Doris Speed

Doris Speed OBE (3rd February, 1899 - 16th November, 1994) was a British actress, best known for her role as snooty Rovers Return Inn landlady Annie Walker on Coronation Street, a role she played from the debut episode in December 1960 till 1983. In her earlier life she had toured with her musical and comedy artist parents and had appeared in numerous theatre and radio productions before leaving acting to work for the Guinness brewery in Manchester. Doris returned to acting fairly late in life, landing a small part in the 1960 film Hell Is A City before being cast in the first episode of Coronation Street.

Doris became close friends with Street creator Tony Warren, who wrote the part of Annie Walker specifically for her. Throughout her 23 years on the programme, she reportedly received more fan mail than any other Street actor. She was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1977. Towards the end of her run on the Street, a national newspaper printed her birth certificate, which revealed Doris to be considerably older than she had previously claimed. She publicly fainted upon hearing the news, and only a few weeks later, burglars broke into her home whilst she was asleep.

Doris suffered a minor breakdown which caused her to abruptly leave Coronation Street after appearing in 1746 episodes. She lived the rest of her days in a nursing home, appearing only twice more on television, once on the 30th anniversary special Happy Birthday Coronation Street! in 1990, and again on Classic Coronation Street in 1993 in an interview with her on-screen son Kenneth Farrington. She passed away in November 1994, aged 95.