Audrey Fleming (née Bright) was a resident of 3 Coronation Street from 1968 to 1970.
Audrey was still a schoolgirl when she moved to the street with her soon-to-be-husband Dickie Fleming. She later became a secretary at Fairclough and Langton and fell in love with her boss Ray Langton, causing Dickie to walk out on her. She then left the street herself to return to her parents in Preston.
Biography[]
Audrey Bright was born in 1951 in Preston, England. While at school she dated apprentice engineer Dickie Fleming and Dickie bought a house for them: 3 Coronation Street, Weatherfield. With the neighbours gossiping about the unmarried teenage couple setting up home, they married in secret and set the neighbours straight by showing them their marriage certificate inside a pass the parcel during their house-warming.
When she left school Audrey got a job at the petrol station on Union Street for £8 a week. When prompted she sent a photo of herself to the "Miss Petrol Pump Beauty Contest" and ended up winning £50, despite Dickie's reservations about her posing in a bikini. Audrey turned down the opportunity to make a career out of beauty contests and returned to the less glamorous life in Coronation Street.
Audrey and Dickie were friends with the younger crowd in the street, especially Lucille Hewitt and Gordon Clegg. Audrey did her best to support Lucille when she was jilted by Gordon.
Builder Ray Langton bought Audrey her first drink in the Rovers Return Inn on her 18th birthday. Two months later, the Flemings took him in as a lodger, and Audrey started work as Ray's secretary.
Ray fancied Audrey but didn't make a move right away. Dickie, both paranoid and protective of Audrey, threw Ray out of the house but apologised when he came to his senses. However, there was an attraction between Ray and Audrey and when the street residents arranged a coach trip to the Lake District, Ray agreed to go along to keep Audrey company when Dickie had to stay behind to revise for exams. Eventually Dickie changed his mind and went after all, but Audrey spent more time with Ray during the trip and went away with him. Having already kissed her some weeks previously, Ray tried to tempt Audrey into an affair but Dickie interrupted him before he could make his move. Ken Barlow had to step in to stop Ray and Dickie fighting.
1970: The Flemings row as Audrey wonders about her feelings for Ray
The coach crashed on the way back to Weatherfield, and although neither Audrey nor Dickie were seriously injured, Ray had an infection in his spine and was paralysed for some months. The Flemings took him in but Audrey found the stress of coping with Dickie and an infirm Ray too much to cope with and went away to visit her mother, with Emily Nugent taking over at No.3 for a while. She also found them difficult and left eventually.
When Audrey returned, Ray was engaged to Sandra Butler, who had been friends with Audrey. Audrey was jealous but tried her best to hide it. She didn't hold out for long though and threw herself at Ray, finally admitting she loved him, but he wanted to stay faithful to Sandra and moved out of the Flemings' house to avoid Audrey. Wanting to know where she stood, Audrey went to see him at the yard and they kissed again, Ray unable to resist her when she was standing in front of him.
Although she was fond of Dickie, he didn't excite Audrey and she was starting to find him boring. Despite the kiss, Ray still kept his engagement to Sandra, intending to forget about Audrey as best he could but trouble was caused by a jealous Lucille Hewitt, who told Dickie about the kiss. Audrey confessed to him that she loved Ray. She let Dickie walk out of her life and when it started to seem clear that Ray wasn't going to give up Sandra, Audrey resigned from the yard and left the street.
Eighteen months later she agreed the sale of No. 3 to Ernie and Emily Bishop when they got married but sent her cousin Vicki Bright to make the arrangements. Vicki revealed that Audrey's divorce from Dickie was all but finalised after an attempt at reconciliation had failed although Ray was not cited in the petition. She had done nothing in particular since moving away from Weatherfield.
In the street production of Aladdin, Audrey played Princess Balroubadour.
Personality[]
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Relationships[]
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Background information[]
Teenagers Audrey Bright and Dickie Fleming were introduced in June 1968, as part of a move designed to attract younger viewers to the programme. Along with newcomer Ray Langton, they were intended to be involved in storylines which challenged established values but these plans never came to fruition. In 1970, incoming Producer June Howson was instructed not to renew the contracts of actors Gillian McCann and Nigel Humphreys, and the Flemings were written out.
Audrey's surname is often misspelled as Flemming in official works, such as Daran Little's 40 Years of Coronation Street. Within the programme itself, the character was credited as Audrey Fleming.
First and last lines[]
"Me and Dickie have only been in complete agreement once - recently we agreed we were both right about being wrong for one another." (Final line)
Appendices[]
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