Sheila Birtles

Sheila Crossley (née Birtles) is a fictional character from the British soap opera Coronation Street. She was portrayed by actress Eileen Mayers. The character is famous for her suicide plot which was ultimately axed.

Casting

Mayers left the series in 1967 and was asked to return for two episodes in 1969, as part of Elsie Tanner's (Pat Phoenix). In 1974, the actress returned to filming for another stint as Sheila.

Storylines

Through his many faults, Sheila fell hard for Neil Crossley (Geoffrey Matthews), so much so that she did not see how badly he treated her. Neil only thought of Sheila as a bit of fun and after he stood her up on a date, she confronted him. Angered, Neil hit Sheila and left, leaving her devastated and she sank into a deep depression. She pushed her friends away and lost her job for not turning up. After she and Neil met again and he told her in no uncertain terms that they were over, Sheila attempted suicide but was found by Dennis Tanner (Philip Lowrie). On the doctor's recommendation, Sheila left Weatherfield and moved in with her parents. Whilst there, Sheila discovered she was pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy in 1964, who she named Danny, before giving him up for adoption.