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Coronation Street: Jenny Connor references Annie Walker

Annie was one of the soap's original characters

Coronation Street viewers may have noticed Jenny Connor mentioned former Rovers Return landlady Annie Walker in tonight’s episode (Friday, July 9 2021).

In scenes that aired tonight, Rovers landlady Jenny and her stepdaughter Daisy were talking about the great previous female landladies who ran the Rovers.

Daisy called cobbles icon Annie Walker ‘Fanny Forker’ and Jenny had to correct her.

Who is Annie Walker and what happened to her?

Coronation Street: Annie Walker and the Rovers

Annie Walker is one of Coronation Street’s original characters and was played by Doris Speed MBE.

She appeared in the very first episode of Corrie on December 9 1960.

Annie and Jack were the first on-screen landlady and landlord of the Rovers (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)

Annie and her husband Jack were the first on-screen landlady and landlord of the Rovers Return Inn. The couple had two adult children, Billy and Joan.

The couple ran the pub for many years, proving to be popular with locals. However it was a sad day for the Walker family on June 30 1970 when Jack had a heart attack and died.

After Jack’s death, Annie continued to run the pub. Her son Billy moved to Weatherfield to help out when needed.

The brewery was satisfied that Annie could continue to function as landlady with Billy around. However they did offer to make Billy licensee behind Annie’s back, but Billy refused this offer.

Annie continued to run the Rovers after Jack died (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)

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In 1977, locals celebrated Annie running the pub for four decades.

In 1983, Annie took a break from the pub to say with Joan. However in 1984, Billy arrived and announced his mother was retiring.

Annie retired without returning to tell her friends or staff personally. Billy ran the pub for a short time before selling it.

What happened to Annie Walker?

Annie made her final appearance in the episode which aired on October 12 1983.

Ken Barlow, Annie Walker, Albert Tatlock and Elsie Tanner in the Rovers in 1980 (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)

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After her departure Annie didn’t return to the cobbles and it was revealed at a later point in time that the character had died.

Actress Doris died on November 16 1994 at the age of 95.

Want more spoilers from Coronation Street? Entertainment Daily has a dedicated Coronation Street spoilers section for you to get your fix before the latest episodes air.

Coronation Street airs on Mondays and Wednesdays 7.30pm and 8.30pm. With an hour long episode at 7.30 on Fridays on ITV

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Charlotte Rodrigues
Soap Contributor
Charlotte Rodrigues joined Entertainment Daily in April 2018, as Audience Engagement Executive. A huge soap fan, Charlotte then became Senior Soap Writer, delivering the latest storylines and spoilers to our followers.