Ted Young was a Geordie lorry driver who stopped by the Rovers Return while on a delivery to Len Fairclough in 1962. His comments that he didn't know what to order as they didn't have strong beers in Lancashire were taken with good humour, with Jack Walker serving him an old ale.
As he was from Newcastle, Jack asked Ted if he knew his new cellarman Sam Leach, formerly of Blyth. Ted did know Sam and, eager to catch up with the pensioner, returned to the Rovers that evening when Sam was rota'd in. He ended up disappointed as Sam was late for his shift and eventually called in sick. Ted didn't mind the wasted journey, as he got to meet the regulars and argue about football, specifically the merits of Newcastle United, though Ted admitted that he could be biased in his views, donning a pair of sunglasses carrying the team's colours as he did so.
As Sam's private life was something of a mystery to the regulars, Ted filled them in on the details, including the fact that his wife May was a "proper brazen bitch" and that Sam had left Blyth without a word to anyone. His words planted the seeds of doubt in Jack and Annie Walker's minds as to whether the man they'd hired was all that he seemed.