Roy Carlin was a salesperson at Grimethorpe's TV shop in Victoria Street. Roy attended to Hilda and Stan Ogden when they went there to buy a colour television in 1971. The Ogdens had recently had a colour set repossessed but Hilda's appetite had been whetted and, hoping to find a more affordable set, she asked Roy for one which wouldn't "domineer" the room. She was dismayed to learn that they would need to pay three months rent in advance to hire one and asked Roy if they could take the television and see how it went with the furniture before putting rent money down. Roy sent them away while he checked with head office, whereupon he was informed that the Ogdens were on a credit blacklist, although he did not tell the Ogdens this, saying that they only gave television on approval to customers on their credit list.
Stan went back the next day and this time Carlin confirmed how the blacklist system worked, saying that the only way the Ogdens could get a set would be to pay cash. Later on that day, he had two more potential customers: Albert Tatlock with Minnie Caldwell in tow. Albert had recorded an interview with Radio Manchester about his First World War experiences and was put out to find that his antique radio couldn't pick up the VHF transmission of the show. Under the pretext of looking at radios, he asked for a demonstration, but not for another half hour i.e. when the show would be on. He then listened to the entirety of the broadcast and walked out of the shop without paying for anything!
- The character of Carlin was played by Christopher Coll who would appear irregularly as Victor Pendlebury between 1982 and 1992.