Betty admitted to hospital

Bill Kenwright has admitted that he has broken a deathbed pledge to late Coronation Street actress Betty Driver.

The theatre producer and Everton football club chairman, who last played Driver's on-screen son Gordon Clegg in the soap in 1995, said that he promised her that he would never come back to work there but has now decided to return.

Kenwright told The Sun that he visited Driver shortly before she died in hospital in October, aged 91. He said: "She was a star till the end. I went to visit her in hospital. She was in and out of consciousness.

"I whispered that if she knew it was me to squeeze my hand, and she did. I told her I'd only return to the Street if she were there, upon which she raised herself up and whispered that I dared not go back without her!"

Kenwright, who paid tribute at Driver's real-life funeral describing her as his "second mother", will make his one-off comeback for the funeral of Driver's character Betty Williams in a special Coronation Street episode next month.

The show's producer Phil Collinson recently teased that there will be a "revelation" about Betty in her funeral episode, saying: "It's a secret that Betty has taken to the grave with her and I can promise you that fans will be surprised."

Betty Driver has today been honoured with a posthumous award by the Television and Radio Industries Club. The awards ceremony was held today in the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

The Coronation Street actress, who played Betty Wiliams, was given the posthumous TV Soap Personality award, sponsored by Samsung.

Sadly, Coronation Street lost out to EastEnders in the award for TV Soap of the Year.

The strange thing is that Jack and Vera died some time ago but the actors are still alive. Wheras Betty Driver died some time ago but her character is still alive

Coronation Street producer Phil Collinson has revealed the details of Betty Williams's big secret.

The ITV1 soap gives Betty an emotional send-off later this month after her son Gordon returns to Weatherfield and announces that she has passed away.

In real life, Betty Driver - who played the role of Betty for 42 years - died in October 2011 at the age of 91 following a period of ill health.

As announced earlier this year, Betty's tribute episodes will include the revelation of a long-held secret kept by the popular character.

Collinson confirmed the full storyline on This Morning today (April 2), explaining: "What they discover as they're clearing out her house is that Annie Walker, who was the landlady of the Rovers Return for the first 20 years of the show, actually bequeathed The Rovers to Betty in her will.

"Betty carried this secret and never took up this bequest. So she's left behind a bit of a bombshell, really! Certainly for Stella in terms of who owns the pub now and what happens going forward.

"But more brilliantly I think, she'll always be the longest-serving landlady of the Rovers Return by right, which I think is such a brilliant tribute to her."

Collinson promised that Betty's farewell is "brilliant and moving", adding that it was "incredible" to see Bill Kenwright reprise the role of Gordon.

He explained: "Bill had become very close to Betty since being her on-screen son - he talked about her as being another mother. He came back to say goodbye to her, and it feels so personal and raw. It was for everybody, actually, as she was a very much-loved member of the team."

Coronation Street airs Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays on ITV1.

I always thought that Newton and Ridley owned the Rovers, until Alec Gilroy purchased it,

No. It wasn't quite like that.

Jack and Annie Walker bought the lease and moved into The Rovers Return on 4 February 1937.

Annie continued the tenancy until 1984 when she signed The Rovers Return over to her son Billy making him landlord.

The brewery, Newton and Ridley, unhappy with the way the pub was being run into the ground by Billy Walker's wayward behaviour, made him an offer he couldn't refuse for the licence. Rather than resell the licence, the brewery decided to hire a manager instead and appointed Bet Lynch who became the brewery's first single manageress of the Rovers.

The following year Newton and Ridley decided to sell the licence to the pub and offered Bet first refusal. However Bet couldn't raise the money and Alec Gilroy lent her the cash to purchase the licence allowing her to become the landlady.

Either way, Annie Walker was neither owner nor licensee at the time of her death so she couldn't have left it to anyone, let alone Betty.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by parkerman

No. It wasn't quite like that.

Jack and Annie Walker bought the lease and moved into The Rovers Return on 4 February 1937.

Annie continued the tenancy until 1984 when she signed The Rovers Return over to her son Billy making him landlord.

The brewery, Newton and Ridley, unhappy with the way the pub was being run into the ground by Billy Walker's wayward behaviour, made him an offer he couldn't refuse for the licence. Rather than resell the licence, the brewery decided to hire a manager instead and appointed Bet Lynch who became the brewery's first single manageress of the Rovers.

The following year Newton and Ridley decided to sell the licence to the pub and offered Bet first refusal. However Bet couldn't raise the money and Alec Gilroy lent her the cash to purchase the licence allowing her to become the landlady.

Either way, Annie Walker was neither owner nor licensee at the time of her death so she couldn't have left it to anyone, let alone Betty.

---

The premieses could be bought and sold but at that time the licence to sell alcoholic drinks would be issue by the local Magistrates Court. Any subsiquent sales of the premises would have to go through solicitors. This revelation seems to be a nonsense.

Even if it did happen in the past about Betty owning the Rovers surely with the many changes of owners/licencees some solicitor would have checked the deeds of the premises. Seems to me yet another ploy by Collinson to bring St.Ella to the fore yet again!!!!!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by alan45

Even if it did happen in the past about Betty owning the Rovers surely with the many changes of owners/licencees some solicitor would have checked the deeds of the premises. Seems to me yet another ploy by Collinson to bring St.Ella to the fore yet again!!!!!!

---

absolutely, and the only way it would have gone un-noticed if it Betty had hold of Annie Walker's Will and had keptit hidden but safe

and in that case = Gordon would now have it after Betty's death, and who 'given' a viable commercial venture or property would just do nothing and not reclaim it or sell it?!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by sarah c

absolutely, and the only way it would have gone un-noticed if it Betty had hold of Annie Walker's Will and had keptit hidden but safe

and in that case = Gordon would now have it after Betty's death, and who 'given' a viable commercial venture or property would just do nothing and not reclaim it or sell it?!

---

Gordon would sell it and use it to boost the coffers of Everton CC