Kelly Crabtree

Kelly Louise Crabtree is a fictional character on the British television soap opera Coronation Street. She made her first appearance in September 2004. Kelly is a feisty girl, who has a mouthy and outspoken nature, also she is from a mixed race background. The official Coronation Street website describes the character as ,"brash and bolshy, Kelly is the sort of girl who goes for what she wants and rarely thinks of the consequences of her actions".

Arrival
Kelly first appeared in September, 2004. She had been working in the background of the Underworld clothing factory for some time. On the day that the rest of the workers took any notice of her she was leaving to get married and move away. She quit her job and Sean Tully took over. However, her fiancé had cheated on her and she decided to leave him. After begging for her job back at the factory, Danny Baldwin kept both her and Sean. She began a short-lived flirtation with her boss who gave her the nickname of "Legs", although it never quite developed into an affair. Always one for a challenge, Kelly tried to seduce gay best friend Sean Tully, but failed.

Storylines
In 2005, Kelly started seeing Lloyd Mullaney but after she found out he was cheating on her, she put laxatives in his drink. Lloyd was rushed to hospital but was okay. Kelly later admitted it was she who had put the laxatives in his drink, and they broke up. Later, Lloyd wanted to get back together with Kelly but she'd had enough of his cheating. In December 2005, Kelly won £2,500 on a scratch card. However, the day after she won it, she was mugged, although she later got what was stolen back. In a moving scene with Lloyd in his taxi following the attack, she asked whether it was her skin colour that made her a target.

In 2006, Kelly's old friend Becky Granger appeared on the scene. Much to Kelly's annoyance, Becky started becoming obsessive with Kelly. She got a job at Underworld with Kelly and started hanging around with Kelly's mates. She later bought Kelly a watch for her birthday, but because of Becky's criminal past Kelly was suspicious that the watch was stolen. Becky later showed Kelly the receipt, and Kelly felt bad for not having trusted her friend.

It was later revealed that Becky had spent too much on the watch and that she was unable to pay her rent. She was kicked out of her flat by her landlord, and, feeling guilty, Kelly offered to let her stay with her and Lloyd for a few days. A few days turned into a few weeks, and Kelly, who had become annoyed with Becky for getting between her and Lloyd, told her that it was time for her to move out. Becky appeared to "take it on the chin", but later swore to get revenge on Kelly.

Becky started flirting with Lloyd and planted a kiss on him, which he rejected, ordering her to leave. She also stole some of her workmates' jewellery and money and planted them in Kelly's locker. Kelly was arrested for theft and was given the sack from Underworld. Kelly's criminal past was revealed to her workmates, who disowned her as her friend. Becky soon disappeared and Kelly was left to face the consequences of a crime she didn't commit.

Lloyd advised Kelly to plead guilty to the thefts and receive a lesser charge. Eventually, her friends came to believe her. She was given a suspended sentence and given back her job at Underworld. Her relationship with Lloyd, however, took it a turn for the worse, as she thought it was wrong for him to have suggested to her to plead guilty. She decided that she needed some time apart from Lloyd.

During a drunken night out, Kelly ended up drowning her sorrows with Steve McDonald. One thing led to another, and they had a one-night stand. The next morning they decided it was a "one off" and agreed to keep it quiet. However, Steve needed to prove he was with Kelly to get an alibi for a hit and run; this led to everyone finding out. Even though they were on a break, Lloyd couldn't believe Kelly had slept with Steve, and he decided to call off the relationship once and for all.

She later got another job working for Carla Connor. She fell for Liam Connor and was outraged when she discovered he was seeing her best mate Joanne. For revenge she got Joanne sacked but was shocked when she discovered that arch enemy Becky had been hired to replace Joanne.

It was announced on 26 December 2007 that the character was to receive a big storyline during 2008, featuring a wager between the new father and son bookies on the street.

Also lined up for the character in 2008 were parties selling underwear, which Kelly would model herself.

In early 2008, Kelly, desperate to earn some extra cash, began stealing leftover material from the knicker bins at the factory. She then proceeded to sell her own produce on the side. Fellow factory worker Wiki Dankowska soon discovered what Kelly was up to and urged her to come clean. It all came out when barmaid Lauren Wilson got a drink spilt down her top in the Rovers. As she took her top off Liam noticed that she was wearing one of Underworld's reject bras. Both Carla and Liam pretended to put the blame onto Wiki and sacked her. After that Kelly came clean and was placed on a lower wage with a six month probation period.

In October 2008, she began dating Dan Mason following his split from Leanne Battersby. However, Dan soon tired of Kelly asking him to lend her money and cruelly dumped her the following month, just before they were due to go on holiday, leaving the Street without her.

In March 2009, Kelly's bitterness towards Becky resurfaced when they got into a blazing row in the Rovers. Ignoring Becky's excuses that she was under pressure to serve her, due to a large group of music fans wanting food, Kelly went behind the bar and started helping herself. Becky was furious and threw her out of the pub just as landlady Liz McDonald arrived back from lunch. Liz, to Becky's outrage, apologised to Kelly and offered her free drinks.