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),
Ken Barlow has been dubbed one of the most sensational soap departures. A then-record audience tuned in for Valerie's death, scripted by Leslie Duxbury. The following episode ended with Ken walking through the burned remains of their home, in a scene that Roache has deemed one of his "most enjoyable and satisfying moments in "Coronation Street"." Ken's second marriage in the serial was to a character named Janet Reid (Judith Barker) in 1973; their relationship was short-lived. There was no buildup to their marriage; Ken returned from Scotland and introduced Janet as his wife. The storyline's fast pace angered Roache; he once