Fred Elliott

Infobox soap character
color =#F0E68C
series = Coronation Street
name = Fred Elliott



caption1 = Fred Elliot
first = 29 August 1994
last = 9 October 2006
born = Birth date|1938|10|27|df=y
death = Dda|2006|10|9|1938|10|27|df=y
parents = William Elliott
Amelia Elliott
siblings = Beryl Peacock
spouse = Sybil Elliot (?–1975)
Maureen Holdsworth (1997)
Evelyn Sykes (2001)
romances = Kathleen Gutteridge
Rita Sullivan
Audrey Roberts
Doreen Heavey
Penny King
Bev Unwin
children = Ashley Peacock
grandchildren = Freddy Peacock
occupation = Butcher
portrayer = John Savident

Frederick Handel Elliott is a fictional character on the British soap opera "Coronation Street". He was played by John Savident from 1994 until 2006.

torylines

Fred first came into the soap as an associate of Alf Roberts and always had a soft spot for Alf's wife, Audrey. He worked as a butcher with his own shop, and co-owned the Rovers Return Inn with Mike Baldwin and Duggie Ferguson for a short time before selling his share to Duggie.

Fred's son Ashley worked alongside him at the butcher's shop and the pair had a close relationship. In 1999, Fred let slip to Audrey that Ashley was his secret son. About a year after Fred's first wife Sybil had died, Fred became romantically involved with Kathleen Gutteridge, a young worker in the Elliotts' old shop. Kathleen became pregnant, but rejected Fred's proposal of marriage, feeling too young to be tied down. Kathleen agreed to give her newborn son to Fred's childless sister, Beryl Peacock and her husband Sam. They brought up Ashley as their own son, never telling him of his true parentage, although Fred was forced to admit the truth to him having told Audrey.

Fred married three times in all, but only two of his marriages were legally valid. His first wife Sybil died in 1975. In 1997, he married Maureen Holdsworth. However, shortly after their wedding, Maureen realised it had been a terrible mistake, and left him for Bill Webster. Fred then fell for barmaid Eve, marrying her in 2001, and bought back the Rovers Return pub from Duggie for her to run. However, Eve turned out never to have divorced her previous husband, and she left as suddenly as Maureen.

Fred had a reputation for proposing to every woman he fell in love with. He was rejected by Rita Sullivan, Audrey Roberts, Doreen Heavey and Penny King, and even attempted to find a Thai bride through the internet. Unfortunately, his choice - Orchid - was a fraud called Stacey, whom Fred's friend Dennis Stokes had employed to con him out of money supposedly for air travel. In 2006, after a brief courtship, he popped the question to Bev Unwin and she accepted his proposal. The couple were due to marry in October 2006. Intending to retire to the country, Fred sold the pub to Steve McDonald, who bought it for his mother Liz.

On Monday 9th October, Fred left the church where he was waiting to marry Bev to go to talk to Audrey, who had previously admitted she wished she was marrying him herself. After a discussion in which he asserted his love for Bev and commitment to marrying her, he got up to return to the church but collapsed and died instantly of a massive heart attack [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6036919.stm bbc.co.uk] ] in the hallway of Audrey's house.

Fred was noted for his booming voice, his frequent use of butchery terms in everyday conversation (particularly when referring to women), and a tendency to repeat things (e.g, "it's not worth a penny, I say it's not worth a penny", a trait similar to the Looney Tunes character, Foghorn Leghorn). He also often called people by their full names, e.g., Beverley, Elizabeth and Devendra. His last words were: "Be happy, I say be happy."

Ashley and his wife Claire later changed their son's name from Thomas to Freddie in memory of his grandfather, Ashley's father.

References