Mel Morton | |||||||||||||||||
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Coronation Street character | |||||||||||||||||
Portrayed by | Emma Edmondson | ||||||||||||||||
Duration | 2007–2008 | ||||||||||||||||
First appearance | 18 March 2007 | ||||||||||||||||
Last appearance | 3 October 2008 | ||||||||||||||||
Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||
Introduced by | Steve Frost | ||||||||||||||||
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Melanie 'Mel' Morton is a fictional character from the British soap opera Coronation Street, played by Emma Edmondson. She made her first appearance as Mel during the episode broadcast on 18 March 2007. She was introduced as part of the show's new family, the Mortons. Mel is characterised as gobby, serious-minded and sensible. She initially works in a kebab shop before becoming a police officer. Mel and Darryl Morton (Jonathan Dixon) are portrayed as twins and have a close relationship. Writers used him to bring out Mel's "bad side" but generally played her as the "sensible" family member.
Her early stories explored her relationships with her parents Jerry Morton (Michael Starke) and Teresa Bryant (Karen Henthorn). The latter was a tumultuous relationship, which explores Mel's objections to Teresa scheming ways. First Mel exposes Teresa as a liar when she tries to scam Lloyd Mullaney (Craig Charles). She later has Teresa arrested when she tries to poison Jerry. A notable storyline for Mel involved her being attacked in a girl-gang violence plot. The story was controversial and British newspapers accused the show of capitalising on the rise of violent teenage culture. In 2008, the show's producer Kim Crowther had decided to write out the entire Morton family. Mel's departure storyline features Mel leaving Weatherfield to live with Abi. Edmondson last appeared in the episode broadcast on 3 October 2008.