Gerry Burton

When Candice Stowe's mother took up with a new boyfriend Gerry Burton in the summer of 2003, it wasn't long before he came on to the daughter as well. Touching her in a suggestive way and entering her bedroom at night, Candice told her mother what was going on but wasn't believed. Her work at the Salon started to suffer and in one incident she ruined a blouse of Betty Williams' when a new wet towel which hadn't been washed was put over it while she was waiting for a hair-do. Audrey took the money for the blouse off the girl and warned her to get her act together. Unware that Candice's problems had got so bad that she was sleeping in the salon overnight, Audrey and Maria Sutherland left her alone one lunch at which point Gerry took the opportunity to come in and "talk" to her. Speaking softly and smiling, he told her how worried he and her mother were about her and, moving closer, asked her why she was so nasty to him when he tried so hard to be nice to her and suggested that in fact she very much fancied him. The terrified Candice was saved when Audrey returned to collect her forgotten purse and took in the situation in an instant. She coolly warned Gerry that he wasn't dealing with a frightened girl now and to never come near her again or she would call the police. Gerry left and Audrey made arrangements for Candice to live in the Salon flat.


 * Gerry was one of several roles played in the programme by Mark Chatterton who remains better known for the parts of Raquel Wolstenhulme's ardent admirer Gordon Blinkhorn and Norris Cole's odious stepson Neville Hawthorne.