Harry Gee

Harry Gee was a man who turned up in the Rovers Return Inn one day in January 1965 looking for his absconding wife. He explained that his sister had been on a bus going down Rosamund Street and had seen her sister-in-law getting off another bus at the corner of Mawdsley Street. He promised to return the next day to see if there had been any further news of her and left, giving his name to Jack Walker as he did so. This caused momentary consternation as the regulars knew where his wife Norma was - housekeeping for Len Fairclough and posing as a widow!

Jack stopped Annie from assisting further, wisely reminding her that there was always more to these stories than first met the eye. Harry did return again the next day and this time Dennis Tanner, supping at the bar, overheard the description that Harry gave of Norma and innocently repeated it to his mother Elsie afterwards. He had met Norma, the two women taking a dislike to each other - and when she put two and two together she ran round to the Rovers and happily told Harry that his wife could be found at 15 Mawdsley Street.

Harry went round there and ordered his wife to get her coat on and come home with him, making it clear that this wasn't the first time she had left him in their seven years of marriage. Len came in to hear accusations from Norma that Harry was a violent man and he was on the point of physically throwing him out when Harry dropped a bombshell - this had all happened before and Harry had once just been in time to stop Norma from entering into a bigamous marriage with the man she was housekeeping for at the time. Harry asked her if she was coming back with him and she agreed, fetching her case while Harry told Len that the films gave her ideas and she always wanted better things, even though he had good job and they had a nice life. The two left bickering and Len was left to ruefully thank Elsie for saving him from "a fate worse than death".


 * Credited as "Mr Gee", the character's first name was given in dialogue