Harold Chapman

Alderman Harold Chapman was Mayor of Weatherfield before Alf Roberts. He was in office from 1972 to 1973.

A stern, somber man, Chapman had worked on the Council with Alf and Len Fairclough, the two men Chapman and Alderman Rogers chose as the frontrunners to replace him when the borough came to end. Chapman was keen to elect an independent and eventually chose Alf over Len; Len's girlfriend Rita Littlewood had made a spectacle of herself at the opening of the Gatsby club and fallen on Chapman's lap during a struggle with a tipsy woman. Len had later dumped Rita, hoping that Chapman would choose to ignore the incident, but Len's subsequent absence in the run-up to the election due to carrying out plumbing work in Scarborough also counted against him, particularly as Alf's record was comparatively stainless.

After stepping down as Mayor, Chapman continued his work with the Council and served as chairman of the Community Centre committee. In November 1975, Chapman (and others) interviewed Ken Barlow for the open position of Community Development Officer. Chapman was alone in his disdain for Ken, preferring that his own nephew be given the job, but Ken impressed the rest of the committee and won the position.

Chapman battled Ken again the following year, although this time his concerns were shared by others in the committee. After receiving complaints about Ken living in sin with his lover Wendy Nightingale, Chapman told him that either he gave up Wendy or he would lose his job, believing that it would reflect badly on the public image of the committee of they appeared to sanction it. Ken's domestic situation with Wendy was quickly resolved as Wendy returned to her husband Roger, and Chapman later denied that he had issued an ultimatum to Ken, producing a vote of full confidence from the rest of the committee in him continuing in his role. However, Ken took a dim view of employers who would try to control his private life and decided to resign - it was only the burden of having to care for Albert Tatlock which made Ken change his mind and stay.

In March 1978, Chapman delivered the news to Len Fairclough that his party, the Ratepayers Association, was demanding his resignation following his arrest for being drunk and disorderly. He later appeared in August 1980 at Alf's wife Renee's funeral.


 * The character was usually credited as Alderman Chapman. Chapman was one of three authority figures played by Frank Crompton in Coronation Street in the 1970s, the others were the Commissionaire in February 1971 and Councillor Tommy Garret in June 1975. He also played an unnamed spectator at a football match in April 1972, only nine episodes before his first appearance as Chapman.

List of appearances
Episode count: 11.