Betty Williams (Coronation Street)

Betty Williams
Coronation Street character
Portrayed byBetty Driver
Duration1969–2011
First appearanceEpisode 881
2 June 1969
Last appearanceEpisode 7610
27 May 2011
ClassificationFormer; regular
Introduced byH. V. Kershaw
Book appearancesCoronation Street: The Complete Saga
Coronation Street: The War Years
Spin-off
appearances
The Women of Coronation Street (1998)

Betty Turpin in 1969
In-universe information
OccupationShop assistant (1969)
Barmaid (1969–2012)
Cook (1969–2012)
Pub landlady (1984–2012)[1]
FatherHarold Preston
MotherMargaret Preston
SistersMaggie Cooke
HusbandCyril Turpin (1949–1974)
Billy Williams (1995–1997)
SonsGordon Clegg
GrandsonsPeter Clegg
AuntsMaud

Betty Williams (also Preston and Turpin) is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera Coronation Street, portrayed by former music hall star Betty Driver. Driver was cast as Betty in 1969, after first auditioning for the role of Hilda Ogden, which was given to Jean Alexander. The character arrived in Coronation Street to help her sister Maggie Cooke (Irene Sutcliffe) run the corner shop, and since then had a number of storylines which saw her become twice widowed, and mother to an illegitimate son.

For most of her tenure in the show, Betty worked as a barmaid in the soap's Rovers Return Inn, where she created a signature dish, known as Betty's hotpot.

Driver died in October 2011, and Betty was subsequently written out, with the character dying off-screen from an illness in April 2012.[2]

  1. ^ Legally but never recognised.
  2. ^ "Coronation Street producer vows to give Betty magnificent send-off". STV. 17 October 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.