underworld van. Marta saw her chance of escape and hid in the back of the vehicle, which took her to Weatherfield. Once there, she bedded down in the factory hoping to make herself inconspicuous but desperation caused her to steal from the staff's belongings, making them believe that there was a thief among them. Eva found her in the factory and seeing that she was terrified, Eva took pity on her and started to bring her food. Marta told her about her ordeal - though not naming the O'Driscolls - and revealed how her family back home were being threatened by them. She was almost found by Kirk Sutherland whose claims of noises from the back of the factory were being ignored by everyone but before she could be found, she fled through the assembled group, wearing Sean Tully's new coat and pushing over Izzy Armstrong (Cherylee Houston) in her desperation to escape.

Marta disappeared into the streets, living rough but came back after several weeks because she was ill and needed help. She was given shelter at 18a Victoria Street but refused medical attention and again attempted to abscond. This time, Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank) helped Eva stop her from leaving and she told them her full story and the identity of her persecutors. Eva vowed to help the girl who told them that the O'Driscolls had her passport. Going to another dinner party at the O'Driscolls with Aidan, Eva tried to find the document but was caught and sacked after the O'Driscolls claimed that the girl had stolen from them and been fired. Marta did not help by leaving at St. Mary's Rectory and stealing £20 from Billy and his mobile phone. Using the tracker app, Billy and Eva found Marta and demanded some answers. Billy took her back to the O'Driscolls where Julia sweetly greeted the girl and took her inside, firmly shutting him out. A few days later, Billy and Eva checked on Marta and were told that she had gone home but as they were leaving, Eva swore that she saw Marta at an upstairs window. Aidan's suspicions were aroused when he visited and saw Julia padlocking a bedroom door. Billy and Eva tried to rescue Marta when the O'Driscolls were at a trade fair, breaking into the house and found Marta locked in the bedroom but were caught when the O'Driscolls returned early. Richie assaulted Billy and Eva but they were rescued by Aidan who had followed them there. The police were called and almost everyone was arrested but the O'Driscolls were the only ones prosecuted, for offences under section 1 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. A few days later, a happy and smartened-up Marta was brought into the Rovers by Aidan to say goodbye and "thank you" to Eva before she returned home to her family.

Rana Habeeb

Rana Nazir (also Habeeb)^[4] played by Bhavna Limbachia, made her first on-screen appearance on 19 February 2016.^[5] The character and casting was announced on 8 January.^[5] Of her casting, Limbachia commented "I'm absolutely thrilled to be joining the show. Being a proud Northerner, it's a dream come true."^[5] Rana was introduced as a love interest for Zeedan Nazir (Qasim Akhtar) and an old friend of his sister Alya (Sair Khan). Following a visit to catch up with Alya, Rana found employment at the local medical centre.^[5] The show's former series producer Stuart Blackburn has described Rana as "sharp, funny, utterly gorgeous and not a little manipulative."^[5]

Rana first appears having a meal with Alya in the bistro. Alya's brother, Zeedan, becomes attracted to her, whilst Rana flirts with him as well as Andy Carver (Oliver Farnworth). She then leaves and Alya's grandparents, Sharif (Marc Anwar) and Yasmeen Nazir (Shelley King), ask her to return soon as she has brought a lot of happiness back into Alya's life, as her father, Kal Nazir (Jimi Mistry), died the previous year and she has recently split from her fiancé, Gary Windass (Mikey North). Rana is desperate to have sex with Zeedan, however he prefers to wait until after marriage, which puts an immense strain on their relationship and they break up and reconcile regularly over this. They agree to take their relationship slowly, however Zeedan becomes easily jealous when she talks to other men. After Zeedan engages in an argument with Sharif, he and Rana have a heart-to-heart, which culminates in Zeedan drastically proposing to Rana, leading to her running off. Later, Zeedan asks Rana to forget his proposal, however she reveals that she wants to marry him, with the couple sealing their engagement with a kiss.

Rana supports Zeedan when it is revealed that Sharif has been having an affair with a woman named Sonia Rahman (Sudha Bhuchar). However, this forces Zeedan to question his beliefs in marriage, and after an awkward meal with Rana's parents, breaks off their engagement. Rana is crushed and is adamant that this is the end of her relationship with Zeedan, however Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) helps reconcile the pair. Zeedan and Rana marry immediately after they reconcile to seal their love for one another, with Rana's parents, Yasmeen, Leanne and Nick Tilsley (Ben Price) witnessing the ceremony.

Zeedan is keen to start a family, but Rana is less certain. Not wanting to upset her husband, Rana secretly begins taking the contraceptive pill. With Zeedan refusing to talk to Alya after learning she knew of Sharif's affair, Rana tries to act as peacemaker. She initially succeeds, but when the gym where Zeedan works - part-owned by Sharif - goes under due to Sharif embezzling money to give it to Alya, he makes it clear he can't forgive his sister. Upset to see her family not getting along, Yasmeen adds to the pressure on Rana to have a child, hoping it will bring everyone together. However, Rana snaps and reveals she isn't ready for children yet after Yasmeen buys her an ovulation predictor kit.

In September 2017, Rana falls out with her close friend, lesbian Kate Connor (Faye Brookes) over Kate thinking Rana is homophobic. Rana keeps out of Kate’s way until she breaks up with her girlfriend and they make up. After getting drunk Rana kisses Kate admitting to her she is confused about her feelings although she tells Zeedan she wants to try for a baby. Despite clearly having feelings for Kate, Rana tries to move on and gets married properly to Zeedan, as their first marriage wasn’t officially legal and on the wedding day deletes a voicemail Kate leaves her telling her that she loves her. A few weeks later Rana and Kate confess their love for each other and they passionately kiss, with Rana telling Kate she will tell Zeedan. She doesn’t do so and when Luke Britton (Dean Fagan) finds out he tells her to tell Zeedan, herself. She lies and says she is pregnant to get him off her back. Rana and Kate continue their affair, however when they are having a date at the bistro where Kate works, Kate’s cousin Michelle Connor (Kym Marsh) robs the bistro and spots them together. Michelle then starts to blackmail Kate that if she goes to the police about her committing the robbery she will tell Zeedan about the affair. Michelle and Kate later make up and Michelle starts letting Rana and Kate use her and Robert Preston’s (Tristan Gemmill) flat for them to continue their affair, however one night he walks in on them together but agrees to keep the affair a secret. In January 2018 Rana confesses to Zeedan that she loves someone else but when he thinks she is in love with a man Kate blurts it is her Rana is in love with. Zeedan subsequently ends his marriage with Rana and he forces her to give her wedding ring back to him. A few days later Zeedan forces Rana to confess about her affair to her parents, leaving them disgusted at her, however Rana’s father, Hassan makes a deal with Zeedan that if he and Rana pretend to be married for the next year in order to keep the family’s reputation then he will make his business venture happen. Although initially reluctant, Rana agrees to this. In March 2018, Kate visits Rana and they kiss which Zeedan sees. Rana then tells Zeedan she is in love with Kate and they begin a secret relationship. After she picks Kate over her family Rana's father disowns her. When Hassan has a stroke, Rana's mother, Saira stops her from seeing him in hospital and she has to lie that she is no longer to with Kate to see him and when she does he dies.

Lauren

Lauren,^[4] played by Shannon Flynn, made her first on-screen appearance on 4 March 2016. Lauren and Shelley bully Bethany Platt (Lucy Fallon) at school, along with some others. Lauren makes remarks about Bethany and her mother Sarah Platt (Tina O'Brien) as well as pulling her hair. Lauren and Shelley, send cruel messages to Bethany online. Lauren, Shelley and the others follow Bethany home, but Luke Britton (Dean Fagan) intervenes and forces them to leave. When Sarah learns of Bethany's bullying, she visits Lauren at her home and confronts both Lauren and her mother (Lisa Moore). Lauren and her friends steal Bethany's phone and on another occasion, they insult Bethany's brother, Harry. Lauren apologises to Bethany, but she realises it was a trick when Lauren and her gang taunt Bethany about Sarah's mental health, but leave when Anna Windass (Debbie Rush) arrives.

Later in 2016, Lauren hassles Bethany at the local gym, causing Bethany to lash out at her. The gym's manager and Anna's son, Gary Windass (Mikey North) appears and forces Lauren to leave. During a meeting at the school, Lauren and Bethany are suspended after Lauren tricked their headmaster into thinking that Bethany was bullying her. Lauren later hassled Bethany at her great-grandmother Audrey Roberts' (Sue Nicholls) salon, but Bethany's uncle David Platt (Jack P. Shepherd) offers to bury the hatchet by giving Lauren a free haircut. After sending Bethany out to get coffee, David hacks off Lauren's hair and threatens to cut her throat if she hurts Bethany again, causing Lauren to flee the salon. Lauren later calls the police on David, but he lies that Lauren changed her mind on her haircut halfway through, with his story being reinforced by Gemma Winter (Dolly-Rose Campbell). Lauren is later expelled from school after several other girls in Bethany's year group come forward and admit that Lauren has been terrorising them, too, leading to Bethany being praised by the headmaster. However, Lauren's father, Phil (James Doherty), later beats up David for hacking off Lauren's hair.

Freddie Smith

Freddie Smith, played by Derek Griffiths, made his first on-screen appearance on 11 March 2016.^[6] Griffiths auditioned for the role, and the character and his casting was announced on 16 December 2015.^[6] Freddie was introduced as "an unlikely new friend" for established character Kylie Platt (Paula Lane). Freddie's wife, who was a client of Kylie's, died shortly before his on-screen debut.^[6] His friendship with Kylie will lead him to be accepted into a "surrogate community" on the Street as the other residents get to know him.^[6] In March 2017, Griffiths left the show after a year, making his final on-screen appearance on 21 April 2017.

Freddie is a widower of his late wife Sadie, an old and valued customer of Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls)' salon. When Sadie died unexpectedly, Freddie asked for Kylie to do her nails for the funeral. Not knowing this was the reason for the appointment, when she arrived at his home she was horrified to see his wife's dead body lying in her coffin in the living room. After running out of the house, he speaks to Kylie, who then convinces her to do Sadie's nails. In April, Freddie returns and is invited to Kylie's nephew Harry Platt's christening. He then takes a shine to Audrey, and flirts with her, however she rejects him, but says they can always be friends. He later becomes friends with Audrey's lover Ken Barlow (William Roache). The following month, Kylie asks local mechanic Kevin Webster (Michael Le Vell) to give Freddie a job there, and tells him all of the things that he has been through for the past few months. Kevin later agrees to offer Freddie a job, and Freddie accepts Kevin's offer.

In July, Freddie tells Ken that he should invite Audrey to a musical theatre production. After seeing Freddie and Audrey together holding hands in the pub, he tells Audrey that he is going to the performance alone. Freddie later starts drinking with Audrey in the pub regularly, and sees Kylie buying champagne to celebrate her and her husband David Platt (Jack P. Shepherd) emigrating to Barbados. Freddie is left distraught when Kylie is stabbed and killed in the street.

Harry Platt

Harry Platt made his first on-screen appearance on 21 March 2016.^[7][8] He was played by twin girls Pixie and Presley Sellars and a third baby, Woody Illsley, in 2016.^[9][10] Twins Freddie and Isaac took over the role in 2017.^[11] He is the son of Sarah Platt (Tina O'Brien) and Callum Logan (Sean Ward) and the half-brother of Bethany Platt (Lucy Fallon), Billy Platt and Max Turner (Harry McDermott). He is born five weeks early by caesarean section when Sarah goes into labour in Tracy Barlow's (Kate Ford) florist shop. O'Brien said Sarah would be "in massive denial" when she goes in labour and initially refuses to have a caesarean because her son Billy died during the procedure.^[12] She believes a natural birth will be better for the baby. O'Brien continued, "She's just got it in her head that something is going to go wrong. It's almost like a defence mechanism. I think she feels that if something does go wrong she's preparing herself."^[12] O'Brien also said Todd Grimshaw (Bruno Langley) would help Sarah through the birth and remind her that the baby is not Billy. When Callum's mother Marion Logan (Susan Cookson) turns up at the hospital, Sarah does not want her there and becomes "very territorial over the baby".^[12] O'Brien added that the baby is a constant reminder that Callum's death is not going to go away.^[12]

In December 2015, Sarah is accidentally struck by Tim Metcalfe's (Joe Duttine) van and is taken to hospital, where she is told that she is four months pregnant by Callum. Sarah plans to have an abortion, but is talked out of it by Kylie Platt (Paula Lane). Todd Grimshaw (Bruno Langley) takes Sarah to the florist to relax after shopping, but as Todd reminisces about Billy, Sarah goes into labour, which annoys Tracy. At the hospital, the doctor wants Sarah to have a caesarean section, but Sarah refuses. Todd persuades Sarah and Sarah agrees to a caesarean section and her son is later born in March 2016. When Callum's mother Marion Logan (Susan Cookson) arrives at the hospital after being told about Sarah's pregnancy by Gemma Winter (Dolly-Rose Campbell), Sarah refuses to let her meet her son. Sarah chooses Harry for his name from one of Bethany's suggestions. Sarah and Harry are picked up from the hospital by Sarah's grandmother Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls) and Sarah feels that the others did not want to because of who Harry's father is. In April 2016, Harry is christened with Sarah's brother Nick Tilsley (Ben Price), Nick's fiancée Carla Connor (Alison King) and Todd as godparents. After Callum's corpse is found under Gail's granny annex in May 2016, Sarah starts behaving irrationally and the family realise she is suffering from mental health problems. In June 2016, Sarah changes the house locks and barricades herself in with baby Harry. When Sarah is taken to hospital, Harry is left in Kylie's care, but Sarah gets a place in a mother and baby unit. In July 2016, Sarah decides to leave the unit when Kylie is stabbed to death, but Bethany persuades Sarah to stay for her and Harry's sake. Sarah discharges herself from the unit and returns home in August 2016.

Will Chatterton

Will Chatterton, played by Leon Ockenden, made his first on-screen appearance on 28 March 2016.^[13] The character and Ockenden's casting was announced on 8 February 2016.^[14] His character is introduced as a former boyfriend of Michelle Connor (Kym Marsh). He comes to Weatherfield to book Michelle as his wedding planner.^[14] Will left the soap on 25 September 2017 at the end of his storyline.

Will's fiancée Saskia hired Michelle to plan their wedding. Michelle was surprised to see Will again after so long and the pair were left to plan the wedding alone after Saskia went away on business and with Michelle's husband Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) away in Spain. Michelle, feeling abandoned, quickly developed feelings for her ex. Steve's mother Liz (Beverley Callard) became suspicious that Will and Michelle were having an affair, noticing the somewhat romantic meals they were having. Michelle tried to avoid Will by getting Sean Tully to plan the wedding for her, but with Steve's continued absence and Will also developing feelings, it became increasingly difficult for her to deny her feelings for him. Michelle went round to Will's house one night and after kissing passionately, they went upstairs for sex but Michelle refused at the last minute, thinking of her marriage to Steve. Will later told Michelle that he had broken up with Saskia for her, but by this point, Michelle knew that Steve was the one she wanted and refused to continue her affair with Will.

Over a month later, Will arrived at the Rovers and was greeted by Michelle's stepdaughter Amy Barlow (Elle Mulvaney). Amy deduced that something suspicious had been going on after overhearing a conversation between Sean and Michelle. Amy blackmailed Michelle over her affair with Will. A few days later, Saskia barged into the pub with Will and told Steve of the affair but Steve subsequently told them both to leave.

Will returns in June 2017 and sees Michelle in a local Café. He learns that though her marriage to Steve is over, she and Robert Preston are now together as a couple. He later begins a relationship with Maria Connor (Samia Ghadie). However, Michelle finds herself being stalked by an unknown person. After Michelle is drugged and put in her car boot, Michelle and Robert think Robert's former friend Richard Collis is to blame but the culprit is later revealed to be Will. Will takes advantage of the misunderstanding to get closer to Michelle and Robert is later imprisoned for beating up Rich. However, when Michelle finds picture of herself in Will's home she realises he is her stalker. The police refuse to arrest him without evidence so Michelle arranges for Leanne and Steve to break into Will's house to find this evidence. Although Will confesses to Michelle that he was stalking her he later turns violent when he realises Michelle arranged his break in. An altercation leads to Leanne accidentally being sent flying down the stairs after Will grabs her ankle. However Steve arrives and knocks Will unconscious before he can harm Michelle. Will is later arrested after Leanne and Michelle make statements to the police.

Pablo Duarte

Pablo Duarte, played by Shai Matheson, made his first on-screen appearance on 13 April 2016.^[15] The character and casting was announced on 3 April 2016 as the secret husband of established character Maria Connor (Samia Ghadie).^[15] Upon his arrival, Pablo made an enemy out of Maria's boyfriend Luke Britton (Dean Fagan).^[15] He appeared following Maria's return to the Cobbles.^[15] Pablo, an Argentinian, married Maria in a marriage of convenience in Cyprus to secure the right to move to the United Kingdom, and assured Luke he had no romantic designs on Maria because he was gay. The character left the show on 17 April, five days after his debut, and appeared in three episodes.

While staying in Cyprus helping her mother, Maria met Pablo at the local hairdressing salon and they ended up marrying - not because of their love for each other but instead so Pablo could hide the fact he was gay. The couple flew into England on separate flights so when Maria arrived at Manchester Airport, Pablo would not be spotted with her by her true love, Luke Britton (Dean Fagan). Shortly after their arrival they met up. Luke went after Maria, eager to give her a bouquet of flowers, but was heartbroken to see her having a good time in another man's company. Luke kicked off at Maria, but despite her explanation as why she'd married Pablo, Luke stormed out of the establishment. Later, Maria tried to explain to Luke yet again but instead this time Pablo kicked off at Luke calling him a "Drama Queen" and then stormed out. A few days later, Pablo met with Maria and Luke one final time to tell them he was moving to London. Despite Pablo's departure Luke still felt unsure about dating a married woman. Later on Maria publicly embarrassed herself to prove her true love for him. A few months later, Pablo's solicitor advised him that in order for him to stay in the UK, she had to see Pablo and Maria together. Maria rushed to London soon after receiving word of Pablo's situation.

Lee Mayhew

Lee Mayhew, played by Richard Crehan, made his first on-screen appearance on 27 April 2016. He is the brother of Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank). In April 2016, Lee had fallen into hard times, forcing Billy to start lending him money. Billy, who was a vicar, was wracked with guilt knowing that he couldn't help his brother. When Eva Price (Catherine Tyldesley) spotted Billy giving Lee money, Billy told her he was simply helping out a man in need. On one occasion, Todd Grimshaw (Bruno Langley) spotted Billy giving to Lee, with Billy lying to him that Lee was simply parishioner who needed help.

Lee went to the Rovers and attempted to steal Erica Holroyd's (Claire King) handbag and later stole money from the cash till at Preston's Petals. Todd attempted to call the police, forcing Billy to admit that Lee was his brother. He confided in Todd that Lee was a heroin addict recently released from prison and that their parents were dead. Billy revealed his regrets in not being able to help Lee and that Lee was unlikely to forgive him.

A few weeks later, Todd found Lee collapsed from a drug overdose and he and Billy were forced to drive him to the hospital. Meanwhile, Billy had been going through a difficult patch with his boyfriend Sean Tully (Antony Cotton), with Sean suspecting Billy of cheating with Todd. Todd informed Sean of all the incidents involving Lee so Billy was forced to be honest with Sean about his fear that people would lose confidence in a vicar with a drug addicted brother. Billy broke up with Sean as he experienced guilt over the secrets he was still hiding.

Lee showed up again a week later to once again ask Billy for money but was refused. Lee noticed a troubled Sarah Platt (Tina O'Brien), a friend of Billy's, and approached her telling her that Billy had asked him to keep an eye on her. Lee lured Sarah into his flat with the promise that Billy was on the way, proving they were brothers with an old photo. Sarah had been suffering postpartum psychosis and was convinced that her baby's father Callum Logan (Sean Ward) was out to get her, even though she had witnessed his death a few months prior.

Lee held Sarah hostage and told Billy to bring £1000 in exchange for her release. When Sarah started talking about Callum, Lee started threatening her, saying that he was friends with him and would send him after her if she didn't do as he said. He then pinned her to the ground and called her "mental". Sarah went on a rampage just as her brother David Platt (Jack P. Shepherd) arrived to rescue her. Following the incident, Billy told Lee he never wanted to see him again, with Lee furiously reciprocating.

Clayton Hibbs

Clayton Hibbs, played by Callum Harrison, made his first on-screen appearance on 8 July 2016.^[16] His character is the half-brother of Macca Hibbs (Gareth Berliner), and an old friend of Gemma Winter (Dolly-Rose Campbell) and Callum Logan (Sean Ward). The purpose of the character's creation was to kill off established character Kylie Platt (Paula Lane).

Clayton and Macca start harassing Gemma at her job at the Prima Doner kebab shop, demanding free kebabs. They do this for several days before being chased off by the manager, Chesney Brown (Sam Aston). Clayton returns and attempts to give Gemma fraudulent bank notes, but after Chesney takes the blame for her after the first time this happens, Gemma refuses to take them again and forces Clayton out of the shop. He returns later that day, demanding Gemma open the till and when she puts up a fight, he knocks her unconscious. Gemma's friend, Kylie, tries to help Gemma but Clayton stabs her in the chest and flees the scene. Kylie later dies from her injuries and Clayton threatens Gemma to stay quiet and to keep Craig Tinker (Colson Smith), who witnessed the event, quiet as well. Kylie's widowed husband, David Platt (Jack P. Shepherd), overhears Clayton threatening Gemma and chases him with a steel pipe. He pins Clayton to the floor and almost bludgeons him with the pipe but Clayton manages to escape again. After this, Gemma and Craig decide to give statements to the police, and Clayton is arrested a few days later.

Clayton stands trial at Weatherfield Crown Court and is found guilty of Kylie's murder and is sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum of 15 years. On the day of the trial, David attempts to drive his car into the prison van, to kill Clayton, but crashes his car at the end of the street to avoid hitting his daughter Lily (Brooke Malonie). The car explodes and Anna Windass' (Debbie Rush) legs are badly burnt. Months later, Shona Ramsey (Julia Goulding) visits Clayton in prison, where it emerges that she is his mother. Shona tells Clayton the grief she has brought on the Platt family. Shona tells David's mother, Gail Rodwell (Helen Worth) that she is Clayton's mother and that Clayton chose to live with his father, believing that he would not be in prison if she looked after him. Gail agrees not to tell anyone about Shona and Clayton in exchange for her not telling the police about David and the car crash.

Vinny Ashford

Harvey McArdle,^[17] better known as Vinny Ashford,^[18] played by Ian Kelsey, made his first on-screen appearance on 5 August 2016. The character and Kelsey's casting was announced on 17 June 2016.^[19] Vinny is a property developer, who teams up with his old friend Pat Phelan (Connor McIntyre).^[20] Vinny was billed as the show's newest villain.^[19] Kelsey described him as 'an old fashioned confidence trickster'.^[21]

Vinny first turns up to tell Phelan about his flat development plan - "Calcutta Street" - and find out whether he is interested in investing. Later that day, the pair meet to discuss the financial aspects of the project. Phelan assures Vinny that he will be able to raise the money, but it will take some time. Learning that his former partner Jason (Ryan Thomas) has inherited money from his late father, Phelan manages to persuade his mother Eileen Grimshaw (Sue Cleaver) to agree to invest in the scheme.^[22] Vinny later told Phelan the truth about his scheme: the flats weren't actually going to be built and that his plan was just an attempt to con people out of the money they would be putting up front for deposits. Following this admission, Phelan agreed to help Vinny put his "Calcutta Street" scheme into practice.

Later in the month, Vinny calls round unannounced – on the same day that Eileen is due back from visiting Jason in Thailand. After Phelan tries to stall once more, Vinny eventually realises that the investment capital isn't actually his own money in the first place and warns Phelan that the clock is ticking since there are plenty of others lined up to invest. However, it turns out that Jason looked over the details and decided to invest his £65,000 in the development. Phelan phones Vinny to confirm that it is now "all systems go" and tells him that he will get the money as soon as it has cleared through the bank.

In mid-November 2016, towards the conclusion of their "Calcutta Street" development, Vinny's scheme was discovered by Phelan's two archenemies: rape victim Anna Windass (Debbie Rush) and Eileen's ex-boyfriend Michael Rodwell (Les Dennis), both of whom subsequently plotted to bring down Phelan as well as Vinny. However, when Phelan discovered this conspiracy, he threatened Anna before confronting Michael at Vinny's site office; his showdown with the latter ended with Phelan causing Michael to die of a heart attack in order to prevent him from exposing "Calcutta Street". Phelan later phoned Vinny to inform him of Michael's death following his constant interference, and that the pair should think out proceeding in leaving Weatherfield with all the despots. Vinny agreed and instructed Phelan to meet up at his place to finalize their plans; however, prior to Phelan's arrival, Vinny secretly betrays him by leaving early in the morning - taking all the stolen money with him and leaving Phelan to face the music; Phelan later informed the "Calcutta Street" victims about this, solely implicating Vinny for both the scam development as well as Michael's death.

It was revealed in October 2017, that 'Vinny' is using an alias, and his actual name is Harvey McArdle. Phelan discovers this when he ends up meeting his mother Flora (Eileen Davies) during his campaign to stop local journalist Daniel Osbourne (Rob Mallard) from investigating "Calcutta Street"; he uses this opportunity to blackmail Vinny in returning to Weatherfield, surprising him when he calls his mother on her birthday. Prior to secretly returning to Weatherfield, Vinny hires a hitman to kill Phelan; however, this fails when he ends up running into Phelan instead of Flora upon arriving at her care home. Phelan punches Vinny before giving him an ultimatum; either Vinny deliver the money within a day, or Phelan will kill Flora to show him exactly how "he's not the same man who got ripped off". Vinny manages to deliver the money to Phelan, only to be knocked out and subsequently captured; Phelan tells an unconscious Vinny that he isn't safe despite the fact that his mother is unharmed. Vinny is later brought to an abandoned house, where Phelan has been keeping Andy Carver (Oliver Farnworth) - Michael's surrogate son - for nearly the entirety of 2017 since he learned the truth about "Calcutta Street" as well as Michael's death. When Vinny awakens, he is surprised to meet Andy and is accused of murdering Michael; before abducting Vinny the other night, Phelan had manipulated Andy into believing that Vinny is responsible for Michael's death. Phelan later returns and takes the two to a warehouse, where Andy is staged to murder Vinny there. Upon arrival, Vinny sneaks up on Phelan and attacks him - only to be quickly subdued following an untimely warning from Andy, allowing Phelan to brutally knock Vinny unconscious before forcing Andy to drag him in the warehouse. As Vinny slowly regains consciousness, Phelan forces Andy to shoot him dead and he complies - killing Vinny. Shortly afterwards, Phelan kills Andy before disposing of his and Vinny's body in a lake.

At the start of 2018, Phelan would go on to proceed in killing Andy's best friend Luke Britton to stop him reporting his disappearance to the police - as doing so would also reveal the truth about Vinny's fate as well. Coincidentally, Phelan successfully frames Anna for committing GBH in the case of pushing her daughter's boyfriend Seb Franklin of a ladder; before her imprisonment, Anna hints her suspicions to Eileen that Phelan may have killed Vinny upon stating that the "Calcutta Street" victims have merely taken his word about Vinny's role within the scam. Eileen disbelieves her theory that Phelan had perpetuated the scam, but eventually discovers this when Tim Metcalfe manages to entrap Phelan into admitting this - which, ironically, was the day after Phelan relocated the bodies of Andy and Vinny. A few weeks later, the truth was eventually revealed when Seb and his girlfriend's brother - Anna's son Gary Windass (Mikey North) - teamed up to uncover the gun Phelan used to kill Luke, only to instead unearth the bodies. When Eileen learned about this and confronted Phelan in response, he confessed to having Vinny killed by Andy whilst emulating their abductions along with the murders of Michael and Luke. By the time Phelan's crimes became public knowledge within the cobbles, Flora had moved into Weatherfield and would later learn the truth about her son's murder: Vinny is later buried off-screen, and his death would be avenged when Phelan gets killed by Anna at the conclusion of his lethal siege.

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Sonia Rahman

Sonia Rahman, played by Sudha Bhuchar, made her first on-screen appearance on 22 August 2016. The character and casting was announced on 16 August 2016, and will be involved in a storyline with established character Sharif Nazir (Marc Anwar).^[29] The character departed on 10 November 2016 at the conclusion of her storyline.

Sonia arrives whilst Sharif and his wife Yasmeen (Shelley King) are celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary. She reveals that her husband kicked her out when he becomes suspicious of her. As Yasmeen offers her to stay until she gets back on her feet, Sharif personally disagrees, but does not share this with Yasmeen, but does tell Sonia. It is later discovered that Sonia and Sharif have been having an affair for seven years, and that her husband suspected it, leading to him kicking her out. While Yasmeen is out one day, Sharif gives into temptation and has sex with Sonia again, but after Sonia insults Yasmeen to him, Sharif snaps at her. He later apologises, and their intimacy is noticed by his granddaughter, Alya (Sair Khan). Sharif admits the affair to Alya, with her becoming increasingly hostile towards Sonia. Yasmeen soon comes to the conclusion that she and Sharif will purchase a flat for Sonia in order for her to live in before getting herself sorted. However, Alya puts a stop to this when she blackmails Sharif for £14,000 in order for her to remain silent about his affair with Sonia. Now struggling financially due to Alya's blackmail, Sharif asks Dev Alahan (Jimmi Harkishin) whether Sonia can stay in the flat above his corner shop, frustrating Sonia as she wanted a "love nest" for her and Sharif.

When Sonia later calls round to confront Sharif about this, they recall their long-lasting affair before leaving again, however they are unaware that they have been overheard by Yasmeen. At Sharif and Yasmeen's grandson Zeedan's (Qasim Akhtar) engagement party to Rana Habeeb (Bhavna Limbachia), Yasmeen exposes Sharif and Sonia's affair to their family and party guests, before asking everybody to leave. She then kicks Sonia out, before she confronts Sharif. When Zeedan and Alya return, Sharif reveals that Alya blackmailed him with this information, hurting Yasmeen as she was the person who she confided in after discovering the affair. Yasmeen then kicks Sharif and Alya out, and Sharif leaves Weatherfield without informing his family or Sonia. When Sonia later bumps into Zeedan, he angrily exclaims how she has destroyed their family, and that Sharif has gone and will never return. This devastates Sonia, who herself decides to pack up and depart Weatherfield. However, Dev is furious to discover that Sharif has fled and demands the £14,000 he took from their business to pay Alya from Sonia, however she bluntly explains that she has not got any money. As her taxi arrives, Sonia attempts one last time to repair her friendship with Yasmeen, however after she explains how much she loved Sharif, Yasmeen angrily slaps Sonia and orders her to leave Weatherfield and never return.

Seb Franklin

Seb Franklin, played by Harry Visinoni, made his first on-screen appearance on 10 October 2016.

Seb is the boyfriend of Faye Windass (Ellie Leach), invites Seb over as she is babysitting Izzy Armstrong's (Cherylee Houston) son, Jake Windass (Seth and Theo Wild). The couple are caught kissing by Faye's adoptive mother, Anna Windass (Debbie Rush), who rages at Faye, fearful of Faye falling pregnant again, after she gave birth to Miley Windass the previous year. A few days later, Faye meets up with Seb, apologising for Anna's actions and they go for a meal at the bistro with the family and Seb turns up with an expensive top as a present. Faye's father, Tim Metcalfe (Joe Duttine) and Sophie Webster (Brooke Vincent), join them for the meal. Once the meal finishes, Faye sees Seb off on the bus back home. He forms an unlikely friendship with Pat Phelan (Connor McIntyre), after stealing a drill from his back garden. A few months later he is arrested after punching Faye's ex-boyfriend Jackson Hodge (Rhys Cadman). Months later it is revealed that he is living in squalor at home, with him being left to care for his young twin siblings.

Shona Ramsey

Shona Ramsey, played by Julia Goulding, made her first on-screen appearance on 16 December 2016. The character was involved in a storyline with established characters Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank) and David Platt (Jack P. Shepherd). In August 2017, Goulding was longlisted for Best Newcomer at the Inside Soap Awards.^[30] She later made the viewer-voted shortlist.^[31] On 6 November 2017, Goulding won the "Best Newcomer" accolade at The Inside Soap Awards 2017.^[32]

Shona meets David in a nightclub and starts to flirt with him, but when he leaves, Shona steals his wallet and is not seen again. Billy comes across Shona in the church on Christmas Day 2016 where Shona reveals her story. Billy takes her back to No. 11 where she shares good. Billy begins to take Shona under his wing which makes him want to return to the church. She starts to live with Billy and his boyfriend Todd Grimshaw's (Bruno Langley) mother Eileen Grimshaw's (Sue Cleaver) house and is persuaded by Billy to return Davids wallet to his house which leaves him surprised. Shona begins working for Roy Cropper (David Neilson) at his café.

Shona overhears David's mother Gail Rodwell (Helen Worth) and half-sister Sarah Platt (Tina O'Brien) talk about money that David inherited and gave to Anna Windass (Debbie Rush) as he was responsible for causing Anna's burns in a horrific car accident the previous year. Shona threatens to tell to the police the truth. Shona goes to the prison to visit David's wife Kylie Platt's (Paula Lane) killer, Clayton Hibbs (Callum Harrison), where it transpires that she is his mother. Shona tells Clayton the grief she has brought on the Platt family. Shona reveals to Gail that she is Clayton's mother and that Clayton chose to live with his father, believing that he would not be in prison if she looked after him. Gail agrees not to tell anyone about Shona and Clayton in exchange for her not telling the police about David who tries kissing her after he gets drunk. Gail tries paying Shona to leave the street,^[33] however she doesn't after seeing how upset Roy would be without her. After finding out Nathan Curtis (Christopher Harper) is David's niece Bethany Platt's (Lucy Fallon) fiancé, she goes round to his tanning salon and warns her to stay away from her knowing he is a sex trafficker after being involved with him before. Nathan then orders for someone to beat Shona and as she is trying to phone the police about Nathan she is brutally attacked by three men and left for dead. After being found by Craig Tinker (Colson Smith) she is rushed to hospital but discharges herself to help Bethany after hearing Craig talking about how he was on his way to help her and goes to David to warn him that Bethany is in trouble. In hospital she is visited by David and they kiss however the next day when he finds her at Kylie's grave she tells him the truth about Clayton being her son and he tells her to leave the street which she does.

Shona returns on the anniversary of Kylie's death, attempting to find young girls whom Nathan had previously abused to help Bethany's case against him. David is less than pleased when Shona stays on the street especially when she goes to visit Clayton in prison however a few days later they admit their feelings for each other and have sex. After Shona and David begin a relationship Clayton’s father Dane Hibbs (Simon Naylor) arrives on the street and tries to get Shona to give him her £6,000 winnings what she had recently won on a scratch card. Shona and David briefly break up over Clayton and Dane but get back together shortly afterwards. In April 2018 David breaks up with Shona saying he “doesn’t love her anymore” when unbeknown to her he has been raped and she moves in with Roy and his new lodger Carla Connor (Alison King). The following month David ups to Shona about being raped by Josh Tucker (Ryan Clayton) and they get back together, Shona swears revenge on Josh.

Nathan Curtis

Nathan Curtis, played by Christopher Harper, was introduced on 25 December 2016 as the ex-boyfriend of new character Shona Ramsey (Julia Goulding) and as a love interest for 16-year-old Bethany Platt (Lucy Fallon). In late 2016, it was announced that Bethany was to find herself the victim of a sex ring with Nathan as the main perpetrator.^[34] A spokesperson said: "This storyline was not undertaken lightly, it was the subject of major discussions among the show's writers and bosses. But in the end they agreed that, while controversial, it was very important."^[34]

In August 2017, Harper was longlisted for Best Bad Boy at the Inside Soap Awards.^[30] He did not progress to the viewer-voted shortlist.^[31]

Nathan kicks out Shona, making her homeless with vicar Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank) taking her in. Nathan follows Shona to Billy and his boyfriend Todd Grimshaw's (Bruno Langley) house on Christmas Day and later rescues 16-year-old Bethany Platt when she collapses from an overdose of diet pills in the ginnel. He rushes Bethany to hospital with the help of Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall). After she thanks him, Bethany starts creating hairstyle tutorial videos with Nathan. She becomes smitten when he hints at a sexual attraction to her. Bethany's tutorial videos become popular online, though she is unaware that Nathan has made his assistant Mel Maguire (Sonia Ibrahim) boost the views and post comments. When Bethany makes a video without Nathan's help, Mel floods the video with negative comments. On Nathan's instructions, Mel also persuades Bethany to get a contraceptive implant.

Nathan is arrested on suspicion of abducting a teenage girl and asks Bethany for an alibi. When she refuses but learns he is innocent, he pretends to give her the cold shoulder then instructs Mel to take her on a drunken night out. Nathan picks up an intoxicated Bethany, despite protests from Rana Nazir (Bhavna Limbachia), and takes her to his flat. As part of his plan, Bethany asks to sleep with him which he agrees to. He later tells a person on the phone that she is "special". Nathan is arrested for assault and Mel persuades Bethany to provide a false alibi. Nathan later meets Bethany's mother Sarah Platt (Tina O'Brien) and Sarah's boyfriend Gary Windass (Mikey North). Sarah and Gary become concerned when they realise that Nathan is much older than Bethany, but decide not to interfere. Sarah is further alarmed when she visits the flat one evening and finds Bethany has been drinking. They argue but Bethany passes out so Sarah calls Gary to come and collect them before taking her home.

In June 2017, during a party, Nathan has Bethany sleep with three men, including Ian Yardley. He is later informed by Neil that the police are going to raid the flat, resulting in Nathan having to clear the flat of the guests. However, the police arrive and arrest Nathan for GBH and for grooming Bethany. As he is taken away, Nathan tells Bethany that he loves her. Nathan is arrested again and as the police take him away, Nathan calls Bethany a "stupid, ungrateful bitch". At the police station, Nathan's friend Neil threatens Bethany and her family should she reveal his identity.

There was at the time insufficient evidence to convict Nathan, so he was released in July 2017. Later in the month, Bethany reveals her ordeal with Neil Clifton (Ben Cartwright). He and Nathan are charged and jailed.

Bethany begins to work at a lap-dancing club in Manchester. Bethany lap-dances for a group of men on a stag night. The groom refuses to participate and Bethany attacks him with a glass bottle after she hallucinates that he is Nathan. She is charged with grievous bodily harm.

Jude Appleton

Jude Appleton, played by Paddy Wallace, was introduced on 25 December 2016 as Mary Taylor's (Patti Clare) long-lost son. He was the result of Mary being raped by a man whose children she used to babysit. Her mother insisted that Mary give him up for adoption as she was only fourteen years old.

He arrives on Christmas Day 2016 and takes a shine to Mary and reveals that he is a marine biologist working in South Africa. When he begins asking questions about his father, Mary tells him that he was the result of a teenage romance between her and a classmate. Jude asks Mary to move to South Africa with him, where his wife is heavily pregnant. She initially agrees, but after seeing how upset the locals are at her departure, she decides to stay in Weatherfield after leaving on positive terms with Jude.

In August 2017, Jude returned with his wife and son for his mum Mary's wedding to Norris Cole (Malcolm Hebden). He is devastated to learn he is actually the product of a rape, but Mary tells him she loves him all the same. He, Angie and baby George decide to move to Weatherfield but Angie isn't keen on the idea. She feels that Mary is trying to push her out and they argue over the amount Angie drinks and then George's health.

Mel Maguire

Mel Maguire, played by Sonia Ibrahim made her first appearance on 26 December 2016. She made her last appearance on 2 October 2017.

Others

References

External links

• Cast and characters at itv.com
• Cast and characters at the Internet Movie Database