Ron Fordham was a detective sergeant in Weatherfield police who with his junior colleague DC Hunter investigated Carla Connor's assault on estranged husband Tony Gordon when she shot him. The fact that he had held her hostage at gunpoint inside Underworld which he had also set on fire while they were still in there didn't prevent them "following procedure".
Soon after her release from Weatherfield General they arrested her for the assault and possession of a firearm and took her to Weatherfield Police Station. The CPS handled the case quickly and she was soon told that the matter was considered to be self-defence and had been dropped.
Twelve years later, and now retired from the police and working as a private investigator, he was employed by Laura Neelan to find the whereabouts of her missing loan shark husband Rick who unbeknownst to them, had been murdered by Gary Windass in June 2019 when he was terrorising the ex-soldier over an unpaid debt.
Feeling constant guilt over his act, Gary had kept a protective eye on Rick's daughter Kelly Neelan and he and his wife Maria Connor had taken Kelly in at their flat in December 2021 when the teenage girl was homeless. Laura, estranged from her daughter, had come back on the scene the following February when she had been diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer. Determined to make amends for her neglect of the past, Laura decided to track the missing Rick's money down to ensure he provided for Kelly financially and employed Ron to carry out the task. Up to that date, and to cover himself, Gary had hinted that Rick was alive and had been in touch with him, supposedly in Spain, to pass on sums of money to his daughter, whereas the cash had been spirited away by him after committing the murder.
From his time on the force, Ron knew well of Rick's violent reputation and his first question to Laura was who was the last person who had had contact with the man. Laura suddenly realised that person was Gary and Ron asked him a series of questions about their business relationship, expressing surprise at Gary's lack of curiosity and asking for the last contact number he had used.
Making enquiries, Ron spoke with Carl Grayson, a man who had borrowed money from Rick, and who a sympathetic Gary gave money to, together with returning his confiscated passport, when he was closing down Rick's operations. He told Gary about the conversation, again being puzzled at the way he had conducted the business, and once more pushed Gary for the last contact number.
Closing in further, Ron could find no trace of Rick, when he felt it was impossible for anyone to disappear as successfully as he had. He reported to Laura that everything had stopped in June 2019 and his old colleagues on the force were convinced that Rick was dead and that Gary was the prime suspect.
Laura subsequently confronted Gary with the accusation which, under pressure, he admitted to. However, seeing that Kelly's best future lay in the care of Gary and Maria, she confessed to the murder herself, even pointing the police to where the body could be found in some old brickworks and dying soon afterwards, leaving Gary in the clear.
List of appearances[]
2010
2022