Richard "Dickie" Fleming was an apprentice engineer who lived in Coronation Street with his wife Audrey from 1968 to 1970. Having been childhood sweethearts, the couple were split up after Audrey's affair with builder Ray Langton.
Biography[]
Dickie Fleming was born in 1949. After leaving school he took an apprenticeship and trained to become an engineer. His head was turned by schoolgirl Audrey Bright and they rapidly started a relationship. In 1968, Dickie put in an offer for a house they had liked - 3 Coronation Street - and the house was soon theirs. They also got married, as people would disapprove of them living together otherwise.
With money being difficult to come by, Dickie had thoughts about giving up his trade and getting a labourer's job, but Audrey was against it. Dickie was against some of her choices too, including entering a beauty contest after leaving school. Fortunately, she only did one, despite winning it.
In 1969, Dickie took a job as a mechanic at an arcade but didn't tell Audrey as he was afraid of her reaction. He quickly ran into trouble at work as thug Eddie Goulden made him fix machines for him. Dickie didn't stand up to him and was sacked for being a soft touch. As he hadn't been gone from it long, he was able to get his apprenticeship back without any fuss.
In July, Ray Langton moved into No.3 as a lodger. Dickie noticed Ray clearly fancied Audrey and threw him out, though he did cool off and realise he'd jumped the gun. He didn't mind when Audrey got a job as Ray's secretary at the builder's yard but wasn't oblivious as Audrey and Ray flirted.
Despite having to revise for exams, he didn't want Audrey going on a coach trip with Ray for company and went along with the other residents of the street to the organised Lake District outing. Audrey sneaked off with Ray but Dickie knew what Ray was like and knew that he would try to lead his wife astray. When he confronted Ray, Dickie went for him but was restrained before he could do any damage.
Ray and Audrey's on-off flirtation settled down as Ray was injured in a coach crash on the way back from the Lake District and became paralysed from the waist down. Dickie knew that Ray was no threat in that condition and allowed him to lodge with the Flemings while he recovered. When he got the use of his legs back, Audrey was distracted by her feelings for him and eventually Lucille Hewitt informed Dickie that Audrey and Ray had kissed. Dickie had to hear from Audrey that she didn't love him, and that she loved Ray. With Audrey's heart set on stealing Ray from his fiancée Sandra Butler, but Ray adamant that he would marry Sandra, the rejected Dickie told Sandra about what had happened between Ray and Audrey so that she would have a chance to get out while she still had the chance. He immediately packed his bags and left Weatherfield.
When Audrey's cousin Vicki Bright came to the street in March 1972 to oversee the sale of No.3, she told Ray that Dickie and Audrey had met up again and tried to give their marriage another go but it had been unsuccessful and the divorce was almost finalised.
In the street's production of Aladdin, Dickie played the role of An An.
Personality[]
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Relationships[]
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Background information[]
Teenagers Dickie Fleming and Audrey Bright 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.
Dickie'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 Dickie Fleming.
First and last lines[]
"Oh, hello. I'm Dickie Fleming." (First line, to Valerie Barlow)
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"Yeah, out of this flamin' street for good. I've left her and I don't want to see her face again. And do you know why? No? Because she's been carrying on with your lover boy. Yeah, your flamin' lover boy - behind my back, behind your back. Ta ra." (Final line, to Sandra Butler)
Appendices[]
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