Audrey Roberts - Storylines

Storylines

Audrey Potter makes her first appearance at daughter Gail's (Helen Worth) engagement party to Brian Tilsley (Chris Quinten). As an unmarried mother, Audrey is considered an unsuitable match for widowed local councillor Alf Roberts (Bryan Mosley). With Alf, she gains respectability and a stable life. Audrey Potter has previously shown little interest in her daughter Gail's life. She marries Alf, in an episode on 23 December 1985, later enjoying the social status of mayoress and believing herself to be better than the other Street residents. Audrey has two attempts to revive her career as a hairdresser, and the second time manages to talk Alf into buying the salon from Fiona Middleton (Angela Griffin). Over the years, Audrey mellows from a social climber to a more sympathetic character. The existence of another illegitimate child, Stephen Reid (Todd Boyce), in Canada, is revealed some years later. She is heartbroken by Alf's sudden death in 1998, but throws herself into work and even stands for council herself, retaining her seat until 2001. Audrey is similarly devastated when her best friend, Alma Halliwell (Amanda Barrie), dies of cervical cancer in Audrey's home in June 2001.

Audrey nearly becomes a victim of her serial killer son-in-law Richard Hillman (Brian Capron) when he discovers that she is worth a lot of money, inherited from Alf. In late 2002 viewers saw him subtly give Audrey grounds of questioning whether she is experiencing the onset of dementia, through such actions as unlocking doors she had locked, hanging out washing that she (of course) cannot remember hanging out, turning on lights she had switched off, leaving a dress in to be dry-cleaned. Finally, he tries to kill her in a house fire, made to look like the result of her dementia, with the battery removed from the fire alarm. However, she is rescued by Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson). After her colleague at the salon, Maxine Peacock (Tracy Shaw), is bludgeoned to death in January 2003, Audrey suspects that Richard is to blame. She urges Gail to leave Richard as both she and the children are not safe but Gail refuses to listen to her accusations, which cause fraught relations between the pair. Audrey challenges Richard at Maxine's funeral, accusing him of her murder, much to the indignation of the mourners. Audrey finds an ally in Ken Barlow (William Roache) who believes that chief suspect Ade Critchley (Dean Ashton) isn't to blame for the crime, along with friend Archie and Norris Cole, who is suspicious of Hillman's dealings with his elderly clients. In March 2003, after Richard attempts to kill Gail and the kids by driving them into the canal, Audrey makes amends with her daughter.

In October 2006 Audrey speaks to her close friend Fred Elliott, the week he is due to marry Bev Unwin (Susie Blake) and tells him that she wishes he was marrying her, not Bev. This causes Fred to have doubts about marrying Bev but decides to go through with the wedding. Audrey tells Ashley Peacock (Steven Arnold) she will not be coming to the wedding, which leads to Fred borrowing Bev's car to visit her. After a heart-to-heart, Fred is about to leave Audrey's house to return to the church but collapses in the hall and dies. Audrey, accompanied by the police, tells Fred's son Ashley and his wife Claire (Julia Haworth) at the church. Later that year, Audrey strikes up a relationship with old friend Bill Webster (Peter Armitage). However, on Christmas Day 2006, Bill's wife Maureen (Sherrie Hewson) turns up, and their affair is revealed. Bill returns to Germany but comes back to the street and rekindles his relationship with Audrey, and he subsequently moves in with her.

Audrey's grandson, David (Jack P Shepherd) moves in with her in 2007 after he is kicked out by Gail. Stephen returns at Christmas to offer David a job in Italy. He accepts but Audrey finds drugs in his drawer at the salon and Stephen withdraws his offer. Jason (Ryan Thomas), Sarah (Tina O'Brien) and her daughter Bethany (Amy & Emily Walton) decide to go, but Jason leaves Bethany and Sarah at the train station. Eventually, Audrey grows fed up with David, especially after she learns he has pushed Gail down the stairs in a fit of rage. She is dumbfounded when Gail refuses to press charges, and still has a reticent relationship with her grandson. In 2008 Audrey is contacted by Ted Page (Michael Byrne), Gail's biological father. He doesn't know about their daughter. Audrey meets him and tells him he has a daughter. He is surprised, and Audrey is equally surprised to learn Ted is gay. This leads characters such as David's girlfriend Tina McIntyre (Michelle Keegan) to jokingly question whether or not Audrey had "turned" Ted gay, which he denies.

In August 2008 Audrey returns from a booze cruise in France with Bill, Janice Battersby (Vicky Entwistle) and Roger Stiles (Andrew Dunn). It is an awful trip for her and she feels that Bill has ignored her. Bill has been drinking so Audrey drives. While driving, Audrey and Janice begin having an argument. Janice accuses her of being a fortune hunter and not caring about Alf or Fred. Audrey is furious, even more so when Bill chooses not to defend her, saying she has been unhappy the whole trip. The argument causes her to careen off the road and through a small group of trees crashing, she injures her arm. This makes her consider ending her relationship with Bill, and she asks him to move out.

Audrey bumps into old friend Claudia Colby (Rula Lenska) at a function and is introduced to her dinner partner Lewis Archer (Nigel Havers). Claudia later informs Audrey that Lewis is in fact an escort and that she should give him a call. Audrey, having become smitten with Lewis contacts him and begins seeing him from time to time. In April 2010, Audrey is enraged to meet Lewis at an Easter dance with Rita Sullivan (Barbara Knox), which leads to the two women becoming involved in a bitter argument over Lewis. Later that month, Audrey discovers Lewis's black book with details on all his clients. She is deeply hurt to see that she is no more than a paying customer to him, but when he assures her that he has fallen for her too she responds to his kiss and they become a couple. Approaching her 70th birthday, Audrey toys with the idea of retirement, as she wants to settle down with Lewis. At her birthday party in the Rovers, she has a bitter row with Gail, when she discovers that Lewis was an escort. Annoyed with Gail and other people's interference, Audrey announces that she has found true happiness with Lewis. Audrey then decides to purchase a Greek hotel with Lewis and emigrate, much to the amazement of her family and friends. However, it soon emerges that Lewis is a conman after he steals 4,000 pounds from the bookies. On the day of their departure, Lewis's deception is revealed after he is caught kissing bookies employee Deirdre Barlow (Anne Kirkbride) and placing fake betting slips in the cash register on CCTV. Lewis flees the country with the money, leaving Audrey humiliated and heartbroken.

Audrey is shocked to discover that Claudia's boyfriend Marc Selby (Andrew Hall) is a transvestite, when she picks him up from a police station after he is assaulted. Marc begs her not to tell Claudia the truth and Audrey agrees. However, Claudia mistakingly believes that Audrey and Marc are having an affair which leads to Marc telling Claudia about his transvestism.

At a Doctor's appointment, Audrey is informed that both she and Gail have high blood pressure, caused by too much alcohol. Audrey sets Gail a challenge: to stop drinking and see who can last without it longest, and the pair resolve to get more exercise in their diet. Whilst power-walking in the countryside, they go to a pub and are horrified to bump into Lewis Archer. He runs out on them and Gail and Audrey report Lewis to the police. Lewis later arrives at Audrey's salon and he tells her he did not mean to hurt her. He asks Audrey to drive him to the police station to prove how sorry he is. In a bid to win her over, Lewis sends her flowers and Audrey goes to his address and finds he is living in a bedsit. Gail disapproves when Audrey's grandson Nick Tilsley (Ben Price) gives Lewis a job as waiter, but Audrey defends Lewis and he later buys her a bracelet as a thank you. Audrey comes to see Lewis and asks him to stay, while professing her love for him. They spend the night together at Audrey's house and agree to keep their relationship secret. Audrey fakes an illness so she can spend the day with Lewis. David and Gail decide to visit and they see her with Lewis. Audrey tells them that it is her life and she throws them out. Gail tells Audrey that if she does not leave Lewis, then she does not want to speak to her ever again.

Desiring to go on a round the world cruise with Lewis, Audrey attempts to regain full financial control of her salon from David. David and his wife Kylie are reluctant to relinquish control as they believe Lewis to secretly conning Audrey again and David does not wish to lose his inheritance. During a heated argument in which Audrey stresses herself out, she collapses and suffers a massive heart attack brought on by stress. She spends several days in hospital but is later released and told to take things easy, which she does. When David tries to speak to her, she ignores him and he gets the message relatively quickly.