Rita Tanner
| Rita Sullivan | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coronation Street character | |||||||||||
| File:Ritasullivan2007.jpg Rita Sullivan in 2009. | |||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Barbara Knox | ||||||||||
| Duration | 1964, 1972–2009, 2010— | ||||||||||
| First appearance | 2 December 1964 | ||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||
| Introduced by | Tim Aspinall (1964) Brian Armstrong (1972) | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Rita Sullivan (née Littlewood, previously Fairclough) is a long-standing character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by Barbara Knox[1] the character first appeared on-screen during the episode airing on 2 December 1964. In September 2009 Barbara Knox took a break from the show due to ill health and returned on 15 March 2010.
Casting
Prior to 2006, Knox was reportedly the highest paid actress with the show, until Anne Kirkbride began to earn more.[2] Knox's salary is £260,000 which producers pay to keep her in a secure future with the series.[2] In January 2009, it was speculated that the character was going to be axed from the show in a bid to save money but this was later denied by a show spokesman.[3] Knox was temporarily written out of the serial in August 2009 due to serious health problems.[4]
Storylines
1964–97
Rita is initially introduced in a one-off appearance as an exotic dancer, and a friend of Dennis Tanner (Philip Lowrie) in 1964. She reappears eight years later, living with Harry Bates (William Simons) and his son Terry (Steve Barratt). She is attracted to Terry's teacher, Ken Barlow (William Roache), but becomes romantically involved with Len Fairclough (Peter Adamson) when her relationship with Harry ends in violence. Rita takes a job singing in a nightclub, and goes on to open The Kabin, a corner shop. She and Len marry in 1977. They are unable to adopt due to their age, but take in a foster child, Sharon Gaskell (Tracie Bennett). Len is killed in a car accident in December 1983, and Rita is devastated to learn he had been having an affair.
Rita takes in a new foster daughter, Jenny Bradley (Sally Ann Matthews), and meets her estranged father Alan (Mark Eden). She begins a relationship with him, unaware he is also seeing Gloria Todd (Sue Jenkins), a barmaid at the Rovers Return Inn. When Rita discovers his infidelity, she issues him an ultimatum. Although Alan chooses Gloria over Rita, Gloria changes her mind about being with him and ends their affair. Alan is also a conman, and re-mortgages Rita's house to start a security business. He hires Dawn Prescott (Louise Harrison) as a receptionist and tries to rape her. Rita learns of the attack and Alan's fraudulent activities and reports him to the building society. In retaliation, he attempts to suffocate her with a pillow. His attempted murder fails, and though he is arrested and tried, he is found not guilty. He begins stalking Rita, who has a breakdown and disappears. She escapes to Blackpool, where Alan tracks her down and attempts to forcibly return her to Weatherfield, but is run down by a tram and killed in the attempt. Almost 27 million viewers tuned in to see the episode which was broadcast in 1989.[5]
Rita meets her second husband, Ted Sullivan (William Russell) at the Kabin; he is a sales rep for a firm of sweet manufacturers. Shortly before their marriage, Ted confesses that he is dying of a brain tumour. Rita abandons plans to retire abroad and decides to stay in the Street. Their marriage lasts three months, before he dies in her lap on a park bench. When Derek Wilton (Peter Baldwin), the husband of Rita's best friend Mavis (Thelma Barlow) dies in April 1997, Rita convinces Mavis to start a new life managing in a bed and breakfast in the Lake District. Rita changes her mind at the last minute, however, and Mavis leaves alone.
1998–2006
Following Mavis' departure, Rita begins a friendship with Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson), who reminds Rita of herself as a teenager. She takes Leanne under her wing and employs her at The Kabin. When Rita collapses in her flat from carbon monoxide poisoning, she is saved by her friend Alec Gilroy (Roy Barraclough). Realising how close he came to losing his best friend, Alec proposes to Rita. She initially turns him down, but later changes her mind and accepts. Their relationship ends several months later when they realise they cannot trust one another. Sharon returns to the Street in 1999, inviting Rita to her upcoming wedding. Rita discovers, however, that Sharon's fiancé Ian Bentley (Jonathan Guy Lewis) is cheating on her with Natalie Barnes (Denise Welch), landlady of the Rovers. Sharon ends the relationship, and decides to stay in Weatherfield, where she begins working at The Kabin and moves in next door to Rita. Rita offers Sharon The Kabin as a birthday gift, much to Leanne's disapproval. When Leanne is falsely accused of stealing from the till, she leaves to work at the Rovers. Rita is devastated when Sharon reunites with Ian and puts The Kabin up for sale. She buys back her business, disinheriting Sharon from her will.
Rita meets Anthony Stephens (John Quayle), a cultured man who wants to marry her. However, Rita discovers Anthony is still married to his wife (Dilys Laye), who has severe Alzheimer's. His adult children interfere in the relationship and when his wife dies, Anthony leaves to live in New Zealand. When Rita clips Chesney Brown (Sam Aston) around the ear for repeatedly stealing sweets from her shop, his mother Cilla (Wendi Peters) dramatises the incident and has Rita arrested for assaulting a minor. Rita is found guilty and ordered to pay £500 in damages, plus £500 court fees. She verbally abuses the magistrates, and is held in contempt of court and sentenced to a night in the cells. Cilla blackmails Rita into paying her £3,000, prompting Rita to put The Kabin on the market and prepare to leave Weatherfield. Cilla's partner Les Battersby (Bruce Jones) talks Cilla out of her scheme, and Rita decides to stay.
In 2006, Rita takes in Stacey, a local woman who tried to con Fred Elliott (John Savident) by pretending to be a Thai bride named Orchid. She had previously conned a man named Stuart (Duncan Preston), who locked her in his flat for days at a time and inflicted physical violence on her. Stuart traces her to Rita's home and breaks in, destroying her property. He threatens Rita, and though he is arrested, Rita decides to move house. Rita later moves in with her old friend Doreen Fenwick (Barbara Young), and although they initially get along well, Doreen outstays her welcome. Rita is proposed to by her friend and co-worker Norris Cole (Malcolm Hebden). When she turns him down, he proposes to Doreen, though later retracts his proposal.
2007—
Rita decides to sell The Kabin to businessman Tony Gordon (Gray O'Brien) in 2008,[6] though ultimately does not go through with it. She begins a romance with Colin Grimshaw (Edward DeSouza), becoming engaged to him in April 2009. She calls off the engagement when she discovers he fathered a child with a fifteen-year-old, but mourns him following his sudden death a month later. Rita sells The Kabin to Norris in September 2009, deciding to take a world cruise.
She arrives back on the Street on 15 March 2010. She starts working in a charity shop with close friend Emily Bishop (Eileen Derbyshire), but finds it too boring and doesn't like it when Emily won't have a laugh with her. She later apologises to Emily for her erratic behaviour. A few weeks later, Rita learns of Audrey Roberts's (Sue Nicholls) romance with hired escort Lewis Archer (Nigel Havers). Rita then books Lewis to take her out out to the theatre and is soon swept off her feet by his charm. When Audrey discovers that Rita has been using Lewis's services she has a blazing fight with her.
She returns to working in The Kabin. She also invites Tina McIntyre (Michelle Keegan) to live with her after she is made homeless. One night in December 2010, Rita plans to meet Doreen, but Doreen cancels and instead Rita goes to The Kabin to get some chocolates. Just as she is doing this, she is knocked to the ground by an explosion from 'The Joinery' Bar and then a tram falls off the viaduct, crashing into The Kabin, trapping Rita under rubble, a bay of metal shelves and scattered merchandise. Norris and Emily do not start a rescue mission for several hours as they believe Rita is safe with Doreen - until Nick Tilsley (Ben Price) arrives back from the hospital. He says that he saw Rita returning to the Kabin at six o'clock and Norris immediately implores fire-fighters to begin a search for her. When she is found and told that the mayhem was caused by a crashed tram, Rita remarks, "What is it with me and trams?" in a humorous reference to Alan Bradley being hit by a tram, 21 years previously. In hospital, an exhausted Rita is found to have only minor injuries with cuts and bruises and she eventually makes a full recovery.
Reception
At the 2004 British Soap Awards Barbara Knox was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her portrayal of Rita.[7] The 2006 ceremony saw Knox and Malcolm Hebden, who plays Norris, win the award for "Best On-Screen Partnership."[8]
References
- ^ Webmaster (2007). "Coronation Street - Cast & Characters - Rita Sullivan". ITV. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
- ^ a b Kris Green (29 December 2006). "Soaps - News - Anne Kirkbride signs new Corrie contract". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
- ^ Soaps Editor (2 January 2009). "Massacre On Coronation Street". Sky TV. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
{{cite news}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ Daniel Kilkelly (2 August 2009). "Soaps - News - Corrie veteran Knox 'takes sick leave'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
- ^ Laurence Marcus & Stephen R. Hulse (January 2000). "Coronation Street - A Television Heaven Review". Television Heaven. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
- ^ Lisa McGarry (23 May 2008). "Coronation Street: Rita To Sell The Kandy Kabin @ Unreality Primetime". UnrealityTV. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
- ^ Webmaster (2004). "Waveguide TV and Radio News - British Soap Awards 2004". Waveguide. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
- ^ Soaps Editor (22 May 2006). "British Soap Awards: The Winners - Sky Showbiz". Sky TV. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
{{cite news}}:|author=has generic name (help)