Rita Sullivan (Barbara Knox) interview

• Character

• Rita Sullivan

  

  1. D.O.B: 25 February 1932
  2. Address: 10a Coronation Street, Weatherfield
  3. Work: Co-owner of The Kabin newsagent's shop

  First Appearance

  • 2 December 1964: Stan Ogden bought Rita Littlewood a drink in the Rovers. She bumped into her old friend Dennis Tanner and persuaded him to let her stay the night at number 11.

  Street History

  • 1972: Turns up on Len Fairclough's doorstep when her lover Harry Bates throws her out
  • 1973: Begins managing The Kabin and moves into the flat over the shop
  • 1977: Marries Len and moves into number 9
  • 1982: She and Len foster Sharon Gaskell and move into number 7
  • 1983: Inconsolable when Len dies in a car crash
  • 1986: Fosters Jenny Bradley and begins going out with her father Alan
  • 1989: Confronts Alan for fraudulently selling her house and he tries to suffocate her. Suffers a breakdown and flees to Blackpool where Alan chases her and is killed by a tram
  • 1992: Marries Ted Sullivan but he dies from a brain tumour at a bowls match three months later
  • 1995: Refuses to go into partnership with Bet Gilroy at the Rovers Return
  • 2000: Enjoys a romance with bookseller Anthony Stephens
  • 2004: Found guilty of assaulting Chesney Brown and spends the night in prison
  • 2005: Offers Norris Cole a junior partnership in The Kabin
  • 2007: Turns down Norris' marriage proposal
  • 2009: Agrees to marry Colin Grimshaw before discovering his paedophilic past
  • Sells her half of The Kabin to business partner Norris
  • 2010: Embarks on a long, long cruise - and a well-earned break from Norris
  • Returns from the cruise, tanned and with a new hair do. Starts deciding what to do with all her spare time (and cash)
  • Trapped beneath the rubble of the Kabin following the tram crash.  Saved by Norris
  • 2011: Shocked to learn of Tina's role in Graeme and Xin's sham marriage
  • Befriends a homeless person, who turns out to be her old friend Dennis Tanner, and offers him somewhere to live

  Likes

  • Gin and tonic     
  • Singing

  Dislikes

  • Blackpool trams
  • Bowls matches

  Key Relationships

  • Norris Cole
  • Dennis Tanner
  • Tina McIntyre
  • Sally Webster
  • Emily Bishop