Bernadine Simone "Bernie" Winter is the plain-spoken mother of twins Gemma Winter-Brown and Paul Foreman, assistant at Roy's Rolls and Prima Doner and partner of Dev Alahan.
Bernie brought her children up by herself on the rough Paul Robeson Estate in Wythenshawe. Hard as nails, she would do anything for her kids, including lying and stealing. During this time, she had a relationship with Kel Hinchley, who secretly groomed a teenaged Paul for sex. As adults, Gemma and Paul saw Bernie as a loose cannon and had little contact with her, blaming her for failing them as children.
In 2019, after Gemma fell pregnant with quads, Bernie moved into 5 Coronation Street and helped prepare for the births. She has stuck around ever since, doing her best for Gemma and Chesney in her own inimitable way. In 2023, her efforts to help Paul financially following his MND diagnosis backfired when she was charged with handling stolen goods and given a three-month custodial sentence. She was released in 2024. Coming to terms with Paul's impending death, Bernie tracked down her youngest child, Zodiac, who she gave up for adoption as a baby, though her now adult son, policeman Kit Green, has mostly kept her at arm's length.
Biography
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A twin herself with her brother Mike, Bernie gave birth to twins Paul and Gemma in August 1990, with Paul being the eldest of the two by ten minutes. Unfortunately, Bernie was never overly maternal and only Gemma lived with her on the Paul Robeson Estate in Wythenshawe where she fell in with a bad crowd consisting of Callum Logan and Macca. While Paul and Gemma did not grow up under the same roof the pair remained close, although Paul became hostile towards his mother, believing that she was a waste of space.
After Gemma caused the death of an elderly woman during a break-in, Paul saw how badly she had been affected being raised by Bernie and took the blame for the crime in order to give his younger sister another chance. Paul was sent to Highfield Prison where he spent years and, upon being released, reconnected with Gemma, although the pair remained estranged from Bernie with Gemma only having occasional contact.
In 2019, Bernie agreed to have Gemma return to live with her after she discovered that she was pregnant with her ex-boyfriend Chesney's child. When Bernie stood Gemma up she decided instead to stay at a friend's squat, although Chesney brought her back to the street after learning of her pregnancy and Paul comforted Gemma reminding her that their mother had never cared about anyone but herself.
By July, Gemma had discovered that she was expecting quads rather than a single child and appeared on Radio Weatherfield in the hopes of gaining donations in preparation for their arrival. Having heard Gemma and Chesney on the radio, Bernie turned up at the Rovers Return and quickly got Gemma on her own by accusing Chesney of being possessive over her daughter. While alone Bernie gave Gemma a sob story - revealing that she was about to be made homeless - and asked to loan some of the donation money. Just as Gemma was about to hand over the cash, Chesney returned and confronted Gemma over her gullibility, refusing to hand over any of the donated money. However, he offered for Bernie to stay at 5 Coronation Street until she got back on her feet.
Bernie's behaviour began to unnerve Chesney as she made suggestive comments towards him and walked around the house naked. When Gemma caught wind of this she no longer trusted her mother to be left alone in the house with Chesney and decided to move back in herself. Despite this, Bernie continued to cause problems, stealing a Japanese Maple tree from Victoria Gardens, which Chesney demanded she return.
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Personality
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Relationships
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Background information
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Bernie was introduced in July 2019 as the mother of established character Gemma Winter (Dolly-Rose Campbell).
Jane Hazlegrove previously appeared in Coronation Street as Sue Clayton in 1985, making her the only actress to have played two regular characters in the programme. She is also one of only seven actors who have played a regular character in the programme and gone on to make a subsequent appearance in any separate role.
Appendices
List of addresses
| Address | Duration |
|---|---|
| Paul Robeson Estate, Wythenshawe | Unknown |
| 5 Coronation Street | 24th July 2019 to 24th January 2020 |
| Unknown address outside of Manchester | 24th January 2020 to 23rd March 2020 |
| 5 Coronation Street | 23rd March 2020 to 24th October 2022 |
| 7 Coronation Street | 24th October 2022 to 18th November 2022 |
| 5 Coronation Street | 18th November 2022 to present |
Employment history
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