List of Coronation Street characters introduced in 2022

Coronation Street is a British soap opera first broadcast on ITV on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters introduced in 2022, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the programme's series producer, Iain MacLeod. Jon Spear (Jordan Ford Silver) began appearing in January as a love interest for Emma Brooker (Alexandra Mardell), who was followed by Frank Bardsley (Simon O'Brien), a love interest for Sean Tully (Antony Cotton). Additionally, multiple other characters appeared throughout the year.

Jon Spear

Jon Spear, played by Jordan Ford Sliver, made his first appearance on 28 January 2022. he is introduced as the grandson of Ted (Duggie Brown), and is first seen taking with Emma Brooker (Alexandra Mardell) at Ted’s funeral. Unbeknownst to Jon, Emma and Faye Windass (Ellie Leach) are partly responsible for Ted’s death. Jon tells Emma how close he was to his grandad, and how he hopes that whoever did this to him, doesn’t get away with it, leaving Emma unnerved.

Frank Bardsley

Frank Bardsley
Coronation Street character
Portrayed by	Simon O'Brien
First appearance	Episode 10,650 27 May 2022 (2022-05-27)
Last appearance	Episode 10,696 20 July 2022 (2022-07-20)
Classification	Former; guest

Frank Bardsley, played by Simon O'Brien, made his first appearance on 27 May 2022. O'Brien began filming for Coronation Street in March 2022, with his casting being announced two months later. It was confirmed that O'Brien had been contracted as a guest star and would be appearing for a "couple of months". O'Brien, having appeared on the Channel 4 soap Brookside as Damon Grant in the 1980s, said that returning to a soap opera was difficult and a "learning curve" for him since the industry had changed so much. It was confirmed by Digital Spy's Daniel Kilkelly that Frank would be a love interest for established character Sean Tully (Antony Cotton). The pair meet whilst Sean is working at the Rovers Return Inn and Frank begins flirting with him. Sean is initially reluctant to go on a date with Frank but eventually overcomes his insecurities and begins a relationship with Frank. It later emerges that Frank bullied Sean’s housemate, George Shuttleworth (Tony Maudsley) whilst they were at school together. Frank claims to be remorseful for his actions but George is unconvinced. Despite warnings from George, Sean continues to date Frank until he catches him bullying his son, Dylan Wilson (Liam McCheyne) and immediately breaks up with him.

Coronation Street producers told Kilkelly that Frank has hidden depths. The backstory involves a childhood connection to George Shuttleworth (Tony Maudsley), "who knows details about his past and is wary of him". Kilkelly wondered if Frank would still be the same person George knew or if he had changed. This connection was later revealed as Frank having bullied George in school. Jenny Bradley (Sally Ann Matthews) urges Sean to pursue his relationship with Frank, but Digital Spy's Susannah Alexander hinted that their relationship will not be "plain sailing".

O'Brien told Inside Soap that throughout his career, he has always wanted to "have a pint in the Rovers" since he felt it is an iconic landmark for the acting industry. Sarah Ellis of the magazine asked him if he was enjoying playing Frank, to which he said that he could not think of a better character to play. He explained that he loves playing light and comedic scenes, which he felt were the "basis of Corrie", but appreciated that below that, Frank is a flawed character, which he enjoyed from an acting perspective. He was also asked if he was worried about a negative reception from viewers. O'Brien admitted that he feared backlash from fans of both George and Sean and joked that he "may have to lay low for a while".

Glenda Shuttleworth

Glenda Shuttleworth
Coronation Street character
Portrayed by	Jodie Prenger
First appearance	Episode 10,709 5 August 2022 (2022-08-05)
Classification	Present; regular
In-universe information Occupation Cruise ship attendant Barmaid Father Archie Shuttleworth Brothers George Shuttleworth

Glenda Shuttleworth, played by Jodie Prenger, made her first appearance on 5 August 2022. Prenger's casting was announced on 20 June 2022 and her character was confirmed to be the sister of established character George Shuttleworth (Tony Maudsley). Glenda is first seen outside the funeral directors before a funeral is about to take place. George is unwell and cannot deliver the service himself, so Glenda arrives in perfect timing. She is also helped by Sean Tully (Antony Cotton). After the service is over, George meets Glenda in the pub and is pleased to see her. He introduces her to Todd (Gareth Pierce) and Eileen Grimshaw (Sue Cleaver); Glenda compliments Eileen on the smell of her perfume and buys her a drink.

Dee-Dee Bailey

Dee-Dee Bailey
Coronation Street character
Portrayed by	Channique Sterling-Brown
First appearance	28 September 2022
Classification	Present; regular
Introduced by	Iain MacLeod
In-universe information Occupation Lawyer Father Ed Bailey Mother Aggie Bailey Brothers Michael Bailey James Bailey Grandfathers Al Uncles Ronnie Bailey Raymond Nieces Glory Bailey

Dee-Dee Bailey, played by Channique Sterling-Brown, made her first appearance on 28 September 2022. Sterling-Brown's casting details were announced on 4 September, while the character has been mentioned by her on-screen family since their introduction in 2019. The show's producer Iain MacLeod admitted to being a fan of the character before she "physically existed" just by hearing her description from the Bailey family. Dee-Dee is a lawyer, and MacLeod stated that viewers could expect "a certain amount of chaos. She's got an incredibly big heart. She's incredibly competent at her job, but you'd never guess that to meet her." MacLeod said Dee-Dee would be involved in a major storyline, but she would not be hiding a "dark secret" like most newly introduced characters. He explained "She's so exuberant and just seems so bulletproof and impervious to the travails of modern life that she dusts herself down and gets on with it. I didn't want to discover that she's got some terrible burden." He thought that it was a "refreshing" decision and allowed the character to be "incredibly joyous." He believed the audience would take to her.

Other characters

Character	Episode date(2020s)	Actor	Circumstances
Ted Spear	3 January	Duggie Brown	An elderly man that Faye Windass (Ellie Leach) accidentally hits with her car whilst she is learning to drive. Faye and Emma Brooker (Alexandra Mardell), who she was driving with, check up on Ted and insist he goes to the hospital, but he claims he is fine. The pair later visit him to find he had died.
Rahul Paswan	21 January	Micky Satiar	A social worker who helps Chesney Brown (Sam Aston) and Gemma Winter (Dolly-Rose Campbell) get support for their child Joseph Brown (William Flanagan).
Faith	21 January	Liz Simmons	Two friends of Leo Thompkins (Joe Frost) who visit him and his girlfriend, Jenny Bradley (Sally Ann Matthews).
Myles		James Lewis
Teddy Thompkins	26 January – present	Grant Burgin	A man who bumps into his old school friend Jenny Connor (Sally Ann Matthews) at the hospital whilst she is in the waiting room, it is then found out that he is the father of Leo Thompkins (Joe Frost), who Jenny is in a relationship with. A few months later, he confronts Jenny in the pub after finding out that she kissed Stephen Reid (Todd Boyce), and tells Leo that she’s bad news. Leo tells his dad to back off, but after Leo is murdered by Stephen, it is assumed that Leo took his dad’s advice, and went to Canada alone. Teddy then discovers that text messages being sent to him from Leo were not being sent from Canada, and actually from Weatherfield, as he is on his way to tell Jenny, he becomes suspicious of Stephen asking so many questions, and realises that he is responsible for his son’s disappearance, however, he is then suddenly hit by a van, and end up in hospital, not being able to remember anything. He then moves in with Jenny, leaving Stephen uncomfortable that his secret might be exposed.
Alfie Franklin	7 March–present	Uncredited	The son of Abi Webster (Sally Carman) and Imran Habeeb (Charlie De Melo) who was born after their one-night stand months prior. He is born prematurely and is then abandoned by Abi in the hospital when she panics about what would happen next. As a result of this, and her recent drug abuse, Imran is awarded custody of Alfie with Abi allowed supervised visits only.
Ben Chancellor	18 April–30 May	Jon-Paul Bell	A paralegal who is hired by Imran Habeeb (Charlie De Melo) to spy on Abi Webster (Sally Carman), in an attempt to find evidence of drug abuse, so Imran will be awarded custody of his son Alfie. He lies in court when he sees Abi giving money to a friend and claims that it was drugs in her hand. As a result of this, the court rules that Alfie would be safer living with Imran, with Abi allowed supervised visits only.
Maisie Wheatley	11–25 April	Lucia Aliu	The daughter of Nicky Wheatley (Kimberly Hart-Simpson).
Aaron Sandford	22 April–present	James Craven	A member of a diabetics support group who bonds with Summer Spellman (Harriet Bibby) during her first visit. They start to see each other outside of the support group, although when Summer confides in Aaron about her bulimia, he informs her that he would prefer to only see her at the support group from then on, leaving her disheartened.
Henry Thorne	29 April–29 June	Dominic Mafham	The boss of Aggie Bailey (Lorna Laidlaw), who overhears him on a phone call where he admits to rushing Peter Barlow's (Chris Gascoyne) operation a year prior in order to win a bet. When she hears him saying that he will complete the next one even quicker, she reports him. He discovers it was Aggie who reported him, and vows revenge. When Aggie tells Peter, he is left furious. He confronts Thorne at a posh hotel, and after being provoked by Thorne, punches him, and is then charged with assault.
Camilla Perrin	4–6 July	Louise Marwood	The ex wife of Phill Whittaker (Jamie Kenna) who turns up to Weatherfield days before his wedding with Fiz Stape (Jennie McAlpine) and tells Phill that she still loves him. When emails that Phill sent to her telling her that he still loved her, his mother Mimi Halliday (Margot Leicester) is immediately suspected of sending them, as it is clear that she doesn’t like Fiz, although it was actually Fiz's daughter Hope Stape (Isabella Flanagan) that sent them.
Bridget Woodrow	25 July–present	Beth Vyse	The daughter of Stu Carpenter (Bill Fellows) and Lucy Woodrow (Lynda Rooke). Stu goes to visit her after not seeing her for years when friend Yasmeen Nazir (Shelley King) finds her address behind his back.
Lucy Woodrow	5 August–14 October	Lynda Rooke	The mother of Bridget and ex-wife of Stu Carpenter (Bill Fellows). She tells Yasmeen Nazir (Shelley King) that he murdered someone who he was having an affair with. Yasmeen believes Lucy, and she kicks Stu out of her house. However, her grandchildren Alya Nazir (Sair Khan) and Zeedan Nazir (Qasim Akhtar) set out to prove his innocence. Stu later turns up at Yasmeen's house and is arrested for harassment.
Laurence Reeves	5 August–present	Robert Shaw Cameron	A dentist who attends the funeral of Mr Pugh; he later falls for Sean Tully (Antony Cotton).
Griff Reynolds	15 August 2022–9 January 2023	Michael Condron	A friend of Spider Nugent (Martin Hancock). He convinces Toyah Habeeb (Georgia Taylor) to come to their demo. He is later revealed as a racist and grooms Max Turner (Paddy Bever) into becoming a part of his gang which leads him to turn against his family, friends and neighbours whilst also believing everything Griff is saying.
Eliza Woodrow	24 August–present	Savannah Kunyo	The daughter of Bridget Woodrow (Beth Vyse) and the granddaughter of Stu Carpenter (Bill Fellows). She stays with Stu when her mum is arrested. However she is taken into care until Stu's conviction is cleared.
Fern Lindon	26 August–16 November	Gabrielle Glaister	A woman who accuses Bernie Winter (Jane Hazlegrove) of stealing her blazer whilst Bernie was out shopping for Joseph Brown's (William Flanagan) school uniform. Since the pair look similar to each other, Fern offers Bernie money to take her place in a speed awareness course.
Gabrielle Reid	5 September–present	Helene Wilson	Stephen Reid’s (Todd Boyce) ex wife.
Damon Hay	16 December–present	Ciarán Griffiths	The father of Jacob Hay (Jack James Ryan).

External links

• Cast and characters at itv.com
• Cast and characters at the Internet Movie Database