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Wales Online
Lifestyle
Kathryn Williams

Where are Coronation Street's biggest stars of the '90s now?

If you've been hooked to classic Coronation Street repeats during the pandemic, you're not alone.

The fashions, cars and storylines all feel distinctly 1990s and there are some memorable characters who are the first you think about when you look back at the antics on the cobbles.

Read more: Where the big children's TV stars of the 1990s are now?

From Steve McDonald's romantic disasters (which have continued) to the Curly-Raquel-Des love triangle and the introduction of human-bellows, Fred Elliot, Coronation Street in the 1990s was legendary.

We've picked some memorable names and faces who were on our tellies three times a week (because it was just three half hours back then).

See how many you remember.

Andy McDonald - Nicholas Cochrane

Steve's (Simon Gregson) twin brother, Andy, who was on the Street for eight years from 1989 before leaving to live in Barcelona, was played by Nicholas Cochrane.

During his time on the cobbles Andy was seen as the go-getter in the family, but surprised them all by dropping out of Sheffield Uni and became assistant manager at Bettabuys. After leaving Corrie, Nicholas starred in the likes of Heartbeat and Doctors.

He returned to the street three times, the most recent was in 2009 when Steve McDonald was due to marry Becky Granger (Katherine Kelly).

Nicholas has two children with wife Denise and has appeared on many Coronation Street-related documentaries, including Farewell Liz, A Nightmare on Coronation Street, The Kids from Coronation Street, Women of Coronation Street and The Stars of the street 50 years 50 classic characters.

Des Barnes - Philip Middlemiss

Des Barnes (Philip Middlemiss) moved in with new wife Steph, who left him a year later for many reasons, including that he was obsessed with his boat.

Des, a true womaniser of the street who had affairs with many of them, breaking Raquel's heart in the process, also kept pranking his neighbours Mavis and Derek Wilton. He was murdered in 1998 after trying to protect Tony Horrocks from drug dealers.

After Corrie, Philip's life took a turn, with him being one of the most wanted men on the planet after being accused of being involved in a multi-billion pound international bribery scandal. While the former TV star was in Africa for work, he says he accepted an offer from Airbus to help them sell aircraft to Ghana.

But he ended up being falsely accused of being involved in corruption over the £50 million sale of three C-295 military planes to the the West African state. He's been cleared by the UK authorities, as he told GMB last September, but the ordeal caused him health problems and he lost his home and car.

Phil suffers with PTSD and is now taking legal action against the Serious Fraud Office.

Steph Barnes - Amelia Bullmore

(Dave Benett/Getty Images)

Amelia Bullmore played Des Barnes' other half and stayed on the cobbles for five years, but since then her career has been almost an A-Z of British TV.

From This Life, Big Train, Ashes to Ashes, Scott and Bailey, most recently in the reboot of The Larkins, Amelia has done a lot of great telly.

Perhaps her most brilliant, and most quoted role, is as Sonja, Alan Partridge's girlfriend in the second series of I'm Alan Partridge. Egg in a bap, anyone?

Fiona Middleton - Angela Griffin

Angela Griffin is still a regular on TV and is currently filming the brand new series of Waterloo Road, which is making its comeback this year.

Anglea is an(other) ex of Steve McDonald who left the street in 1998 after six years as the popular hairdresser. In 2019 she made a brief, and virtual, comeback as it was revealed that Emma Brooker was Fiona and Steve's daughter.

Isolation Stories (ITV)

Since leaving the street, Angela has been seen in Isolation Stories, Inspector Lewis, Ordinary Lies, Netflix's White Lines, Cutting It and was in the recent Channel 4 drama, Help with Stephen Graham and Jodie Comer.

Maxine Peacock - Tracy Shaw

Maxine accepts wedding proposal from Ashley (Granada)

Part of the cast from 1995 to 2003, when she met a sticky (and iconic end) at the gloved hand of Richard Hillman, Maxine was another hairdresser who enjoyed flings with Curly, Steve, Des and Andy.

But in 1999 she married butcher Ashley and had baby Joshua - who might or might not have been Ashley's. Oops. Maxine is immortalised with a memorial bench outside Audrey's hairdressers following her murder by Hillman, who was trying to kill Eileen Bishop.

Tracy Shaw, now 47, has made a few telly appearances since her fateful end, including in Casualty, Doctors and Grease Monkeys, but it's on stage she's enjoyed flexing her acting muscles, most recently touring with Britt Ekland and Anthony Costa in thriller The Cat and The Canary.

Steven Arnoldy, meanwhile, stayed on until 2010 when Ashley was killed in the 50th-anniversary tram crash. He officially retired from acting in 2015 but in 2020 popped up on an episode of Celebrity Come Dine with Me.

Fred Elliot - John Savident

Played by John Savident, bombastic butcher Fred had a bell on every tooth as it were, and tried to put a ring on the finger of every single woman on the cobbles, over a certain age.

He was Fred for 12 years, first joining in 1994 and managed to propose to Audrey Roberts, Rita Sullivan, Ben Unwin and Doreen Heavey. He succeeded in walking Maureen Holdsworth down the aisle, I say, down the aisle, but she ran off to Germany with Kevin Webster's dad, Bill.

But the real love of Fred's life was his secret son Ashley Peacock, who thought Fred was his uncle.

Now 84, John had a long career before Corrie and continued after he left in 2006. He starred in Doctor Who, Clockwork Orange, Gandhi, Remains of the Day before and since, he performed on stage in Snow White, HMS Pinafore and was in an episode of Holby City.

In 2000 he was attacked at his home by Michael Smith, who stabbed him in the neck twice. Smith was sentenced to seven years in prison for GBH.

Curly Watts - Kevin Kennedy

Sarah Lancashire plays Raquel Watts and Kevin Kennedy plays Curly Watts (Granada)

A 20-year veteran of Corrie, Curly first entered the street in 1983 as a bin man and was famed for his mishaps and romantic failures.

He and Raquel were the bittersweet couple of soapland in the mid-90s as he hankered after her, got her on the rebound from Des and she eventually left him to go to Kuala Lumpur.

Curly left in 2003 with a wife, hoorah, and a son.

Kevin hasn't been seen much since leaving the Street, but he's had roles in Blue Murder, Doctors and Holby City.

He's been in theatre shows and performs on cruise ships in musicals, too, and most impressively, runs recovery charity, Kennedy Street, with his wife, Clare, which helps people in recovery from addiction.

Raquel Wolstenhulme - Sarah Lancashire

Raquel was the blonde bombshell who inadvertently asked Ken Barlow to sleep with her, while she was having a French lesson.

She went through the mill romantically, in love with Des, the love of Curly Watts' life who she left to pursue aromatherapy in Asia.

In real life, Sarah Lancashire has become one of the UK's most revered actors in TV drama and is currently filming the long-awaited third series of Happy Valley.

She's also made an impact in Kiri, The Accident, Last Tango in Halifax, Clocking Off and immediately prior ro Corrie she was in ITV cosy-drama, Where the Heart Is.

Reg Holdsworth - Ken Morley

Reg was a big personality and a classic scene involved him and a waterbed (with wife Maureen).

The character's exploits took place on the street between 1989 and 1995 and included working at Bettabuys, marrying Maureen (future Loose Woman Sherrie Hewson) and trying to get rid of her cantankerous mother, Maud.

After he left, Ken appeared opposite Martin Freeman in BBC sitcom, Hardware, and Red Dwarf as well as appearances on Celeb shows like Big Brother, MasterChef and Fit Club.

Mavis Wilton - Thelma Barlow

Thelma Barlow (second right) with Rita Sullivan(Barbara Knox),Norris Cole (Malcolm Hebden)(second left) Alec Gilroy(Roy Barraclough) & P.C. Bentley (Michael Begley) (Granada)

A double-act with Rita Sullivan at the Kabin for years, Mavis became part of '80s and '90s comedy folklore thanks to Les Dennis and her quotable 'ooh, I don't really know..'

In the mid-80s she married Derek at a second attempt, following a disastrous first attempt in 1984.

After years of nervy married bliss, including a silly feud with neighbour Des Barnes, she was widowed after Derek's sudden death in 1997 and moved to Cumbria to run a B&B.

Actress Thelma Barlow, now 92, moved into another beloved role after Mavis, Dolly in Victoria Wood's Dinnerladies. She also had roles in movies Florence Foster Jenkins with Meryl Streep and Mrs Henderson Presents.

Thelma Barlow as Dolly in BBC show Dinnerladies (BBC)

You'll have seen her in Doctor Who, Doc Martin, Marple and Midsomer Murders, too. Her on-screen partner in Corrie, played by Peter Baldwin, died in 2015.

Natalie Barnes - Denise Welch

(PA)

A sassy blonde who ran the Rovers and had an affair with Kevin Webster, Natalie was a whirlwind of drama when she entered the street in the mid-90s, breaking up one of the favourite couples.

Her alter-ego Denise is still a frequent face on TV as one of the Loose Women line-up, following post-Corrie roles on Waterloo Road, Down to Earth, Hollyoaks and, of course, her winning stint on Celebrity Big Brother in 2012.

Denise has been open about her struggles with mental health and addiction and in 2010 wrote bestselling autobiography, Pulling Myself Together.

Her son, with ex-husband Tim Healy, is Matthew Healy of the band The 1975.

Les Battersby - Bruce Jones

Former Coronation Street star Bruce Jones, who played Les Battersby in the ITV soap (MDM)

Memorable loudmouth and opportunistic freeloader Les first appeared in 1997 with wife Janice and their daughters Leanne and Toyah, both still on the street today.

Viewers were treated to the exploits of Les at number five, including spying on his neighbours by wandering around the connected attics, tricking Emily Bishop into thinking her house was haunted and being punched by his idols, Status Quo - a karmic payback for all the residents he had assaulted over the years.

After Janice left him, Les married Cilla, memorably ruining their house with a famous hot tub incident.

Bruce Jones was also a fairly colourful character, suspended from the soap in 2007 for getting drunk with a reporter and revealing future storylines.

2009 was a bad year for the actor, who's appeared on Celebrity Wife Swap, Celeb Big Brother, Come Dine With Me, as he pleaded guilty to drink-driving and driving dangerously in north Wales and lived alone in a caravan after blowing his million-pound fortune.

Bruce, who when he was younger discovered a victim of the Yorkshire Ripper, has appeared in Netflix doc, The Ripper about the incident. He was last seen as part of Celebs on Benefits back in 2015. And in 2020 he has Vicky Entwhistle reunited on Loose Women.

The Battersbys arrive on Coronation Street (ITV)

Janice Battersby - Vicky Entwhistle

Joining Bruce on the street from 1997, Vicky stayed in Corrie until 2011 when her character Janice went to travel the world with her lodger Trevor.

Since leaving the street she has joined Bruce on Celebrity Big Brother, starred in pantos and appeared in episodes of Ackley Bridge and Holby City.

Spider Nugent - Martin Hancock

Spider Nugent (Martin Hancock), 1998 Lorraine Horrocks (Holly Newman) and Curly Watts (Kevin Kennedy (Granada)

The man who brought eco-warriors to soapland, Spider was Emily Bishop's nephew and love interest of Toyah Battersby. He's currently meant to be be in Peru with his Aunty Em.

Martin has appeared in Endeavour, The Musketeers, Being Human, No Angels, Doctors and loads more British TV series. He also played Reg Lund for a stint in Holby City.

On the big screen Martin starred in 24 Hour Party People, Hannibal Rising and 6 Days, amongst others.

Martin Platt - Sean Wilson

Martin Platt (Sean Wilson) marries Gail Tilsley (Helen Worth) (ITV)

Now famous for being a cheese maker, Sean had a busy 20 years on the cobbles, with several affairs, reunions with Gail, controversial relationships with Sally Webster and Katy Harris - so it's no wonder he took to creating fromage.

Martin last appeared in March 2018 to tell David he was moving to New Zealand. Speaking to the Distinct Nostalgia podcast in January 2022, Sean said he eventually quit the show when bosses wanted his character to become a paedophile.

He said: “The producer and writers had a penchant for throwing controversial storylines at me, which was great. But the final one they put to me was that I was going to start seeing a 14-year-old girl and I just said, ‘I’m not doing that.’"

Now 56, Sean had a few TV roles post-Corrie, Casualty, Doctors, The Royal etc, but was drawn to cooking, working in several Michelin-starred restaurants before creating the Saddleworth Cheese Company.

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