Ritchie Levitt was an ex-con who met Jacko Ford when they were both in Strangeways Jail. Ritchie knew Jacko's daughter Norma through his association with Jacko, and kept tabs on her on the outside when she made a fresh start in Weatherfield.
Norma had no sooner broken free of her old life and started work in the Corner Shop when Ritchie arrived to visit her in June 1972. Acting as Jacko's eyes and ears, Ritchie had easily obtained Norma's new address in Coronation Street and warned her that she would have to run further to escape her past, although he agreed not to pass the details on to Jacko.
Ritchie's frequent appearances in the Street eventually attracted the curiosity of Norma's employer Maggie Clegg, who had been told by Norma that Jacko was in a miners home. On one visit to the Street, Ritchie told Maggie that he had good news for Norma about her dad, which he then revealed to Norma as being that Jacko was coming out of Strangeways next week for good behaviour, and that he knew where she lived, although he insisted that he hadn't told him.