Storylines
Michelle first appears when she auditions as a background singer for Vernon Tomlin (Ian Reddington)'s band. Michelle becomes the new barmaid at the Rovers. She is soon joined by her son Ryan Connor (Ben Thompson) and brothers Liam Connor (Rob James-Collier) and Paul Connor (Sean Gallagher). Steve McDonald falls for Michelle instantly when she begins working at the Rovers. Unfortunately his mother, Liz (Beverley Callard), does not like Michelle as Vernon clearly has a crush on her. When Michelle's sister-in-law Carla Connor (Alison King) hint that Paul and Liam are hiding something from her, she confronts them both. Paul denies it but Liam eventually confesses to Michelle that on the night Dean died, Paul was driving, not Dean. She lashes out violently at her brothers on discovering their attempts to cover up Paul's crime. Michelle struggles to forgive her brothers and never tells Ryan the truth. After a brief relationship with Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson), Michelle begins dating the manipulative Sonny Dhillon (Pal Aron) but ends the relation after discovering he is bisexual.
During December 2007, Ryan is followed repeatedly by Robert Horwell in a blue car. He appears constantly and scares Ryan. He wonders why the man is following him. He tells Michelle, who tells Steve and Liam, but at first the claims fall on deaf ears. On 9 December 2007, the car pulls up beside him and the driver begins to talk to him, using his name. Ryan runs into the Rovers and tells his mother and uncle. Liam runs outside but he escapes. He reappears on 17 December and is followed to a house in the suburbs. The Connors follow, determined to find out why this man is following Ryan. Michelle rings the doorbell and the door is answered by another 15-year-old, Alex Neeson (Dario Coates). She takes one look at Alex and bursts into tears. The teenager standing before her is the image of her deceased partner, Dean. Her worst fears are confirmed - Alex and Ryan were swapped accidentally just after birth. This means that Alex is Michelle's biological son, not Ryan. Alex later appears in The Kabin and tells Norris Cole (Malcolm Hebden) that his mother would pay for the sweets he had bought. Norris asks who his mother is and Alex tells him his mother's name is Michelle Connor. Later that day, the news spreads about Ryan not being Michelle's son and Ryan is not amused when Amber Kalirai (Nikki Patel) comments on the news. The police later arrive at the Rovers with Alex. He has been shoplifting and tells them Michelle is his mother. They ask her if this is true and Michelle tells them it is and that it is okay for him to stay at the Rovers. When Michelle and Alex are talking, she goes to get something from the kitchen but Alex calls her back, calling her "Mum". Michelle is shocked. Alex stays with Michelle for a couple of weeks, causing problems for everyone and making Ryan feel he has to move in with Liam and Maria Connor (Samia Smith). He 'loses' Steve's daughter Amy Barlow (Amber Chadwick) and barricades himself in the pub, but Michelle cannot not bring herself to tell him to move back in with Wendy Neeson (Jane Slavin). She meets Alex again and has taken him to Ireland to meet his grandparents. She later tells Alex and his family, that she cannot have Alex in her life because she feels Ryan is her son.
Michelle's remaining brother, Liam, dies in a hit-and-run accident arranged by Tony Gordon (Gray O'Brien). Michelle is distraught, especially as her brother, Paul, had died just over a year before. Michelle attends Tony and Carla's wedding. Later on, she discovers that Liam had an affair with Carla as Sally Webster (Sally Dynevor) drunkenly reveals the truth to Maria. This infuriates her and she confides in Michelle and Tom Kerrigan (Philip McGinley). This confuses Michelle and Tom as they thought she might have got the wrong idea about the situation. Steve has a drunken one-night stand with Becky Granger (Katherine Kelly), following a row with Michelle. He doesn't tell Michelle but she becomes suspicious when Steve and his best friend Lloyd (Craig Charles) acts nervously around her. When Liz McDonald (Beverley Callard) tells Michelle that Steve gets on very well with Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson), she blames her, as she knows that Steve has had a one-night-stand. Steve has now decided that he is in love with Becky Granger and Michelle ends their relationship. After the break-up Michelle quits her job at the Rovers, as she and Ryan move in with Maria.
Michelle leaves to do another tour with JD for six months. The night before Michelle leaves, she sleeps with Peter. Michelle and Ryan walk in on Maria and Tony kissing on the sofa and furiously storm out, however, she later apologises to Maria and helps her announce her relationship to Michelle's parents Helen Connor (Dearbhla Molloy) and Barry Connor (Frank Grimes). She returns to the tour and tells Luke that she'll be gone for a couple of more weeks. She returns in early September. Following Luke's departure, Michelle has a fling with builder Jake Harman (Kenny Doughty) before he leaves Weatherfield due to work commitments. Michelle catches the eye of Rovers colleague Ciaran McCarthy (Keith Duffy) who rentlessly pursues her, despite Michelle giving him the cold shoulder in an attempt to mask her true feelings towards him. Ciaran is leaving for a cruise, he persuades her to come with her, she later accepts. They drive off into the distance together.
After 10 months away, Michelle and Ciaran return to Weatherfield and are shocked when a shaken Carla tells her that while she'd been away, she was raped by her partner Frank Foster (Andrew Lancel). Michelle and Ciaran help Carla cope throughout the ordeal, and persuade her not to give up working in the factory because of Frank's lies. Carla eventually begins working again, much to the relief of Ciaran and Michelle. However, Underworld begins to suffer as Carla struggles, and Michelle gratefully accepts the help of ex-worker Nick Tilsley (Ben Price). Michelle and Ciaran's relationship soon begins to suffer as they both realise that they want different things in life, and Ciaran secretly has doubts about his and Michelle's relationship. Ciaran tells Michelle he is going back to the cruise ships and Michelle decides to go with him. However, Michelle changes her mind and realises she can't leave. Michelle tells Ciaran she will always love him, and tearfully watches on as Ciaran leaves in a taxi.
Michelle steals a contract from Carla's ex-partner Frank Foster (Andrew Lancel) in order to stop Frank from putting Carla out of Underworld. When Frank is later found murdered with head injuries in the factory, everyone is suspected of the crime, including Carla, Michelle, Sally Webster, Peter Barlow, Kevin Webster, and many other residents who had a vendetta against Frank. Carla is arrested on suspicion of killing Frank, but is eventually released without charge. Michelle secretly worries that she will be arrested because she went to see Frank (and stole the contract) shortly before he was killed, but doesn't own up to stealing the contract and lets Frank's mother Anne Foster accuse Carla of being the culprit. The killer is yet unknown, but it could be anyone. Michelle later admits stealing the contract to a shocked Carla, who later burns it. It is later discovered that Frank's mother Anne killed him, after hearing Frank taunting Carla and admitting that he raped her.
A few months later, Carla's younger brother Rob Donovan (Marc Baylis) shows up and begins working at Underworld alongside Michelle and Carla. In July, Michelle is overjoyed when Ryan (now played by Sol Heras) returns back from university and she is angered when he manages to set fire to Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson)'s curtains while helping out Sophie Webster (Brooke Vincent) clean the house. Further questioning by Michelle forces Ryan to admit that he has in fact been expelled from university for taking drugs. Michelle takes Ryan to work at the factory and puts Kirk Sutherland (Andrew Whyment) in charge of showing Ryan how to package. However, when left alone, Ryan fakes an injury in order to take time off at the factory, however, Michelle believes Ryan actually hurt himself and she and Rob take him to hospital. Later, when they return home, Ryan announces that he plans to sue Underworld for every penny. Michelle tries to convince Ryan that he wouldn't do that to his mother, but Ryan acts coldly and tells her that he plans to do it anyway. Michelle eventually learns of Ryan's faked injury when Rob and Eva Price (Catherine Tyldesley) exposes Ryan's deceit by showing him performing the limbo in a pub to Michelle. Ryan offers Kylie Platt (Paula Lane) some cocaine, but she disgustedly turns him down. She then tells Michelle but she does not believe her. However Michelle then catches him snorting cocaine in the Rovers Return toilets. She is livid and has him arrested but he is released with a caution. Steve begins helping Ryan so he can get Michelle to go out with him. She eventually does.
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