Harriet Lythgoe was a social worker who called at 9 Coronation Street in January 2013 and with the police's assistance forcibly removed Ruby Soames from the care of her father Tyrone Dobbs.
For months, Tyrone had been suffering physical abuse and violence from his girlfriend Kirsty Soames but he was powerless in the face of the fact that Kirsty had not registered his name as father of their baby. Knowing full well Kirsty's tragic history of cruelty at the hands of her own father and fearful that she would treat the child in the same way, he hatched a plan to marry her to give him parental rights and then take the baby from her. The plan fell apart when Kirsty found out what he was up to from texts on a mobile phone and, in an argument, she fell down the stairs.
At Weatherfield General, she turned the tables on Tyrone when she told investigating officer DS Garrett that he had pushed her and she was worried for Ruby's sake. Harriet called round with PC Smith who arrested Tyrone for assault while Harriet took the child into foster care.
The subsequent trial took place at Weatherfield Crown Court in March. As defence witness Tina McIntyre took the stand to testify against Tyrone's charges of ABH, a guilty Kirsty entered the courtroom with baby Ruby and after confessing that she herself was the perpetrator and not Tyrone, the baby was handed over to the usher and placed in temporary care. Harriet then gave Ruby back to Tyrone after he was found to be innocent of all charges.