Annie Walker

Anne "Annie" Walker (née Beaumont) was a long-standing fictional character in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street. She was played by actress Doris Speed from the series' first episode in 1960 until Speed retired from the role 23 years and 1,737 episodes later in 1983.

The character of Annie has been noted as "snobbish" and "snooty" due to her condescending attitude and delusions of grandeur. Despite this, Annie proved to be one of the show's most popular characters and Speed received more fan mail than any other cast member at the time. For her service, Speed was later declared a "national treasure" by the media and received an MBE in 1977.

Creation

Annie was one of the original characters in Coronation Street when the show began in 1960. Creator Tony Warren wrote the part with Doris Speed in mind, having worked with her before when he was a young actor on radio play Children's Hour. As the immaculately-kept manageress of the Rovers Return Inn, Annie appeared in the very first episode, recorded live on 9 December 1960 and in the following episode her mild-mannered husband of over twenty years Jack (Arthur Leslie) was introduced. The pair went on to become the first great 'double act' of the series, and following the series' early success, Jack and Annie's two children were introduced - Billy (Ken Farrington) and Joan (June Barry), who arrived for Joan's wedding to teacher Gordon Davies (Calvin Malone) in 1961.