Coronation Street queens
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Coronation Street queens: 13 feistiest female characters

You don't get much more formidable than a Weatherfield woman

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When it comes to soaps, no one portrays feisty women quite like Coronation Street queens.

Over the decades, Corrie has become famous for creating female characters so strong they could knock you for six with just one look. 

But who are the feistiest women the cobbles have ever seen? Here’s a run down – in no particular order – of the Weatherfield women you definitely don’t want to mess with… 

1. Carla Connor (Alison King)

Ms Connor is loyal and seriously feisty (Credit: ITV)

Read more: 9 biggest Coronation Street cameos

While Carla might look all class on the outside, there is a seriously feisty side to the Underworld boss that you unearth at your peril.

She is fiercely loyal to her family and friends and doesn’t take any rubbish from anyone. With Carla what you see is what you get – she’s strong, independent, and has amazing hair to boot. 

2. Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford)

You wouldn’t want to find yourself on the wrong side of Tracy Barlow (Credit: ITV)

You’d have to be brave to take on formidable Tracy Barlow. She’s the queen of cat fights, doesn’t hold back when it comes to telling it like it is, and isn’t afraid to stand up for what she believes in. Approach with caution! 

3. Gemma Winter (Dolly-Rose Campbell)

Gemma is one of a kind (Credit: ITV)

When it comes to telling people how it is, no one does it quite like Gemma. She’s not afraid to tell people exactly what she’s thinking, and rarely takes no for an answer.

But despite the fact she is probably the biggest motormouth Weatherfield has ever seen, Gemma also wears her heart on her sleeve. She is kind, secretly sensitive and hilariously funny… which is why Coronation Street fans love her so much. 

4. Blanche Hunt (Maggie Jones)

No one could ever match Blanche’s one liners (Credit: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

The queen of the one-liners, Blanche could strike you down with her acid tongue in one fell swoop.

She was brutally honest and her gallows humour had viewers in stitches from the moment she arrived on the cobbles in 1974.

5. Bet Lynch (Julie Goodyear)

Bet was famous for her love of animal print (Credit: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

With her penchant for leopard print and her gravity-defying tower of blonde hair, it is easy to see why Bet Lynch is seen as one of the most iconic soap women of all time.

She was the face of the Rovers Return for more than two decades going from barmaid, to manageress, to landlady – putting her in prime position to find out all the latest gossip on the cobbles. 

6. Ena Sharples (Violet Carson)

She was one of a kind… (Credit: Mike Forster/Daily Mail/REX/Shutterstock )

No one on Coronation Street has ever been quite as mesmerising and formidable as the original soap battle axe, Ena Sharples.

If there was gossip to be talked about, or private lives to pry into, Ena could usually be found dishing the dirt over a milk stout in the Rovers’ snug. 

7. Cilla Battersby-Brown (Wendi Peters)

Motormouth Cilla was famous for her love of a tanning booth (Credit: ITV/REX/Shutterstock )

Les Battersby’s straight-talking wife couldn’t have been more gobby if she tried.

While she always aspired to the finer things in life, Cilla always managed to turn whatever she touched into a disaster… but with her penchant for a sun beds and blue eyeshadow, there was no one else on the cobbles quite like Cilla. 

8. Becky McDonald (Katherine Kelly)

Becky was about as feisty as they come… (Credit: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

There are fewer females to have ever graced the cobbles feistier than Becky McDonald.

But while her favourite pastimes were fighting with sister Kylie and mother-in-law Liz, or drowning her sorrows when life wasn’t going her way, she also had a softer side, desperately wanted to be a mother, and would do anything for best friends Roy and Hayley Cropper. 

9. Tina McIntyre

Ms McIntyre had a penchant for hooped earrings! (Credit: ITV/REX/Shutterstock )

No nonsense Tina was a force to be reckoned with if you got on the wrong side of her… but, while she wasn’t afraid of a cat fight in the pub, she also wore her heart on her sleeve, made hoop earrings look glamorous, and could be the best friend anyone could wish for.

She was brutally murdered by Rob Donovan and we miss her! 

10. Karen McDonald (Suranne Jones)

The feisty one was always ‘the one that got away’ for Steve McDonald (Credit: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Steve and Karen McDonald might have got married as a bet, but their fake romance soon turned real, and it didn’t take long for Karen to have her husband wrapped around her little finger.

Karen is probably best known for her ongoing rivalry with Tracy Barlow – now they had catfights to match no other! 

11. Annie Walker (Doris Speed)

Annie believed she was a cut above the rest (Credit: ITV/REX/Shutterstock )

She was the cobbles resident snob from 1960 to 1983 and while she wasn’t afraid of a bit of confrontation, she delivered it with slightly more subtlety than her peers.

Annie was a fan of using big words to bamboozle whoever she was arguing with, and saw herself as a cut above the rest… something that Corrie fans couldn’t help but love her for. 

12. Elsie Tanner (Pat Phoenix)

Elsie was feisty and glamorous at the same time (Credit: ITV/REX/Shutterstock )

Legendary Elsie could often be found gossiping with a cigarette in one hand and a gin and tonic in the other.

When she wasn’t discussing the private lives of her neighbours or moaning about her latest man, she could be seen arguing in the street with Hilda Ogden or showing Gail Platt who’s boss. 

Read more: Coronation Street’s 13 biggest plot twists

13. Eva Price (Catherine Tyldesley)

Eva was both feisty and funny at the same time (Credit: ITV)

If you thought that Eva was just a blonde barmaid, think again. While she might have the men of Weatherfield wrapped around her little finger thanks to her feminine charms, she also gave as good as she got when it came to confrontation.

Whether it was a catfight in the Rovers or holding her own in an argument, Eva somehow managed to be feisty and funny at the same time. 

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Who is your favourite from this list? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think!


Claire Crick
Freelance Soap Writer

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