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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Katie Fitzpatrick

ITV Coronation Street's greatest ever couples

To be honest Coronation Street isn't the home of the absolutely rock-solid marriage.

But the cobbles have housed many long-standing relationships that have weathered a fair few storms over the years.

Some of the greatest partnerships have been formed in Weatherfield, proving that true love stands the test of time on the cobbles.

These famous and much-loved couples may have had their ups and downs over the years but they've warmed our hearts and provided plenty of laughs, and tears, along the way.

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And as it's Valentine's Day let's take a look at some of the loved-up couples who have graced the street.

Now pass the tissues.

Roy and Hayley Cropper

Roy and Hayley get married (ITV)

Roy and Hayley Cropper were made for each other, and after Hayley passed away in 2013 no-one has been able to replace his wife and best friend.

The pair became friends after they were introduced by Alma Baldwin but at first it wasn't all plain sailing for the couple.

They split when Hayley revealed she was a pre-operative transsexual who used to be called Harold, but Roy realised he couldn't live without her and she travelled to Amsterdam to have her surgery.

They were such a solid couple they provided a loving home to Fiz Brown and Becky McDonald, and they even managed to break down Carla Connor's steely exterior.

Hayley and Roy officially married in 2010 after the law was changed to recognise their union.

Heartbreakingly, Hayley took her own life in Roy's arms in January 2014 after drinking a lethal cocktail.

Jack and Vera Duckworth

Jack and Vera Duckworth (ITV)

Jack and Vera were always bickering but beneath the snarky remarks (not to mention Jack's roving eye) was true love.

Jack, played by the late great Bill Tarmey, was the nation's favourite pigeon fancier who took the hard line with their wayward son Terry.

He found the son he never had in Tyrone Dobbs, who was more family to him than their own blood.

Fans were devastated when Jack died peacefully in Vera's chair in 2010, slipping in and out of consciousness as he had one final dance with the ghost of Vera, his 'little swamp duck' .

And Vera's death in the same chair a couple of years earlier was equally touching.

Stan and Hilda Ogden

Stan and Hilda, who were also known for their bickering, were one of the street's best-loved couples.

Prone to drinking and terrible rages, Stan changed his ways but remained one of the Rovers' greatest customers and was rewarded with a free pint each day for life.

In the 70s they won a second honeymoon to the Savoy hotel and were picked up by a limousine.

Cleaner Hilda bought a special silk nightdress for the occasion but Stan ruined the moment by falling asleep.

Stan died of gangrene in November 1984 and in one of the soap's most memorable moments, Hilda returned from hospital with a bag of his belongings, took out his spectacles and cried over them as the episode ended in silence without the usual theme tune.

Hilda left the street in 1987 to become a housekeeper for a doctor in Derbyshire.

Ken and Deirdre Barlow

Ken and Deidre on their wedding day in 1981 (ITV)

Ken and Deirdre's relationship survived many an affair but their love ran deep and the Weatherfield couple married twice.

They were first married from 1981 to 1990, which was marred by Deirdre's affair with smarmy Mike Baldwin.

The news that Ken and Deirdre were staying together was so huge it was announced on the scoreboard at Old Trafford during the Manchester United vs Arsenal game.

Sadly they couldn't get past Ken's affair with Wendy Crozier and Deirdre went on to marry her Moroccan boyfriend Samir Rachid, who donated a kidney to her daughter Tracy when he was killed in 1994.

Ken then campaigned to get his ex released from prison after she was wrongly accused of fraud following a relationship with conman Jon Lindsey in 1998.

She and Ken remarried in 2005 and they stuck together, despite his affair with Martha Fraser, until Deirdre's death in 2015.

Kevin and Sally Webster

Kevin and Sally Webster were married and divorced twice, but are still best friends to this day with two daughters Rosie and Sophie.

They met when Kev splashed her with a puddle and then married in 1986, splitting in 1997 when he had an affair with Natalie Horrocks, and again in 1999 when Sally had an affair with Greg Kelly.

They reunited and said 'I do' again on December 9, 2002.

Sally then had another affair with her boss Ian Davenport and Kevin cheated with his friend and colleague Tyrone's wife, Molly Dobbs, and secretly fathered a child, Jack, with her.

When Sally found out about the affair as Molly lay dying in the Coronation Street tram crash of 2010, they split for good.

She's now happily married to Tim Metcalfe while Kevin is newly married with her bestie Abi Franklin.

Sally and Tim Metcalfe

The pairing of snobby Sally and window cleaner Tim raised eyebrows at first, but they bring the perfect mix of comedy and heart-warming romance.

Tim manages to bring out Sally's soft side and they've been stronger than ever after the former councillor was wrongly imprisoned for fraud and money laundering.

While she was in prison her sister Gina Seddon tried to move in on Sal's man, but they survived this bump in the road.

They've since been tested by the arrival of Tim's secret wife who he married in Las Vegas years ago.

And recently Sally thought he was hiding a secret affair when he was keeping shock news that he needed a triple heart bypass from her.

Gemma Winter and Chesney Brown

Gemma and Chesney are a popular couple (ITV)

They hadn't been together long before the pair, who bonded while working together in Dev's kebab shop, discovered that they were expecting not one but four babies together.

And for a young couple they've been through far more than most.

Gemma sought help for her postnatal depression as she’s struggled to cope with her babies as well as bullies after she was mocked and shunned by other mums at a baby group.

Before that an arsonist put a flaming rag through her door as she and their babies slept, then she and Chesney were told one of the quads Aled had been born deaf.

Things only came to a head when she left the babies on a bus as her partner watched in horror and ran to rescue them.

And Chesney has always been there to support and comfort her.

Steve and Tracy McDonald

Steve and Tracy on the wedding day that went wrong (ITV)

He's notched up seven weddings but it seems like Steve McDonald has finally found his match with Tracy Barlow.

He married Tracy for a second time in 2018 and she Tracy became his fifth wife.

The first time they married, Steve found out she had been lying about his ex Becky Granger causing her to miscarry her unborn twins and it was all over.

They reunited at Christmas 2017 after sharing some booze in a hipflask at Amy's carol concert.

He accidentally got engaged to her when she thought he was proposing with a declaration of love.

He tried his luck with Abi Franklin and slept with Leanne Battersby for a second time (the first time they had a fling she fell pregnant with their son Oliver.)

Tracy found out on their wedding day and punched Steve in the face during their first dance to (I've Had) The Time Of My Life.

It's been far from plain-sailing since then, including Tracy's fling on New Year's Eve 2019 with barrister Paula Cunliffe.

But there's little that can shake this pair now they've finally settled down.

Peter Barlow and Carla Connor

Carla and Peter (ITV)

They found love while supporting each other through alcohol addiction, and they remain one of the most popular couples on the street despite everything sent to test them.

Daniel's half-brother Peter and his partner, played by Chris Gascoyne and Alison King, were expecting a baby together in 2014 but Carla suffered a miscarriage in the wake of Tina McIntyre's murder.

Barmaid Tina, who was having an affair with Peter, was killed by Carla's brother Rob Donovan and Carla was a suspect until he confessed the truth to his sister.

Coronation Street fans were celebrating when Peter and Carla reunited on new year's eve 2018.

Peter supported he former factory boss when she suffered a mental breakdown after her beloved Underworld was sabotaged, bringing down the roof and killing Rana Habeeb.

And Carla was by his side when cab driver Peter hit the bottle again after he was attacked while working for Street Cars.

The event triggered another downward spiral for the character and he was left in desperate need of a liver transplant.

Fans were in tears as Carla told him "I’m right here, you know" as he was wheeled in for life-saving surgery.

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