Maggie Cooke - Gordon Clegg

Gordon Clegg (né Preston), played by Bill Kenwright, made his first debut screen appearance on 15 April 1968. Kenwright played the role until 1995 and Geoffrey Leesley took over from 2002. On 31 January 2012, Sharon Marshall revealed Kenwright would reprise his role as Gordon for Betty Williams' funeral, which was held on 16 April.

In 1968, Les Clegg bought the Corner Shop in Coronation Street, Weatherfield and the Cleggs moved there, with Gordon living in the flat above the shop, with Maggie intent that he didn't have to help out behind the counter, so that he could focus on his studies. It was therefore much to Maggie's dismay when Gordon fell for young Lucille Hewitt. It took some convincing for Lucille to agree to go out with Gordon, as she thought he was too mothered by Maggie, but he impressed her when he fought for her attentions with Gary Strauss and Ray Langton. Gordon and Lucille faced the objections of Maggie (Les having been admitted to a psychiatric hospital for his alcoholism) and Lucille's guardians Annie and Jack Walker, and eventually Gordon decided to show Lucille that he was committed to her by suggesting that they run away to Gretna Green and return as husband and wife, even though it would mean missing his exams. He and Lucille went to the train station, without telling their families, but when they missed their train Lucille convinced him that they should return. Gordon passed his exams, and began thinking about his career prospects. As Lucille pressed ahead with wedding preparations and set a date for Easter Saturday 1969, Gordon realised he couldn't marry her and cancelled the wedding at short notice. Ashamed of his actions, he took a job at the head office of an Accountancy firm in London, and upset Maggie by making a permanent move there. In 1971, Gordon became engaged to Jennifer Swann. She visited Weatherfield, without Gordon, to meet Maggie. She and Gordon didn't marry. Gordon returned to Weatherfield in 1974 for Maggie and Ron Cooke's wedding. Gordon gave Maggie away and saw her off as she moved to Zaire with Ron. Gordon agreed to handle the sale of the shop but arranged to rent it to Megan "Granny" Hopkins for £14 a week, with the money counting towards the eventual sale to the Hopkinses. Before leaving for London, he infuriated Betty, who had moved to the area in 1969, by having a one-night-stand with Beverley Marshall in her house. The Hopkinses were determined to get a good deal on the shop and when they found Gordon's birth certificate behind a sideboard, revealing his true mother's name. Granny Hopkins was intending to use blackmail against Gordon but Maggie told Gordon the truth herself before the Hopkinses could do so. Gordon was stunned by the news, and reacted firstly by warning the Hopkinses, who left the Street abruptly in a midnight flit, and going out to celebrate the fact that Les Clegg was not his father. After getting over the initial shock, he began treating Betty as his mother. In 1976, Gordon visited to arrange the sale of the shop to Renee Bradshaw.

In 1982, Gordon married Caroline Wilson. This was followed by the birth of their son, Peter, in 1985. In 1995, Gordon gave Betty away when she married Billy Williams. As Billy was an old flame of Betty's, Gordon wondered if he could be his real father, but Betty told him he wasn't. When Betty decided to retire in 2002, Gordon invited her to live with his family in Wimbledon, although this caused friction with Caroline as she wasn't keen on the idea. After some consideration, Betty decided not to take up the offer, as she enjoyed working too much. Gordon extended the invitation again the following year after Betty had a fire at her house in Weatherfield, but she only lived with the Cleggs temporarily. In 2004 Gordon visited Betty and brought her flowers for her 84th birthday.

Betty continued to visit Gordon for many more years, including Christmases. In 2012 when she fell sick, he went to visit her. But she had died, and a devastated Gordon turned up at the Rovers Return to tell her friends of her passing. He planned on having her buried in London, but seeing how loved Betty was by her friends, he decided it was best to have her buried in Weatherfield, and next to her late first husband Cyril. Gordon later went through er things with Emily Bishop, Rita Sullivan and Rovers landlady Stella Price. A letter written by Annie Walker was found which revealed that she wanted Betty to run the pub after he retirement in 1984, but Stella didn't want Gordon to know until she saw a solicitor. On the day of the funeral, they let Gordon know about the letter, but he knew that his mother had still been happy working at the pub although she had turned down the offer. After the funeral in the Rovers Return, he read a letter from Betty written before her death, thanking all her friends for all the good years. Gordon handed barman Sean Tully another letter from Betty, containing her secret hotpot recipe. Gordon then said goodbye before departing later in the evening.