Coronation Street Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Martin Cheveski was the second son of Ivan and Linda Cheveski and grandson of Elsie Tanner. He lived with Elsie at No.11 for just over six months in 1980, but returned to his parents after having his heart broken by Karen Oldfield.

Biography[]

Martin Cheveski was born in Canada in 1964. His parents Ivan and Linda, and older brother Paul, had emigrated there in 1961 but the family returned to England in 1966, specifically Birmingham, where Martin went to school.

After leaving school at sixteen, Martin struggled to find a job and got into rows with Ivan. After a fall-out, Martin decided to stay with his maternal gran Elsie Tanner in Weatherfield. He made his own way there, arriving unannounced at Elsie's door on 16th June 1980 (although technically as Elsie wasn't at home, Martin climbed over the back wall and was grabbed by Len Fairclough, who thought he was breaking in). Elsie agreed to Martin living there, with Linda's approval.

As it transpired, Martin had made the right decision, at least on the employment front. He was good with his hands, and Len, who owned the local Builder's Yard, was a close friend of Elsie's and readily agreed to take Martin on as an apprentice. This upset the yard's labourer Eddie Yeats as there wasn't enough work at the yard for the three of them, and unsurprisingly it was Eddie who faced the chop, having unsuccessfully tried to put Martin off the job.

In August, Martin was repairing the water boiler at Baldwin's Casuals when he took a shine to the new trainee Karen Oldfield. Karen returned his affections and they went to a dance together. They soon fell for each other but a complication then arose in the form of Karen's protective father, who barred Karen from seeing Martin when Martin got Karen drunk on Elsie's gin while entertaining her at No.11 in Elsie's absence. Martin arranged to meet Karen despite the ban but to his shock it was Mr. Oldfield who showed up, to warn him off Karen personally. Karen was still willing to see Martin, but as Elsie wouldn't let them use No.11, Martin used the yard as a meeting place, with them seeing each other there on nights.

The relationship continued. In October, the pair got their ears pierced but Martin took his out when his ear went septic. Later, they were caught together at the yard by the police, resulting in Oldfield finding out that they were still together. With Oldfield threatening Martin with court action, Martin decided to return to Birmingham, deciding that if he couldn't see Karen then there was nothing for him in Weatherfield. This surprised Oldfield, who agreed to let him see Karen - but warned him about getting her drunk again.

Episode2061

1980: Martin moves his and Karen's relationship to the next level - but ends up killing it

At Christmas, Martin faced a complication as Karen wanted him to celebrate the day with her instead of his family, and threatened to leave him otherwise. Martin left for Birmingham but came back later, deciding to be with Karen after all, but interrupted a date between Karen and Paul Sidall, and shoved Paul across a table at the Rovers. Martin realised he'd gone too far and risked pushing her closer to Paul, but after getting an idea from Elsie, bought an engagement ring and proposed to Karen, hoping that a big gesture would show his commitment to her and thus sort out their problems. Karen initially accepted but after consideration returned the ring, telling him they were too young. She also finished with him. Even though it was New Year's Eve, Martin immediately packed his things and returned to Birmingham, telling Elsie he was swearing off girls.

Personality[]

Duckworths 1983
"If you've owt to say, spit it out before it flamin' well chokes yer"
This article or section is unfinished.
Please edit this article to fill in the missing parts and remove this message when done.

Background information[]

Martin's existence is a curio. In the 1960s, there was never a mention of a second grandson to Elsie Tanner, despite Linda and Ivan making occasional appearances with their son Paul (born in 1961), occasions where another son would surely have been referred to. Additionally, actor Jonathan Caplan was of a similar age to Paul and so it seems odd that the producers of 1980 would invent Martin when they could have used Paul (although one of Martin's storylines saw Elsie row with Alf Roberts for selling alcohol to Martin, who was underage).

First and last lines[]

"Trying to get me nose trapped." (First line)

---

"I just don't like it here any more Gran, it stinks." (Final line)

Appendices[]

Duckworths 1983
"If you've owt to say, spit it out before it flamin' well chokes yer"
This article or section is unfinished.
Please edit this article to fill in the missing parts and remove this message when done.

See also[]

Advertisement