Bet Lynch

Elizabeth Theresa "Bet" Lynch (previously Gilroy) was portrayed by the actress Julie Goodyear.

Backstory and Arrival
Bet Lynch was born to parents Patrick and Mary Lynch. Her father left when she was six months old, and Bet had received a strict Catholic upbring by her mother, but didn't stop her becoming Miss Weatherfield in 1955. When she was sixteen, she met a man called Joe Mason at a party, who was twelve years older than her. After getting pregnant, Joe fled and she gave birth to a baby boy called Martin. However, she was forced to give him up for adoption. A family called the Downes adopted Martin.

Bet arrived in Coronation Street in 1966 when working at the PVC factory. She had an affair with her boss John Benjamin and gave Lucille Hewitt a black eye, because of her jealousy of Lucille's speed of welding. She moved away from the area a few weeks later.

The Rovers Return
Bet arrived back in Coronation Street in 1970 when she bumped into Irma Barlow, who she worked with in the factory back in 1966. Later in the year, Bet was appointed a junior barmaid in the Rovers by Billy Walker, a place she would work at for the next 25 years.

She had numerous relationships with many people, including well known Street residents such as Len Fairclough and Mike Baldwin. In 1975, Bet got news that her son Martin (who she gave up for adoption when he was a baby) was a soldier and died in a car crash. She also found out that he tracked her down, but was disgusted by her overt sexual nature she left without telling her who he was.

When Annie Walker retired in 1983, her son Billy Walker took over license of the Rovers Return. He was involved in various dodgy things and screwed up frequently. He was the landlord for less than a year; he got in trouble with the brewery, and the tenancy was purchased back by Newton & Ridley.

The brewery decided to appoint a manager rather than sell the licence. Sarah Ridley appointed Bet manageress. Bet was flabbergasted, but ecstatic. She moved out of the corner shop flat into the Rovers in January 1985. Bet was involved in a fire at the Rovers in 1986, but was saved by Kevin Webster. The place was gutted but eventually done up and she moved back in a few weeks later.

Marriage to Alec Gilroy
Bet married Alec Gilroy in 1987 when she couldn't come up with the money to buy the Rovers from the brewery who intended on selling it. The marriage went better than she expected, and they where happy when Bet had later fallen pregnant, however she had later lost the baby.

When Alec decided to leave for a job on a cruise ship in 1991, Bet didn't want to leave her beloved Rovers so he left without her. So they split up, and didn't get divorced until a few years later.

Departure
When the brewery decided to sell up the Rovers again, Bet couldn't come up with the large sum they demanded. She tried to ask some of her friends, especially close friend Rita Sullivan, for a loan. Rita thought about it, but had to turn it down. Bet also tried to ask step granddaughter Vicky to borrow some money, but Vicky turned down the offer, but later said she would buy up Bet a house for her to stay in. Bet got upset and threw everyone out the pub. She then left in the back of a taxi in her leapord skinned clothing, not knowing where to go next.

However in 1999, it was shown that Bet made up with Vicky and started running a pub in Brighton.

2002–2003
Bet arrived back in Coronation Street in June 2002 for Betty's retirement party, but was really back for a court trial against a former lover of hers who swindled money of her. Bet only intended to stay in the street for a couple of weeks until the court case was over. She was offered to become manager of the Rovers by Fred Elliot, however she turned the offer down. Rita tried to make up with Bet about not buying the Rovers for her, but they ended up having an argument. It was later revealed by Audrey that Bet had lost her court case and packed her bags and had left the area. Rita felt sorry for Bet, despite the argument they previously had.

In November 2003, Bet crossed paths with Liz McDonald in Blackpool. Bet got involved in Liz's problems as her husband Jim McDonald had escaped prison and was on the run. Bet was also due to get married to former Brewery boss Cecil Newton, but he had later died of a heart attack. Bet had returned back to Brighton.

Background Information

 * Bet's absence between 1966 and 1970 was due to co-star Patricia Phoenix telling Julie Goodyear that she should try and get some more acting experiance.
 * Julie Goodyear left in 1995 after winning a longtime achievement award and hoped to go onto other work. She currently works in stage production.
 * Bet's 2002 return was an attempt to boost Corrie ratings, which where getting beat by rival soap EastEnders. After only filming 2 weeks worth of episodes, Julie Goodyear pulled out due to overwork because she wasnt used to the 6 day a week filming schechle. The producers came to an agreement that it would be best that Bet Lynch should make cameo appearances instead. The next time Bet was seen was for a special set of episodes in late 2003 set in Blackpool. This featured the final appearance of the character.