Mr. Wentworth

Mr. Wentworth was the brusque Personnel Manager at Amalgamated Steel where Ken Barlow was employed as his assistant in October 1961. Wentworth was away for Ken’s first week as he had been on a conference. Upon his return he told Ken almost immediately that he didn’t like the employees called personnel, but staff, as he thought it was less stuffy and that he liked to approach them from what he termed a psychological viewpoint. He went to say that most of the people he worked with in the firm were “working” people as opposed to professionals, getting Ken’s back up straight away as he thought he has being snobby and he told him of his pride in his own background in Coronation Street and how he didn’t find the people there to be any different to anyone else.

Almost soon afterwards, Wentworth took a call from his demanding wife to remind him to pick up a watch from the jewellers which immediately made him drop his brusque manner.

Later in the day he asked Ken to speak with Arthur Chadwick who was almost 60 and confirm that he would be retiring at the end of the month as per company policy. Hearing that the firm was willing, if it suited them, to extend someone’s employment for a further period, with an increased pension, Ken voiced his opinion that the policy was one-sided in favour of the firm but was firmly told not to question matters. Upon being summoned to the office, Chadwick told Ken that he was both short of money and had a semi-invalid daughter who he had to support. Without making any promises, Ken asked Mr Wentworth to reconsider but his boss already knew the position and angrily retorted that Chadwick was expendable, getting a good bonus after forty years with the company and was still able to take on alternative employment.

After Chadwick had been told that he would effeminately be leaving at month-end, Wentworth asked Ken for a word and said he sorry that they were getting off to a bad start but he was allowing sentiment to get in the way of sound business decisions. He reminded Ken of his abilities and said that with his attainments the sky could be the limit for him.

A few days later, another matter caused an issue between the two men: Jim Schofield was a packer who had been with the firm for five months, clocking up a sickness record of an average of one day a fortnight. He had received two warnings from Wentworth who then asked Ken to formally interview him and suspend him if he saw fit, unless a really good excuse was forthcoming.

Ked did so and was taken in by Jim's stories about suffering migraines. Wentworth was unhappy when told the results of the interview and demanded that Schofield return to the office. Ken started to lose his temper at being undermined but Wentworth asked the packer why he never suffered his condition on a Friday – a pay day – but always on a Monday, and probably after a Sunday night’s drinking. Threatening to call his last firm and a doctor, Wentworth suspended Schofield with a warning that he would be sacked if his appalling record continued.

Soon afterwards Wentworth spoke to a colleague and said that although Ken was doing well enough in his new role for a “college boy”, he expressed doubts that he had employed the right person for the job. Soon afterwards, Ken handed in his notice.


 * Mr Wentowrth was one of the final guest characters to appear in the programme just before the Equity actors' strike began in November 1961 which precluded the employment of any actors in similar roles for some six months.