Marcel Lebeque

Marcel Lebeque was a Frenchman who came over to Weatherfield on an exchange visit with its twin town Charleville in November 1973. Marcel was given lodgings for the night at the Rovers Return however with Annie Walker in Derby, it was up to Betty Turpin and Bet Lynch to decide which of them would stay the night at the Rovers and look after Marcel, a job neither of them wanted. Bet's feelings on the matter changed radically when she encountered the young, handsome Marcel asking Maggie Clegg for directions to the Rovers. Taking him by the arm, she led him across the street, through the bar and upstairs to his bedroom, causing exactly the kind of stunned reaction from the regulars that she was hoping for.

Once Marcel was settled into the Rovers, he spent the remainder of the evening propping up the bar before taking root in the back room in a poker match with Stan Ogden and René Dubois. Wanting time alone with Marcel, Bet joined the game and beat the three men, but they wanted to play on and at this point Bet gave up and went up to bed. The poker players then moved on to No.13 so that they could sample Stan's famed onion soup, although Marcel described it as the worst he'd ever tasted. He ended up spending the night passed out on No.13's floor and returned to the Rovers in the morning. Before returning to France, Marcel showed Bet his appreciation for her hospitality by giving her a brooch, however Bet refused the gift, guessing correctly that he was married.