Mrs Fletcher

Mrs Fletcher was the mother of two children, Sharon and Wayne Fletcher whose father had left them when they were small. They were near neighbours of Betty Turpin who had concerns when she saw the children out all hours. Wayne fell and hurt himself and Betty took them in. Upon questioning them another day she found that they had not eaten all day. She gave them money to buy fish and chips from Jackson's Chip Shop and spoke to the Ken Barlow who advised her to contact the N.S.P.C.C.

A dark figure on the horizon was the children's "uncle" and their mother's boyfriend Reg Sudworth who Betty suspected could be hurting the children. After the N.S.P.C.C. had called to inspect, Reg came round to Coronation Street and threatened Betty but was seen off by Mike Baldwin and Eddie Yeats who told him what happened to child abusers in prison. This scared Reg off and he immediately packed his bags and moved out of Hillside Crescent.

Mrs Fletcher called at the Corner Shop where Betty was helping out to remonstrate with her. She sked Betty why she had called the N.S.P.C.C. Betty stood her ground and said that leaving the kids alone all day was neglect and that needed reporting. Mrs Fletcher retorted that Betty was a catty old snoop who had nothing better to do than spy on her neighbours. Betty tried to sympathise with her over her husband leaving her when Wayne and Sharon were small but Mrs Fletcher was in no mood to listen and said that any bloke was better than none. Her parting shot was to ask if Betty was “bloody satisfied” with her actions. She left Betty unsure if she had done the right thing.