Clint Stubbins was an old friend of Bernie Winter and something of an ageing, druggy hippy who made a living by taking on any job he could, provided it paid in cash and was presumably tax free.
In November 2021, he helped her move a new sofa into 5 Coronation Street that she had just bought from Grace Vickers. She, in turn, had obtained it from Ed and Aggie Bailey as part of her constant demands for a house, goods and cash to prevent her from barring them from access to their granddaughter, Glory. Aggie caught sight of the sofa and wanted to know where Bernie had obtained it from, and Clint backed her story that it had come from a clearance sale in Hyde.
A community Christmas market was starting up in Victoria Street and Clint negotiated with Sally Metcalfe, one of the organisers, to set up a stall there though the two were in conflict about his plan to sell mulled wine as the Rovers Return Inn had obtained the adjoining stall to sell a higher quality version of the same product. Instead, at Bernie's suggestion he sold mulled ciders as well as cheap Christmas tat under the sign of "Clint's Xmas Emporium". One of his first customers was Aggie, determined to track down the provenance of the sofa and she threatened to throw away his entire stock unless he confessed, which he readily did. An outraged Bernie demanded free drinks for herself and her friends whenever she wanted as recompense and took full advantage of the supply on tap.
Among the cheap items he sold were remaindered copies of a nude calendar of the local menfolk which had been produced in the July to raise funds for a charity in the name of the deceased Oliver Battersby. Steve McDonald, the child's father, was on the cover and his daughter, Emma Brooker wasn't pleased to see her dad in the altogether when she walked through the market. Clint had to admit they weren't selling well.
In January 2022, Clint sourced a new dishwasher for the re-opening of Speed Daal on a "no questions asked" basis. Costing £1,000, the machine packed up at the end of its very first wash.
In the same month, he became involved in somewhat more darker intrigues after he took the opportunity to enrich himself when youngster Joseph Brown went missing. The ten-year old ran away from home in plan formulated by his cousin Hope Stape to "teach the adults a lesson" when his father Chesney went back on his word and spoke to Bessie Street School about the bullying he was suffering from other pupils as a result of their poverty. In reality, the little boy was hidden by Hope in the loft of 9 Coronation Street, just two doors down, but a frantic search ensued with a £32,000 reward offered which was boosted by a large anonymous donation by Yasmeen Metcalfe but they quickly had to abscond away from Coronation Street when a house valuer went poking about in the loft when the property was put on the market.
Returning when the children thought they'd achieved their objective, Clint spotted them sneaking down Victoria Street away from the searching police and cornered them in the ginnel. Although admonishing them for their behaviour, he also got them to agree to let him take them home for a small cash reward. He reckoned without the wily Hope who demanded £100 in cash for each of them. They agree and Joseph was safely returned to his family, with Clint claiming he found him at the Aquaside Industrial Park.
Although the police were highly suspicious about Clint's part in the affair, Weatherfield Gazette reporter Mindy Hills covered the story, painting his involvement in a positive light and photographed him with Chesney and Dev Alahan, the coordinator of the reward money, all stood happily together. Things unravelled though when Bernie found Joseph with his £100 and wrung a confession out of him about what had really happened. She angrily confronted her old friend who was unable to easily talk himself out of his involvement. Being threatened with the police, Clint offered Bernie half the money and she accepted the bribe, sincerely wanting to help her daughter Gemma Winter and Chesney out of their overwhelming financial predicaments. Using his half of the money, Clint bought himself an old campervan, happy to be on the road and sleep under the stars. He set off, leaving Bernie to face the music alone when her new reserves of cash made people suspicious that she had kidnapped Joseph herself with the reward money as her goal.
List of appearances[]
2021
2022