Blanche Hunt - Storylines

Storylines

Blanche first appears in Coronation Street as a recent widow. Her bank manager husband Donald died in January 1963 after being knocked down outside their house by a black Ford Prefect. Blanche runs a corsetry business from her Victoria Road home. She later takes a job as a barmaid at The Rovers Return public house, working for landlady Annie Walker (Doris Speed). She goes on to give up her corsetry business, instead helping Gordon Clegg (Bill Kenwright) run the corner shop. In 1976, she encounters bookmaker Dave Smith (Reginald Marsh), who she had a wartime romance with. She begins an affair with him, and decides to move away to help Dave run his country club in Kenilworth.

Her affair with Dave Smith ended, Blanche returns to Weatherfield in January 1977 to help care for her newborn granddaughter Tracy (Christabel Finch). Warwickshire vet Steve Bassett (Dennis Chinnery) accompanies her. They become engaged, but split up in May 1977. In 1981, Blanche returns to Weatherfield again for the wedding of her daughter Deirdre (Anne Kirkbride) to Ken Barlow (William Roache). In December 1993, Blanche has a stroke. She is ill for some time, but eventually makes a full recovery. She briefly returns to Weatherfield once more in 1997, when Deirdre becomes engaged to Jon Lindsay (Owen Aaronovitch).

In 1999, Blanche returns permanently and begins matchmaking between a now estranged Deirdre and Ken. Tracy (Dawn Acton) helps bring about a reconciliation between the two, and Blanche moves in with the reunited couple. In 2002, Blanche develops feelings for funeral director Archie Shuttleworth (Roy Hudd). They ultimately break up, but remain friends. Blanche later meets supposed wealthy retiree Wally Bannister (Bernard Cribbins) at a tea dance. Wally attempts to cheat on Blanche with Tracy (Kate Ford), who discovered he is secretly married, and a gardener at the mansion he has been pretending to live in.

When Tracy becomes pregnant, Blanche encourages her to keep the baby, and buys a house for her to live in. However, when Tracy leaves to visit her stepbrother Peter (Chris Gascoyne) indefinitely, Blanche sells the house, using the money for a private operation for a hip replacement in Poland as the NHS waiting list is too long. In 2007, Blanche supports Tracy when she is accused of murdering her lover Charlie Stubbs (Bill Ward). When Tracy is found guilty and Ken refuses to support her, Blanche worries that her family is disintegrating, and is relieved when Ken and Deirdre reconcile.

On 25 June 2007, Blanche holds a mock wake for herself, to gauge which of her friends truly appreciate her. She is upset by the low attendance, and hearing her friends castigate her negative traits. She resolves briefly to be nicer to everyone, but quickly reverts to type, believing people should accept her for who she is. In December 2008, Blanche shows her vulnerable side, becoming visibly upset when Peter turns up drunk to her step great-grandson Simon's (Alexander Bain) nativity play. In May 2009, Deirdre discovers that Ken has been having an affair with actress Martha Fraser (Stephanie Beacham). When Deirdre takes Ken back, Blanche is incredulous. Tired of her mother's interference, Deirdre orders Blanche to move out of their home. She moves in briefly with Peter, returning to live with Ken and Deirdre after apologizing a few weeks later. However, she later brought it up at Peters AA meeting ('Ken recently had an affair with an actress. Oh - it wasn't Nicole Kidman or Glenda Jackson. She lived on a tugboat'). She also brought up the fact that Tracy killed her boyfriend, Charlie. Later that year, she once again humiliated the family when - during a get-together with Simon's maternal grandparents, she had one too many drinks and blurted out that Deirdre had been to prison, Ken had had numerous affairs with other women, Peter was an alcoholic and Leanne was a once a prostitute. Her final scene, which aired on 11 December 2009, saw her resolving the same Barlow family feud and arranging plans for Christmas Day.

In the subsequent episodes, it was revealed that Blanche had unexpectedly been offered a free holiday in Portugal with her friend, May, from the one o'clock club, and that Blanche had accepted. She left off-screen, but remained in touch with the Barlows frequently by telephone. She was expected to return on 3 May; however, when Peter went to collect her at the airport, she had not caught her flight. Ken rang May's son, only to be told that Blanche had died earlier that day. Ken then broke the news to a devastated Deirdre. The following episode, May (June Whitfield) arrived and explained how Blanche had met, fallen in love and had become engaged to a man named Arnold. She was planning to tell Deirdre about him upon her return.

At her funeral, her grand-daughter Tracy Barlow got a day release so she can attend. However, she caused a fight with Becky McDonald over her daughter Amy, and had to be taken away. Many of her friends from the One o'clock club attended her funeral and Simon's granddad George Wilson had left her flowers at her funeral, although Peter Barlow wasn't happy because George tried to take Simon away from him. Blanche was eventually buried and everyone toasted to her in the Rovers, even her old friend Archie.

At her will-reading, the following were left:

• Her dog Eccles to Ken; she said he shouldn't try and take Eccles to theatres or libraries;
• Her jewellery to daughter Deirdre, as she knew Deirdre had had her eye on them for some time;
• Her music box to her great-granddaughter Amy, although it is broken;
• Her late husband Donald's fobwatch to her great-grandson Simon;
• The fact that she had all the knowledge and he will always know that, to Norris;
• The rest of her estate and all her savings to her granddaughter Tracy Barlow.