Connie Rathbone was the friend of Jack Duckworth and a recurring character on Coronation Street from Ep 7056/7057 - 17 Apr 2009 to Ep 7495 - 20 Dec 2010.
She was played by Rita May.
Biography[]
Backstory[]
Connie had a husband who passed away at some point in the 2000s, leaving her on her own in her house.
2009-2010[]
Connie met Jack Duckworth in April 2009 when one of her pigeons ended up in his garden. They bonded over their love of pigeons as Jack also collected and kept them. They began to grow close overtime, although Jack's surrogate son Tyrone Dobbs was suspicious of Connie and suspected that she was after Jack's money and taking advantage of him recently becoming a widow, following the loss of his wife Vera the previous year. But Jack made it clear they were just friends, and it was later revealed Connie lived in a nice large house and had a fortune herself. Tyrone felt guilty and apologised to Connie, who forgave him as she knew how much he cared for Jack and was only looking out for him.
In September 2009 Jack felt he was getting in the way of Tyrone's married life to Molly Dobbs so decided to move out. Connie offered him to move in with her as there was plenty of room, and he accepted the offer and left the street with Connie. But overtime Jack became uncomfortable as he could sense Connie lurking outside his bedroom at night, and suspected she was looking for more than just friendship. When Connie found out about Jack's concerns she told him that she was actually a sleepwalker, and that she was fine with them just remaining good friends, much to his relief.
Jack and Connie would still visit the street to see Tyrone and Molly. In September 2010 Jack made an unexpected return and moved back in with Tyrone and Molly, without explaining the reasons. Connie arrived shortly afterwards and told Jack to reveal the truth behind his return, and Jack informed Tyrone and Molly that he had non-Hodgkin lymphoma and was dying. Jack passed away in November 2010 on the day of his birthday.
Connie still continued to visit the street, and was present at Molly's funeral after she was killed in a tram crash. During the funeral it was revealed that Tyrone's friend Kevin Webster was actually the father of Tyrone's son Jack, as Kevin and Molly were involved in an affair the previous year. This led to an angry Tyrone punching Kevin into Molly's open grave before returning home. When Connie returned to the house she saw that Tyrone was struggling to look after a crying Jack and tried to help, but Tyrone dismissed her. Heartbroken, Connie left the street, never to return.
After 2010[]
Despite not returning to the street Connie and Tyrone still kept in touch, and in 2011 he took his new girlfriend Kirsty Soames to meet Connie.
In 2012, Tyrone claimed he was going to see Connie, in order to get away from Kirsty (who was abusing him) and to see Fiz Stape. In February 2013, the police went to see Connie when Tyrone went on the run with his daughter Ruby to escape Kirsty, and were informed that Connie hadn't spoken to him for a while and doesn't know where he is.
It is unknown if Tyrone continues to have any contact with Connie, although it seems unlikely and she hasn't been referenced to since 2013.
Behind the Scenes[]
- Due to Jack Duckworth actor Bill Tarmey's bad health, it was decided to introduce Connie in order to move the character into the background and make him more recurring. This led to a storyline in September 2009 in which Jack left the street to stay with Connie, although he continued to make guest appearances since then. The writers also kept the pair of them as friends, rather than make anything romantic between them.
- When Tarmey decided to quit the role for good in 2010, Jack was killed off later in the year in November. Connie made her final appearance in the programme the following month.
- Rita May had appeared in numerous guest roles in Coronation Street before as different characters stretching back to 1978. Ironically two of these previous roles involved the Duckworth family. She played a Lollipop Lady in 2001 who took over Jack's round when he took a break for his birthday and sung his praises (to the point Vera suspected they were having an affair), and in the 2000 as a potential buyer of a B&B that Jack and Vera were managing for Eunice Gee.
Memorable Info[]
Appearances: 17th April–25 December 2009, 22–26 February 2010, 10 May 2010,
9 September–20 December 2010
Spouse(s): Eric Rathbone (?-?) (deceased)
Siblings: a sister
Children: none