Annie Walker

Anne 'Annie' Walker (née Beaumont), played by Doris Speed, is one of the original "Coronation Street" characters, when the show began in 1960 and appeared in the role until 1983, when actress Doris Speed retired from acting due to ill health.

Infobox soap character
series=Coronation Street
color=#F0E68C
name = Annie Walker
first = 9 December, 1960
last = 12 October, 1983
born = 11 August 1909
death =
occupation = Landlady
title = Mrs Walker
spouse = Jack Walker (1937-1970)
parents = Florence Beaumont (deceased)
Edmont Beaumont (deceased)
children = Billy Walker
Joan Walker
residence = Derbyshire
books = Coronation Street: The Complete Saga
Coronation Street: The War Years
portrayer = Doris Speed
creator = Tony Warren

History

Annie Walker (née Beaumont) was born in Clitheroe, Lancashire on 11 August 1909, to parents Edward and Florence Beaumont. Annie was the first landlady of the Rovers Return, which she ran with her husband, Jack Walker. After Jack's death in 1970, she continued to run the pub on her own, often with the help of her son, Billy Walker (Ken Farrington)

Annie saw herself as the First Lady of the Rovers Return, with an almost regal dignity acquired through many years of tending to the working classes. She regarded herself as an intellectual and enjoyed associating herself with other "intellectuals", such as Ken Barlow. Mrs Walker's social pretensions more often than not led to despair at the behaviour and general demeanour of the less refined members of her clientele, most frequently Hilda and Stan Ogden. It was nearly always down to her husband Jack to offer an olive branch to both staff and customers who had been offended by Annie.

In 1973, Alf Roberts invited Annie to become Mayoress of Weatherfield, and she gloried in her position with an almost regal decorum. This led to Annie making the decision to learn to drive, and she purchased a second hand Rover 2000, a car fitting for a lady of her stature.

Regular rivalry with Nellie Harvey (played by Mollie Sugden), landlady of The Laughing Donkey, provided comic fireworks and one-upmanship, as the two ladies vied for perceived social supremacy.

The brewery tried to force Annie out on a number of occasions, first with the implicit help of her son Billy in 1972, then after a fall related to her home being burgled in 1975, but each time, she managed to keep the pub. Annie left Coronation Street, and the Rovers in 1983, as Doris Speed was not well enough to continue. Annie moved to Derbyshire to live with her daughter, Joan and left the Rovers in the hands of her son, Billy. It is not known what else happened to Annie and it still remains an unresolved mystery of the street.