Winnie Dyson was the landlady of the NorWin guest house in Seedley Close, Weatherfield. Winnie had set up the business with her late husband Norman, who chose the name "NorWin" for the establishment instead of "WinNor" as the latter made it sound as though they'd come up on the pools.
By 1991, Norman had passed on and Winnie shared the house with her cat Fluffy. She missed her husband dearly, especially their musical evenings when the couple would perform songs such as The Merry Widow, one of Norman's favourites, with Winnie on piano and Norman on viola. Winnie kept her husband's ashes in an urn on her mantelpiece and would sometimes refer to him as though he was still there.
In July 1991, when Emily Bishop decided to move to Rhos-on-Sea, Percy Sugden was forced to look for new lodgings and arranged to take a room at Winnie's. Percy was upset at having to leave 3 Coronation Street after three years and a warm welcome from Winnie failed to lift his spirits, especially when Winnie asked him to keep his budgie Randy in his room for a few days to give Fluffy time to get used to the idea of sharing his kingdom.
The main benefit to Percy of moving was that his admirer Phyllis Pearce didn't know where he lived, but within hours Phyllis was at Winnie's doorstep to give his new landlady the once over, having got the address from Don Brennan who'd brought Percy's belongings over in his taxi. Winnie's devotion to her late husband convinced Phyllis that she wasn't a threat, and despite Percy giving Phyllis the usual cold shoulder, she and Winnie hit it off with Winnie introducing her to Norman and playing one of her old tunes on the piano.
Soon after moving in, Percy started feeling unwell and on one evening after coming home from the bingo Winnie found him suffocating on the floor. Percy was rushed to Weatherfield General where it was determined that he'd suffered an asthma attack due to a cat allergy. Percy asked Winnie if she'd consider putting Fluffy to sleep, a suggestion which didn't go down well with the landlady. When it became clear that Percy couldn't return to NorWin, a guilt-ridden Emily, who had cancelled her move to Rhos-on-Sea upon realising that what she really wanted was a change of lodger, offered Percy his old room at No.3, thus restoring the status quo.