Jill Devonshire

Jill Devonshire was the loss assessor dispatched to 9 Coronation Street by the Duckworths' insurer to evaluate their claim when the house was flooded in 1991. The deluge had taken place when Coronation Street's water main was turned back on after a two-day drought and a bath Vera had been running when the water went off overflowed.

In typical fashion, Jack hatched a scheme to have the hallway redecorated at the insurer's expense in addition to the living room and soaked the walls in order to jack up their claim. Based on the most expensive options offered by his decorator friend Lew Crowther, Jack made a claim for £900, planning to carry out the decorations on the cheap and keep the rest as profit.

The last hurdle was the visit by the insurer's loss assessor. When she arrived at No.9 to survey the damage, Jill found a note on the door informing her that Jack could be found at the Rovers Return, where he was cellarman. There, Jack tried to butter Jill up by offering to buy her a drink first, which she refused, preferring to get on with the job. Jack continued his charm offensive at No.9 while Jill took her photographs, commenting on their names being the same as those from the nursery rhyme. Though not unfriendly, Jill remained focused on her task, expressing scepticism over the extent of the damage. She concluded that the claim was fraudulent, an opinion supported by colleagues who had looked over the photographs. As a result, the Duckworths didn't get any money and Jack had to fork out for the decorations himself to make it up to Vera.