Cherie Watkins was a cruise bigwig who Alec Gilroy courted in order to further his career ambitions in 1991.
The relative of a cruise line director, Cherie met Alec when he came aboard one of Sunglobe Shipping Company's liners for a six-week tour around the Caribbean. Alec had been hired to provide the entertainment over Christmas and act as Master of Ceremonies. While there, he wined and dined Cherie in the hope that she would put a good word in for him with the company's top brass, leading to more work for them. As part of his charm offensive, Alec let Cherie think that he was a widower - though he would later give differing accounts as to how this "misunderstanding" arose when telling the story to Bet.
Back on dry land, in his civilian role of Rovers landlord, Alec kept his exploits a secret from Bet until the following February when his wife intercepted a postcard to him from Cherie in Antigua. Though the language Cherie used - referring to her husband as "my dearest Alec" - aroused Bet's suspicions that Cherie was more than just a business contact, Alec managed to convince her that he had been faithful on the cruise and the matter was effectively settled.
A few days later, Cherie rang the Rovers and arranged with Bet to have tea with the Gilroys at the Rovers on Valentine's Day. The call reignited Bet's misgivings about Alec and Cherie, particularly as Cherie had immediately taken "Mrs. Gilroy" to be Alec's mother. Rather than correct the error, Bet first extracted the unlikely truth from Alec - that he'd described himself as a widower, referring to his late first wife Joyce, and not had the opportunity to mention Bet - and then, when Cherie arrived at the Rovers, taking on the role of Alec's mother in order to force Alec to set her straight himself. The result was an embarrassing scene for all concerned as Bet introduced herself to Cherie (or "Cherry", as Bet called her) and asked if her "little lad" was looking after her. Thoroughly shown up, Alec admitted to Cherie that he'd given her the wrong impression about his home circumstances. Deciding not to stay for tea after all, a flustered Cherie made a sharp exit from the Rovers.