She’s way past the age when most people stop working and start collecting their pension. But Barbara Knox has no intention of retiring from her job on Coronation Street – despite the fact she turned 90 this year at the end of September.
The veteran actor, who plays beloved Rita Tanner, has recently signed a new contract that will see her sipping gin and tonics in the Rovers Return for at least another year. And she’s regarded as such a treasure in the UK that she recently featured in her own TV tribute show, hosted by former Coro actor Bradley Walsh, to celebrate her milestone birthday.
Barbara first appeared as Rita in a short stint in 1964, four years after the long-running soap began. She returned in 1972 and has played the singer-turned-newsagent ever since. After colleague Bill Roache, who plays Ken Barlow, she’s the longest-serving cast member.
ITV boss Katie Rawcliffe says, “It’s easy to throw the words ‘legend’ and ‘icon’ around, but Barbara Knox really does embody both of those terms.”
Here’s a look back over 50 years on Coro and some of the best storylines involving Rita.
The key character in 1974.
1964: Rita Littlewood first shows up in the Rovers Return, where Dennis Tanner recognises her as a belly dancer from a local sporting club. She needs somewhere to stay, so Dennis offers his place while his mum Elsie is away. The neighbours are shocked at Dennis putting up a young, unmarried woman, and she soon departs.
1972: Rita turns up again, this time as a nightclub singer. She develops a crush on builder Len Fairclough and they eventually marry. It’s a volatile relationship – she pours a drink over his head during an argument in the Rovers.
1977: Len purchases The Kabin, the street’s newsagents, and installs Rita as the manageress. Mavis Riley becomes her assistant.
1980: The Faircloughs decide to adopt a baby but are rejected because they’re in their forties. They begin fostering children, including Sharon Gaskell, who will later go on to cause much trouble on the street.
A gripping scene with Mark Eden as deranged Alan.
1983: Len is killed in a car crash and a grieving Rita is distraught to learn he was having an affair.
1986: After Jenny Bradley becomes her foster daughter, Rita begins a relationship with her estranged dad Alan Bradley. He turns out to be a conman who steals Rita’s money.
1989: Rita attempts to break things off with the increasingly unhinged Alan, who tries to suffocate her. She flees to Blackpool, but Alan tracks her down and as he chases her along the promenade, he is hit and killed by a tram.
1992: Salesman Ted Sullivan becomes Rita’s latest husband, but after just three months of marriage, he dies of a brain tumour. He leaves her everything in his will and his family accuse her of being a golddigger. She wins a subsequent court case and is financially stable for life.
1998: A faulty gas fire leads to Rita suffering carbon monoxide poisoning, but thankfully she’s saved by her former manager Alec Gilroy. They begin a romance, then end it when they realise they can’t trust one another.
2000: Rita is not impressed when she learns her latest suitor, bookseller Anthony Stephens, is married. But his wife’s in residential care with severe Alzheimer’s, so she keeps seeing him, much to the disgust of his kids. When Anthony’s wife dies, he moves to New Zealand and asks Rita to go with him, but she declines.
2010: A tram crashes in the viaduct, smashing into the side of The Kabin and trapping Rita in the wreckage. None of her neighbours are aware of her predicament, but she is eventually rescued. While she only has minor physical injuries, she’s left traumatised.
Congratulations, Rita, and many Rovers Returns!
2011: Rita encounters her old friend Dennis Tanner, who is now homeless. They fall in love, but on their wedding day Rita is kidnapped by loan shark Rick Neelan in an attempt to force Tina McIntyre to hand back drugs she has stolen. Rita eventually makes it to the wedding.
2014: Dennis gets his marching orders after a dalliance with another woman. An attempt at reconciliation fails and the marriage ends.
2017: Rita’s increasing forgetfulness turns out to be due to a brain tumour. Thankfully, it’s benign and she recovers.
2019: While decorating her Christmas tree, Rita tumbles off a stepladder and is left lying on the floor, drifting in and out of consciousness. Eventually she’s discovered by Mary and Jenny.
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