Coronation Street Elsie and Bet. Other recurring archetypes include the war veteran such as Albert Tatlock (Jack Howarth), Percy Sugden (Bill Waddington) and Gary Windass (Mikey North), the bumbling retail manager like Leonard Swindley (Arthur Lowe), Reg Holdsworth (Ken Morley), Norris Cole (Malcolm Hebden), quick-tempered, tough tradesmen like Len Fairclough (Peter Adamson), Jim McDonald (Charles Lawson), Tommy Harris (Thomas Craig) and Owen Armstrong (Ian Puleston-Davies), and the perennial losers such as Stan and Hilda, Jack and Vera, Les Battersby (Bruce Jones), Beth Tinker (Lisa George) and Kirk Sutherland (Andrew Whyment). Villains are also common character types such as Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford),
Mary Taylor (Coronation Street) delivery that induces side-splitting hilarity – and, brilliantly, hilarity laced with a sense of the sinister." A writer from the "Belfast Telegraph" branded Mary "the wonderful sidekick of Norris" and found her "a joy to watch" compared to other characters. They added "Mary is the gloriously comic yet poignant creation of the brilliant actress Patti Clare who plays her - she conceived the misfit spinster character herself." Mary Taylor (Coronation Street) Mary Cole (also Taylor) is a fictional character from the British television ITV soap opera, "Coronation Street", portrayed by actress Patti Clare. The character first appeared on screen during