Arthur Watts

Arthur Watts was the father of Curly Watts and grandfather of Ben. Despite living just down the motorway in Crewe, Arthur and wife Eunice played a minimal role in their son's life in Weatherfield.

The Watts were a strict and somewhat old-fashioned couple, and Arthur was severely hen-pecked by his wife, tending to bow to her wishes to keep the peace. In March 1988, Curly paid a visit home to pick up his old double bed before he was to move into the Corner Shop flat with Shirley Armitage, although Eunice disapproved of him living under the brush and refused to let him take the bed. A week later, the Watts paid a visit to Coronation Street to see the flat and meet Shirley, having had a serious talk and decided to build bridges. However, when they saw that Shirley was black, the Watts made their excuses and left the flat without saying a word to her. Eunice was so upset by the incident that she decided to stop speaking to Curly and got Arthur to send Curly a letter telling him.

In July of that year, Arthur paid an impromptu visit to the flat to see how Curly was getting on. Although he and Shirley made an effort with each other a somewhat strained atmosphere was present. Seeking to reconcile Curly and his mother, Arthur invited Curly and Shirley over for Sunday lunch, although Shirley lied that her mother was coming over to get out of going. She later came clean to Arthur that she didn't want to go as she didn't like everyone having to be on their best behaviour and tolerating each other. Before going back home, Arthur pointed out to Curly that if he'd laid the ground a little before introducing them to Shirley, the unpleasantness could have been avoided.

The Watts next visited Coronation Street on Christmas Day 1995, when Curly and his new wife Raquel had both sets of parents over for dinner. It was the first time Curly's parents had met Raquel, and because they had married in haste, the parents assumed that Raquel was pregnant. The down-to-Earth Wolstenhulmes were unlike their formal counterparts, who as usual were teetotal throughout the evening (although Eunice pointed out to Arthur that she knew he was a secret sherry drinker).

The Watts were also present at their grandson Ben's Christening in March 2002.


 * ''Arthur was played by Kenneth Waller (infobox) in his 1988 appearances, and John Pickles (right) and Geoff Oldham in his subsequent appearances. Dialogue in Episode 2818 reveals his first name as Harry however this was not reflected in the credits, where he wasn't given a first name (Arthur) until 1995.

1988

 * Wed 30th Mar
 * Wed 6th Apr
 * Wed 20th Jul
 * Mon 25th Jul

1995

 * Mon 25th Dec

2002

 * Sun 10th Mar