Top 25 Favourite Corrie Males - No. 1

STEVE MCDONALD
(440 VOTES)

Duration: 1989-

Played by: Simon Gregson  

2012 character poll position (men): 2

Having led the race since the second week, Steve McDonald is at No.1!! I believe his popularity soared when he married Karen in 2001 and thus making him one of the show’s all-time favourites.

Over the course of 26 years, Steve McDonald has gone from a mischievous teen who caused trouble for Alf Roberts to a father, cab firm owner and pub landlord loved by millions. He arrived on the Street with parents Jim and Liz and twin brother Andy. 

For a man who’s only in his forties, Steve has been married six times! First wife Vicky Arden was wealthy and he only married her for her money. When he got into hot water criminally, he blamed her and she quickly filed for divorce. He married second wife Karen Phillips for a bet in 2001 but they fell in love and became popular with fans due to their fiery arguments. The marriage ended due to Karen’s affair with Joe Carter and Steve’s one night stand with Tracy Barlow – resulting in the birth of his daughter Amy. After a few months, Steve and Karen reunited and remarried in 2004 but the marriage soon collapsed and Karen left the Street and they divorced in 2006. 

After relationships with Tracy, Ronnie Clayton and Michelle Connor, Steve married Becky Granger in 2009. Their marriage was also tempestuous with both making mistakes which resulted in their divorce in 2011. Steve then married Tracy when she became pregnant with twins. But when she miscarried, she accused Becky of pushing her down the stairs, a lie to gain Steve’s sympathy. Becky got her revenge though and announced that Tracy was lying and had medical evidence that showed she had had a miscarriage. A furious Steve divorced Tracy. He then returned to dating Michelle. After a tough relationship with Steve hiding his depression from her, they eventually married in 2015.

Steve owned the Rovers between 2006 and 2012 and has been since 2013 (albeit a brief period in 2015) and has been running cab firm Street Cars since 2000, enjoying a wonderful camaraderie with Lloyd Mullaney and Eileen Grimshaw. When he wanted money to start the cab firm, he borrowed from drug dealer Jez Quigley. When Steve failed to pay him, Jez sought revenge and beat him up and left him for dead. Steve’s dad Jim sought revenge on Jez by beating him up and this resulted in Jez dying of a punctured lung. 

Steve is of course known on this Blog for his gurns!

Should Steve be at no. 1? Are you a fan? 

Deirdre: A Life on Coronation Street - official ITV tribute to a soap icon. Available here.

Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter @infokitasemua

Download our free App | Visit Corrie.net


All original work on the Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License

Top 25 Favourite Corrie Males - No. 2

ROY CROPPER (408 VOTES)

Duration: 1995-
Played by: David Neilson
2012 character poll position (men): 3

For the first week of the polls, Roy was in first place but then settled for second place. 

Roy was brought into the serial in 1995 as the eccentric neighbour of Deirdre Rachid at Crimea Street. A secondary character for two years, he became a regular in 1997 when he became Gail Platt’s partner at Jim’s Café. As he was the major shareholder he renamed the café Roy’s Rolls. He later bought Gail’s share and relocated from Rosamund Street to Victoria Street. 

Known for his shopping bag, Roy was and still is a popular character, known for his quirky conservations filled with facts and for being a bit serious. Soon after he became a regular he was paired off with Hayley Patterson. She was no ordinary woman – she was a transsexual. But this didn’t stop their romance and they had a blessing ceremony and Hayley changed her name to Hayley Cropper. In 2010, due to a change in the law, Roy and Hayley could get properly married, which they did. For more than a decade, Roy and Hayley established themselves as one of Corrie’s classic couples, side by side to the Duckworths, Ogdens and Barlows and they were well loved by fans. In 2013, Hayley received the devastating news that she had cancer. Over the next few months, the Croppers spent time ticking off Hayley’s bucket list like re-visiting the lake where they first kissed and dancing in the ballroom in Blackpool Tower. Hayley made the controversial choice of wanting to kill herself by taking an overdose. Roy was devastated when she drank the cocktail and slowly passed away.

Roy struggled to move on with his life without Hayley but with the support of friends Carla, Anna, Fiz, Tyrone and Chesney he eventually came to terms with it. A year after losing Hayley he befriended Cathy Matthews on his allotment and their friendship blossomed into courtship.

Roy has starred in many storylines over the years including being tricked by Tracy Barlow; taking in various waifs and strays; being suspected of dealing drugs with Ken Barlow; finding about Hayley having fathered a child; nearly murdered by Tony Gordon; and reuniting with mum Sylvia after many years of estrangement. Not one to show his emotions, Roy showed his caring side when looking out for Becky McDonald, who fondly called him ‘Royston’ and saw him as a father figure.

Should Royston be at 2? Are you a fan? 

Deirdre: A Life on Coronation Street - official ITV tribute to a soap icon. Available here.

Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter @infokitasemua

Download our free App | Visit Corrie.net


All original work on the Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License

Top 25 Favourite Corrie Males - No. 3

JACK DUCKWORTH (322 VOTES)

Duration: 1979, 1981-2010

Played by: Bill Tarmey

2012 character poll position (men): 1

While Jack occupied the top male spot and overall character top spot in 2012, he has been downgraded to third position. I’m sure he feels like David Whitfield felt when Elvis came on the scene in 1957!

First introduced at Brian and Gail’s wedding, Jack didn’t become a regular until 1983 when the Duckies moved into No9. A bone idle layabout, Jack gave Vera a lot of grief but they were married for over 50 years. Jack also played away, mainly with bored housewives while on his window round. He was also one of Bet Lynch’s conquests. 

He was also behind the Rovers bar for nearly 15 years as cellar-man and barman under Alec and Bet Gilroy and then he got his dream job when he became landlord in 1995, beating the McDonalds. But it was Vera’s name above the door as she had a clean record. The Duckworths failed to keep up with VAT payments and were forced into partnership with Alec Gilroy who later bought them out. They then ran a B&B until they returned to the street in 2000 and bought No9 from Gary Mallett.

Jack had a strained relationship with son Terry. While at first he turned a blind eye to Terry’s dodgy dealings, Jack realised that Terry was only using his parents for his own gain. Jack was sickened when Terry sold his son Tommy to his in-laws and Britain cheered when Jack punched him on Christmas Day and disowned him. Whenever Terry returned, Jack was always wary of his motives.

Known for his stuck-together glasses and his love of pigeons, Jack was left bereft when his ‘little swampduck’ passed away in 2008 when they were on the verge on retiring to Blackpool. After her death, Jack led a quiet life with his surrogate son Tyrone and his wife Molly and found companionship with Connie Rathbone. 

In 2010, Jack was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and passed away on his birthday, taking the secret that Molly’s son Jack was Kevin Webster’s and not Tyrone’s to the grave. The secret eventually came out the following month. Vera (ghost) came to collect him and took him to heaven.

Were you a fan of Jack? 

Deirdre: A Life on Coronation Street - official ITV tribute to a soap icon. Available here.

Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter @infokitasemua

Download our free App | Visit Corrie.net


All original work on the Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License

Top 25 Favourite Corrie Males - No. 4

TIM METCALFE (229 VOTES)

Duration: 2013-
Played by: Joe Duttine
2012 character poll position (men): Not included

A male character who has definitely become popular since his relationship with Sally Webster. 

Introduced as the estranged father of Faye Windass, Tim worked as a builder. Despite Faye’s adoptive mother Anna’s initial disapproval, Tim kept in contact with Faye when he got a job with Jason Grimshaw.

Both Anna and partner Owen Armstrong attempted to force Tim out of Weatherfield but he began a relationship with Sally. 

When work dried up with Jason, he established himself as a window cleaner – continuing the lineage of street window cleaners (Stan, Eddie, Jack). His down to earth attitude is a stark contrast to the snobbery of Sally and they are a reminder of Richard and Hyacinth Bucket. In 2015, Tim employed Craig Tinker as his assistant. It was revealed in 2014 that Tim was dyslexic but he has overcome this problem by now.

Surprisingly, Tim has a formed a close friendship with Sally’s ex Kevin. This is a contrast to Kevin’s animosity towards Sally’s men. But this provides and interesting dynamic to the Webster household. Kevin was even best man at Tim and Sally’s wedding in 2015.

Tim is definitely in the mould of Corrie’s classic hapless men – Stan, Jack, Les and Steve and has to be one of the brightest stars of Corrie in recent years after the departures of many classic characters.

Are you a fan of Tim? Are you a fan of his relationship with Sally?

Deirdre: A Life on Coronation Street - official ITV tribute to a soap icon. Available here.

Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter @infokitasemua

Download our free App | Visit Corrie.net


All original work on the Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License

Top 25 Favourite Corrie Males - No. 5

PETER BARLOW (205 VOTES)

Duration: 1965-1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1986, 2000-2003, 2007-2014, 2015

Played by: John Heannau, Christopher Dormer, Mark Duncan, Linus Roache, Joseph McKenna, David Lonsdale, Chris Gascoyne

2012 character poll position (men): 7

One of the twins born to Ken and Valerie Barlow fifty years ago. After appearing sporadically over 21 years, he was re-introduced in 2000 and it is this Peter that has won fans’ hearts.

After Val’s death in 1971, Peter and his sister Susan were packed up to Scotland to be raised by their maternal grandparents. Peter later joined the navy and married Jessica Midgeley in 1990.

Newly divorced Peter returned to the street in 2000. He wooed both Shelley Unwin and Lucy Richards and married them bigamously. He was never punished by the law, only by a punch from Shelley. Lucy gave birth to Simon in 2003 although she refused access to Peter. Peter then left.

He returned in 2007 with Simon, who Peter had to take on after Lucy’s death and bought the local bookies. Struggling with fatherhood and women, Peter became fond of the drink and ultimately became an alcoholic. With the support of his family and girlfriend Leanne Battersby he sobered up. But when Leanne briefly left the street, he nearly killed himself and Simon when he drunkenly left a cigarette to burn in his flat.

Peter also escaped death when a tram crashed into the street. Afraid that he was going to die, he married Leanne. Unknown to Peter, Leanne had been having an affair with her ex Nick Tilsley. When Peter found out he confronted her at their marriage blessing. The marriage survived but Peter then had an affair with Carla Connor.

Peter and Leanne divorced and Peter got engaged to Carla. But then the Barlow gene hit again as he embarked on a fling with Tina McIntyre. Peter and Carla did marry but the marriage ended when the affair was exposed. 

When Rob Donovan pushed Tina off the balcony of the builder’s yard, he framed Peter who spent months in prison. It was Rob’s confession that led to Peter being released. 

Peter left the street once more in 2014 only to return briefly when Deirdre died in 2015.

A fan of Peter? Should he return once more?

Deirdre: A Life on Coronation Street - official ITV tribute to a soap icon. Available here.

Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter @infokitasemua

Download our free App | Visit Corrie.net


All original work on the Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License

Top 25 Favourite Corrie Males - No. 6

MIKE BALDWIN (193 VOTES)

Duration: 1976-2006

Played by: Johnny Briggs 

2012 character poll position (men): 5

The cheeky Cockney who bought the old warehouse on Coronation Street in 1976 and turned it into a denim factory that employed many over the years. Mike was introduced as an attempt to close the North/South divide between viewers. He quickly became a hit.

He became a Casanova to rival Ken Barlow. Over 30 years he had 18 girlfriends and four wives. His conquests included Bet Lynch, Deirdre Barlow, Maggie Dunlop, Gloria Todd and Penny King. His four wives were Susan Barlow (1986), Jackie Ingram (1991), Alma Sedgewick (1992) and Linda Sykes (2000). It is debatable who his true love was: was it Alma or Deirdre?

Fond of whiskey, he fathered three sons: Danny (who he thought was his nephew), Mark and Adam. Mike didn’t have a lot of luck with his offspring. He only got to spend a few years with both Danny and Adam; and Mark had an affair with Linda.

Apart from romantic life, Mike’s main storylines involved the boom and bust nature of his business. He sold Baldwin’s Casuals in 1989 and established Underworld in 1996. His capitalism clashed with many, mainly Ken Barlow and Don Brennan. Ken detested Mike’s outlook on life and how he treated women. But their rivalry deepened when Mike embarked on an affair with Deirdre and later married Susan. They would later clash over both Alma Sedgewick and Maggie Redman and over Adam’s custody. 

Mike and Don’s rivalry on the other hand was more sinister. Don was a gambler and during a card game he managed to almost bankrupt Don. The rivalry reached its head when Mike sold the street’s failing garage to Don which led him into further debts. Don plotted revenge by setting Mike’s factory on fire; trying to kill Alma; and trying to kill Mike. His last attempt drove him literally to his death. Both Mike’s rivalries are remembered for how both Ken and Don would coldly call him ‘Baldwin’. 

In 2005, Mike began to behave strangely and he was later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. It was heart-breaking to see a once powerful man now so helpless and lost. He died on the cobbles in the arms of arch-rival Ken.

Were you a fan of Michael Vernon Baldwin?    

Deirdre: A Life on Coronation Street - official ITV tribute to a soap icon. Available here.

Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter @infokitasemua

Download our free App | Visit Corrie.net


All original work on the Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License