Bet Lynch (also Gilroy) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Played by Julie Goodyear, the character first appeared on screen during the episode airing on 25 May 1966. Appearing over 25 years, Bet became one of Coronation Street's icons.
Bet first appeared in May 1966, but did not become a regular until 1970. In October 1995, Goodyear made a permanent departure in a storyline which saw Bet unable to raise the funds to purchase the Freehold of the Rovers Return and subsequently flee Weatherfield. She returned in June 2002 in what was intended to be a permanent return for the character. However, Goodyear quit after just two weeks, this being put down to the heavy work schedule. The following year, Goodyear returned temporarily in a storyline that accommodated the return of Beverley Callard as Liz McDonald. Bet last appeared in November 2003.
Bet was initially made a barmaid at the Rovers Return Inn and later became the landlady in 1985. She likes to dress in a way she considers glamorous, and has a fondness for leopard print clothes and a beehive hairstyle. Her style partly inspired the look for Freddie Mercury's drag character in the 1984 music video for "I Want to Break Free" by rock band Queen.
Creation Background Information about the character first surfaced to the public on 2 June 1966, when the Heywood Advertiser ran the story that Coronation Street was going through 'a little facelift' and the character of Bet Lynch was to be introduced. The publication that gave a little background to the character prior to appearing onscreen said: "Julie aged 22 has been working for a model sometime, but has also been on the files at Granada. When it was decided to inject more life into the series, she was offered the part as Bet, a typical Lancashire mill girl, who will be working at the new factory which is opening in 'the Street'."
The character then first appears in 1966 (as presumed) as a factory worker who gives Lucille Hewitt (Jennifer Moss) a black eye. She quickly departs with the explanation she has moved away (actress Patricia Phoenix was also rumoured to have told Goodyear to return to the programme when she gained a little more acting experience). Bet returns in 1970, when she shares a flat with Irma Barlow (Sandra Gough), who put a down payment on it with the help of Len Fairclough (Peter Adamson) and Ray Langton (Neville Buswell). Bet begins work as a barmaid at the Rover's Return. The earlier incident with Lucille is not mentioned again and the two became good friends.
Casting Actress Julie Goodyear was offered the supporting role of Bet Lynch for a period of six weeks by Lucy Clayton, which she took without hesitation. Goodyear was convinced that she would continue in the role on a permanent basis and was shocked when they let her go at the end of her originally contracted period. When Goodyear filmed a part for a drama series, Family at War, the director June Howson complimented her and said she was impressed. Howson later went on to produce Coronation Street, and offered Goodyear a six-month contract to reprise her role as Bet, which she took up. She then became a permanent cast member.
After 25 years in the role, Goodyear quit the role in 1995 and the character departed in October that year. According to an interview with Goodyear on Piers Morgan's You Can't Fire Me, I'm Famous, she wanted to leave on a high while the character was still fondly regarded. There was considerable media interest in her departure, with some tabloids speculating that the show might not survive such a high-profile departure. More than 18 million viewers watched Bet's departure.
In the years following Bet's departure, ratings for Coronation Street started to become overtaken by rival soap EastEnders, with long-term viewers complaining that storylines in Weatherfield were becoming increasingly depressing. In 2002, producer Kieran Roberts was keen to help the show return to its original roots and bring back a character from the 'golden era' of the show. Julie Goodyear was offered a one-year contract to reprise the character, and Bet returned to Weatherfield in June 2002 for Betty Turpin's (Betty Driver) retirement party at the Rovers. Offscreen, Goodyear struggled with the increased shooting schedule of the show (which was now producing five episodes per week as opposed to three when Goodyear was last in the series) and, amidst unconfirmed reports of 'diva'-like behaviour, quit after 17 days of filming on the advice of her doctor, who diagnosed her with stress and exhaustion. Goodyear's abrupt departure meant that Bet's storylines had to be concluded off-screen. In November 2003, Bet made her last appearance to date in the show, with a storyline that reunited her with old friend Liz McDonald (Beverley Callard) in Brighton.
In March 2010, it was reported on Digital Spy that Bet was set to make a comeback in an attempt by the newly appointed producer Phil Collinson to try to restore the show to its 'golden days'.Goodyear to return in 'Corrie' shake-up – Coronation Street News – Soaps . Digital Spy (14 March 2010). Retrieved on 2012-01-28. However, this was denied the following day by Coronation Street bosses. A spokesperson said, "At the moment there are no plans for Bet to return. The new producer hasn't even started yet, he's not made any decisions."Corrie denies Goodyear return rumours – Coronation Street News – Soaps . Digital Spy (15 March 2010). Retrieved on 2012-01-28. Following the death of Driver in October 2011, there was speculation about Goodyear reprising her role for a one-off episode for Betty's funeral, but the rumours ultimately proved to be groundless, as Bet did not make an appearance.'Coronation Street' Julie Goodyear 'wants to return for Betty funeral' – Coronation Street News – Soaps. Digital Spy (25 October 2011). Retrieved on 2012-01-28.
In April 2018, in an interview with the Daily Star, then producer Kate Oates suggested that Bet could still return to the show if the story fitted.
Development Personality and identity Goodyear described her character as "busty, raunchy, voluptuous; a woman who knew how to flirt and manipulate, and give as good as she got. But she was also vulnerable. Unlucky in love, she could cry.
Rejected by those who got nearest to her, she could hurt" and noted that it was this mix that appealed to viewers. She has been described as having a feisty personality and has learned through the hard knocks in her life how to fight her corner, a survivor, somewhat wary of men, she can get her teeth into most things then gives as good as she gets.
Appearance
Perhaps the character's most remembered looks are the leopard print clothes teamed with the beehive hairstyle. However, throughout her first decade on the show, Bet wore her bleached hair in a variety of different styles (one of which was a beehive). In addition, throughout the 1980s and early 1990s Bet wore shorter bleached blonde wigs. These wigs varied volume and in how realistic they looked. It was made clear onscreen that these were wigs as Goodyear's real hair would occasionally be seen (such as when Bet was disturbed in the middle of the night) and in an episode when a photographer announced he was coming, Bet wondered if she had time to "swill my wig". This is different to other characters on the show where the actor wore wigs for some (or all) of their appearances. It was never implied, for example, that the wigs worn by the actors playing Raquel Watts (Sarah Lancashire), Vera Duckworth (Liz Dawn), Sally Webster (Sally Dynevor), Liz, Blanche Hunt (Maggie Jones), Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) and Hayley Cropper (Julie Hesmondhalgh) were anything other than their "real" hair (when they were actually wearing wigs for some - or all - of their appearances on the show).
From around 1992, Goodyear's own hair reappeared on a regular basis but with a more elaborate beehive on top - the beehive being a hair piece attached to spare Goodyear's real hair from the intense styling that would have been required. Bet kept this look until her departure in 1995. When Bet reappeared in 2002, she wore a short 1960s-inspired blonde bob wig. This, again, was meant to be a wig onscreen with Bet making jokes about "keeping your hair on" while shaping her wig and being seen with Goodyear's real hair in scenes set at breakfast time (so before Bet had got ready and applied her wig). In her final appearance in 2003, the beehive returned attached to Goodyear's real hair.
Goodyear spoke about how her appearance was shaped in the character's early days, stating: "In the early days I never stopped researching the character of Bet on the streets of Salford with Tony Warren, and every time we went out, we would see a Bet at the market shopping, and either Tony or I would say 'Look at that silver mac/hairdo/earrings.' You could see Bet's everywhere and we took inspiration from each of them. Bet was based on women we saw in real life. As time went by people said 'too much', 'too over-the-top even for Bet', but Tony and I always knew it wasn't, and Bet's fan mail proved us right." She has also said that Bet was always dressed in a 'common as muck way'.
Goodyear has stated on different occasions that she would research the typical salary her character would be on for her barmaid job, as she wanted her character only to appear in outfits that she could realistically afford. This was to make her character credible and believable. This was where the leopard skin style of clothing came from because it was considered naughty, racy and very sexy in her character's early days and was deemed very affordable, staying true to her character.
In a survey published in the Manchester Evening News in April 2007, Bet's beehive was voted the worst haircut in soap history."Hair-raising truth about Coronation Street ", Manchester Evening News. Retrieved on 2007-10-30.
Her appearance was also the inspiration for Freddie Mercury's drag character in the music video for I Want To Break Free, by rock band Queen.
Storylines Bet arrives in Weatherfield in 1966 when working at the PVC factory. She has an affair with her boss John Benjamin and gives Lucille Hewitt (Jennifer Moss) a black eye, because of her jealousy at Lucille's speed of welding. She leaves a few weeks later but returns to Coronation Street in 1970 when she bumps into Irma Barlow (Sandra Gough), remembering her from when she worked with her at the factory four years earlier. Later in the year, Bet becomes a junior barmaid in the Rovers Return Inn, appointed by Billy Walker (Ken Farrington). She has numerous relationships with many people, including well-known Street residents such as Len Fairclough (Peter Adamson) and Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs). In April 1975, Bet receives news that her 19-year-old son Martin (Louis Selwyn) (who she gave up for adoption when he was a baby) had died in a car crash in Northern Ireland, where he had been serving as a soldier. She also finds out that he tracked her down, but was disgusted by her overt sexual nature and left without telling her who he was. Bet becomes notable for standing her ground in The Rovers, frequently engaging in verbal spats with the likes of Hilda Ogden, Elsie Tanner and Vera Duckworth.