Percy Sugden
| Percy Sugden | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Coronation Street character | |||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Bill Waddington | ||||||||||
| Duration | 1983–97 | ||||||||||
| First appearance | 22 August 1983 | ||||||||||
| Last appearance | 20 October 1997 | ||||||||||
| Introduced by | Mervyn Watson | ||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||
| Occupation | Army cook (Retired), Caretaker (Retired) | ||||||||||
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Percy Sugden is a fictional character in the British soap opera, Coronation Street, played by Bill Waddington. He appeared between 1983 and 1997.
Creation
The character was introduced to Coronation Street as a potential caretaker of the Community Centre. Percy's niece, Elaine Prior, stayed with him until she married Bill Webster (Peter Armitage). Percy was also a school traffic warden, and Phyllis Pearce (Jill Summers) came to respect him greatly after he was injured trying to protect her.
Storylines
In 1988, Percy retired from the Community Centre at the age of 66, and Emily Bishop (Eileen Derbyshire) offered him to lodge with her until his council flat was ready. Within a week of him staying with her, Percy's interfering personality annoyed Emily. She was happy when he moved out but when she visited him, saw how unhappy he was and let him move in with her permanently.
In 1992, Percy met up with Olive Clark, who was one of his closest friends from the time of the war, and he felt obliged to propose to her. However, her fluffy white cat caused them to separate since he was allergic. Percy also became engaged to Maureen Webster's mother Maud Grimes (Elizabeth Bradley), but it was a short-lived relationship.
Percy briefly moved out of No. 3 when Emily had builders' work. He temporarily moved in with Curly Watts (Kevin Kennedy) at 7 Coronation Street. He thought he had been evicted when Emily delayed him moving back in as she was having his room decorated for a surprise.
In January 1996, Maud proposed to Percy again but Phyllis also proposed. It was never revealed if he accepted either of the proposals.
In 1997, Percy's happy life in the Street was shattered when the Battersby family moved in next door. Percy was unable to stand his boisterous new neighbours, so he decided to move into a retirement complex, Mayfield Court.
Reception
Along with Stafford Hildred, actor Bill Waddington wrote a book about his character called The importance of being Percy, which was released in 1992.[1]
References
- ↑ Waddington, Bill; Hildred, Stafford (1992). The importance of being Percy. Boxtree. ISBN 1-85283-192-8.