Sean Burke was a postman whose patch included the Coronation Street area. An amiable chap, Sean would often stop to chit-chat with the residents on their doorsteps as he did his rounds. On one such morning in 1965, he gave David Barlow a letter to pass onto his brother Ken of No.9. The men chatted about the upcoming visit by Queen Elizabeth to Granston Technical College, at which Ken was due to be presented to Her Majesty. Sean told David that his old lady was very excited, but that he was not looking forward to the event himself, being the son of an Irish republican, and planned to lock himself in his room with a crate of ale and sing rebel songs. David was not convinced, betting Sean that he'd be out in the street cheering like everybody else.
On the same morning, Sean handed Florrie Lindley a letter from her husband Norman in Iceland, and woke the Ogdens up to deliver a parcel from London, which turned out to be Trevor's worn out socks for Hilda to mend. One person who wasn't getting a letter was Lucille Hewitt. As the girl expressed her disappointment, Sean pointed out that she'd received a letter from her father Harry only on Saturday, and asked who else would want to write to her. Unsurprisingly, his pointed comments did not make Lucille feel better.
- The character was credited as "Postman". He was named in dialogue.