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Eddie Duncan was Weatherfield County FC's star striker who dated Irma Barlow and Bet Lynch in 1971. According to Len Fairclough, Eddie was over the hill and didn't have long left in the game, having previously played for Chelsea, Charlton Athletic and Walsall. Irma, who had been married to David Barlow, another County player, was excited about Eddie's star status and hoped to meet a few celebrities at his hangouts. Eddie took her to the Bonkers Club to meet his friend Pancho Peters and Donna Baker. Pancho was a fellow player and they had a long history together, enough for Pancho to know that he should have married Inga from Doncaster and that Irma looked like she was only after a good time.

At this point, Eddie had just been dropped from a match and Dave Smith, a new director of County who had financed his transfer from Chelsea FC, was pinning his hopes on him to get the team through a cup tie. Eddie was supposed to stay sober the night before, but instead took Irma to a party in Liverpool and got drunk. The team ended up losing 2-0 and Dave threatened to drop Eddie if he didn't improve.

Eddie took no notice of Dave's warning. When Irma went to stay with a friend and didn't return, Eddie asked Bet Lynch out and crashed at her flat after returning from a drunken night out on the eve of his next important match. Bet realised his career would be over if he didn't play and poured water on him to get him up the next morning in time to sober up. Eddie made it to the pitch in time for the match and was surprisingly on form in the second half after a disappointing first half, scoring three goals which resulted in County winning the game 3-2.

Eddie planned to stay with Bet and County after this but Dave transferred him to Torquay a few weeks later. He asked Bet to go with him but Bet turned the invitation down as she wanted him to put his career first.

In April 1972, Albert Tatlock claimed that he had given Eddie several playing hints in an attempt to convince Bessie Street School headmaster Wilfred Perkins that he was something of a football expert. By 1976 Eddie Duncan was back on the team as a player/manager and stayed in the post until 1979, being cited by Johnny Connor forty-two years later as the best person that County ever had in the role.

Eddie's storyline was originally to involve only Irma Barlow but Bet Lynch was drafted in as a replacement for Irma when Sandra Gough was sacked from the programme in December 1971.

List of appearances[]

1971[]

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