Anna Windass
Encyclopedia
Anna Windass is a fictional character
in the UK television ITV
soap opera
, Coronation Street
. Portrayed by actress Debbie Rush
, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 14 November 2008.
. An ITV spokesperson said of the character and her onscreen family: "The Windass family are very rough and ready, always ducking and diving. Early on they get involved with David Platt when he helps to fit a new kitchen in the Windass family home. However, Anna thinks the work is shoddy and refuses to pay for it. David goes round, rips out the kitchen and sets fire to it outside the family’s house." Rush said of their entrance and choice of surname for the family: "The Windasses are a very close family, who are just about on the wrong side of the law, but they mean well. And yes, I am prepared for some of the things people might shout at me in the street because of the name!" The character was originally called Donna Windass but was changed last minute to Anna Windass after a series of name changes to all the members of the family since their inception, but before appearing onscreen.
Auditions were held for the part of Anna, with actress Debbie Rush
going on to get the part over a number of highly-rated actors. Of this Rush said: "I went for the casting a few months ago and then was called back for the screen test. When I got the part I couldn’t believe it, I was thrilled to bits. I watched Corrie all the time growing up and all the family are tuning in now that I’m going to be in it. It’s surreal, because the cast and characters are already part of your life just from watching it."
(Steve Huison
) when they are involved in a storyline in which they refuse to pay Joe McIntyre
(Reece Dinsdale
) for a kitchen refit, which then sees David Platt
(Jack P. Shepherd
) trying to force them to pay up, after they won't he makes a series of threats, which results in David, Tina McIntyre
(Michelle Keegan
) and Graeme Proctor
(Craig Gazey
) setting fire to the Windasses' kitchen. In a storyline which would cement the feud between the Platt and Windass families, the characters are introduced to the helm of the show, on 8 December 2008, Anna moves into Number 6 Coronation Street with the rest of her family. She has a heart-to-heart with new neighbour Gail Platt
(Helen Worth
) in order to make peace as she wants a fresh start in Coronation Street even though the rest of their families are feuding and convinces Eddie to make peace with Gail's partner Joe. This ends badly at Christmas, as Gail's invitation for the Windasses to stop in for dinner soon leads to Joe throwing food at them and forcing them out of the house.
As the New Year begins, Anna is dismayed as she senses Eddie sinking back into his con artist ways and she always objects to them as her character shows her desire to live a free life without having to steal and scrounge money from society, and as the feud between her son Gary (Mikey North
) and David Platt grows more volatile.
In March 2009, she is relieved when Gary is cleared of assaulting David two months previously, during the period before the trial, Anna is seen making a series of attempts to influence characters Gail and Tina into making David change his mind about the charges. She is also seen breaking down on number of occasions trying to hold her family together.
In April 2009, Roy Cropper
(David Neilson
) gives Anna a job working in the cafe. Initially his wife Hayley (Julie Hesmondhalgh
) is skeptical but is impressed by Anna's work ethic and she continues working there. Hayley also takes Anna's side when Eddie steals and poses as Roy in a scam to receive free alcohol from the cash-and-carry.
Anna is dismayed in 2010 when Gary decides that he wants to join the Army. Fearing for his life on the frontline, she eventually comes to terms with his career decision. However, Anna is later dismayed when Gary is reported as being AWOL, after she comforts him over his secret fears he returns to duty.
2010 also sees Anna and Eddie looking into adopting a child. They both attend meetings to do with adopting (which Becky
(Katherine Kelly
) and Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson
) also go to) and have a meeting with a social worker at their home. Anna's brother's son Rory comes to stay while his parents went on holiday, Eddie is seen pushing Rory round in a pram, which makes Becky very upset that Anna and Eddie have been given a child while her and Steve have not. It is later revealed that Rory is Anna's nephew after a heated debate with the social worker.
In early 2011, young Faye Butler (Ellie Leach) comes to stay with Anna and Eddie, with a view towards them both becoming her foster parents. Faye is quite a troubled young girl and this causes a rift to form between Anna and Eddie as he becomes discouraged with fostering. Anna is adamant that she will support Faye, particularly after her biological mother is found dead following a drug overdose. Eddie breaks the tragic news in quite a clumsy way to Faye and this angers Anna a great deal. Eventually, Eddie issues Anna with an ultimatum, to choose between him and Faye. Anna chooses Faye and Eddie moves to Germany as a result.
After Eddie's departure, Anna forges a close friendship with builder Owen Armstrong
(Ian Puleston-Davies
), whose daughter Izzy
(Cherylee Houston
) is dating Gary. Anna is dismayed when she discovers that her landlord Jerry Morton
(Michael Starke
) is planning on selling No. 6. Unable to afford buying the house, she is worried as Faye has finally found stability in her new home. Owen, much to Anna's surprise, buys the house and becomes her new landlord. This brings them closer together, much to Faye's jealousy as she fears that Owen will take Anna away from her.
commented that Anna and the Windass family had 'settled in so well, in such a short space of time'. Actor Mikey North
attributed their success as characters to a combination of good writing and prominent plotlines received in a relatively short time period. Ben Ashford of The Sun newspaper compared the Windass family to the real life fraudsters the Peters family, who claimed a range of illnesses including agoraphobia and alcoholism and swindled state handouts, branding both families 'scroungers'.
Grace Dent
of The Guardian
has said that she likes the character of Anna, pointing out her redeeming personality traits: "Chief apologist for all of these people is Anna Windass, Eddie's wife and Gary's mum, who is so surprisingly sweet and non-abrasive that she manages to keep her entire clan on the right side of likable just through hapless handwringing alone." going onto say "I rather like Anna, although Gail Platt isn't a fan. I was expecting another Cilla Battersby, but instead she's more Emily Bishop in a sea-green velour fake Juicy Couture and Asda slippers. Anna knows that, children-wise, her and Gail have lots in common and they'd work better as a team than at war." Tony Stewart of The Mirror also describes Anna's character as a scrounger. MSN branded Anna and her family as chavs
and suggested they would make the perfect guests for the Jeremy Kyle
show. Simon Swift of Soaplife magazine stated that at first, he couldn't help feeling that Anna and her clan are a bit too much like original neighbours-from-hell the Battersbys.
In 2009 Ruth Deller of entertainment website Lowculture
who runs a monthly feature of the most popular and unpopular soap opera characters, profiled the Windasses, adding that Anna is the main reason to why they were initially unpopular, stating: "The Windass family’s introduction has not gone down too well, and Donna (sic) seems to be the prime target for the vitriol against them. Perhaps they can be redeemed a la the Jacksons in EE or the Timminses in Neighbours, or perhaps they’ll just leave…"
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the UK television ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
, Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
. Portrayed by actress Debbie Rush
Debbie Rush
Debbie Rush is an English actress. She is currently playing the role of Anna Windass in Coronation Street.After training at the Manchester School Of Acting when she was in her thirties, she has also starred in Shameless and Hollyoaks in the City. Rush also filmed the role of "Pam" in the horror...
, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 14 November 2008.
Creation and casting
The character of Anna was created as part of a new family unit that new producer Kim Crowther was introducing to the soap opera, consisting of a mother, father, son and uncle. They were originally billed as a storyline device for established character David PlattDavid Platt (Coronation Street)
David Daniel Platt is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. The character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 26 December 1990 and is portrayed by actor Jack P...
. An ITV spokesperson said of the character and her onscreen family: "The Windass family are very rough and ready, always ducking and diving. Early on they get involved with David Platt when he helps to fit a new kitchen in the Windass family home. However, Anna thinks the work is shoddy and refuses to pay for it. David goes round, rips out the kitchen and sets fire to it outside the family’s house." Rush said of their entrance and choice of surname for the family: "The Windasses are a very close family, who are just about on the wrong side of the law, but they mean well. And yes, I am prepared for some of the things people might shout at me in the street because of the name!" The character was originally called Donna Windass but was changed last minute to Anna Windass after a series of name changes to all the members of the family since their inception, but before appearing onscreen.
Auditions were held for the part of Anna, with actress Debbie Rush
Debbie Rush
Debbie Rush is an English actress. She is currently playing the role of Anna Windass in Coronation Street.After training at the Manchester School Of Acting when she was in her thirties, she has also starred in Shameless and Hollyoaks in the City. Rush also filmed the role of "Pam" in the horror...
going on to get the part over a number of highly-rated actors. Of this Rush said: "I went for the casting a few months ago and then was called back for the screen test. When I got the part I couldn’t believe it, I was thrilled to bits. I watched Corrie all the time growing up and all the family are tuning in now that I’m going to be in it. It’s surreal, because the cast and characters are already part of your life just from watching it."
Character development
The character of Anna has been seen to differ from the rest of her family in terms of personality traits that are not present in the others. This is because she does not approve of the continuous line of scams her husband pulls, as well as the life of crime Len and Gary indulge in. Anna is often described as the only nice Windass.Storylines
Anna first appears onscreen with her husband EddieEddie Windass
Edward "Eddie" Windass is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor Steve Huison, the character first appeared on screen during the episode airing on 14 November 2008. On 5 December 2010, it was announced that Eddie is to leave Coronation Street...
(Steve Huison
Steve Huison
Steve Huison , is a British actor, mostly on TV and occasional films. He trained at the Rose Bruford College in Sidcup. He is best known for his role as "Lomper" in the massively successful UK box-office and critical hit The Full Monty . He also appeared in a Ken Loach film The Navigators, made in...
) when they are involved in a storyline in which they refuse to pay Joe McIntyre
Joe McIntyre (Coronation Street)
Joseph "Joe" McIntyre was a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. The character was portrayed by actor Reece Dinsdale. Joe was introduced as the father of Tina McIntyre, and made his first appearing onscreen during the episode that aired in the UK on May 26, 2008...
(Reece Dinsdale
Reece Dinsdale
Reece Dinsdale is an English actor of stage, screen and television.-Acting career:He trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama from 1977 until 1980...
) for a kitchen refit, which then sees David Platt
David Platt (Coronation Street)
David Daniel Platt is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. The character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 26 December 1990 and is portrayed by actor Jack P...
(Jack P. Shepherd
Jack P. Shepherd
Jack Peter Shepherd is an English actor. He plays David Platt in the ITV1 soap opera Coronation Street. He joined the show in April 2000, taking over the role from Thomas Ormson.Shepherd was born in Pudsey, Leeds, West Yorkshire....
) trying to force them to pay up, after they won't he makes a series of threats, which results in David, Tina McIntyre
Tina McIntyre
Tina McIntyre is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Portrayed by actress Michelle Keegan, the character first appeared on screen during the episode airing on 7 January 2008...
(Michelle Keegan
Michelle Keegan
Michelle Elizabeth Keegan is an English actress who currently plays Tina McIntyre in the soap opera Coronation Street.-Biography:...
) and Graeme Proctor
Graeme Proctor
Graeme Proctor is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor Craig Gazey, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 18 April 2008....
(Craig Gazey
Craig Gazey
Craig Gazey is an award-winning English actor.He attended Eggbuckland Community College up until 1998, where he attended City College Plymouth, studying a BTEC National Diploma in Performing Arts. He then went on to attend Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and graduated in 2005...
) setting fire to the Windasses' kitchen. In a storyline which would cement the feud between the Platt and Windass families, the characters are introduced to the helm of the show, on 8 December 2008, Anna moves into Number 6 Coronation Street with the rest of her family. She has a heart-to-heart with new neighbour Gail Platt
Gail Platt
Gail McIntyre is a long-standing fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actress Helen Worth, the character first appeared on screen on 12 July 1974...
(Helen Worth
Helen Worth
Helen Worth is an English actress, best known for her portrayal of the Coronation Street character Gail McIntyre- Early life :...
) in order to make peace as she wants a fresh start in Coronation Street even though the rest of their families are feuding and convinces Eddie to make peace with Gail's partner Joe. This ends badly at Christmas, as Gail's invitation for the Windasses to stop in for dinner soon leads to Joe throwing food at them and forcing them out of the house.
As the New Year begins, Anna is dismayed as she senses Eddie sinking back into his con artist ways and she always objects to them as her character shows her desire to live a free life without having to steal and scrounge money from society, and as the feud between her son Gary (Mikey North
Mikey North
Michael "Mikey" North is an English actor best known for his role as Gary Windass in Coronation Street.-Early life and career:...
) and David Platt grows more volatile.
In March 2009, she is relieved when Gary is cleared of assaulting David two months previously, during the period before the trial, Anna is seen making a series of attempts to influence characters Gail and Tina into making David change his mind about the charges. She is also seen breaking down on number of occasions trying to hold her family together.
In April 2009, Roy Cropper
Roy Cropper
Royston "Roy" Cropper, is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor David Neilson, the character was introduced during the episode airing on 19 July 1995. Originally a secondary character, he was given a more prominent role in 1997, by the...
(David Neilson
David Neilson
David Neilson is an English actor best known for portraying Roy Cropper in Coronation Street from 1995 onwards....
) gives Anna a job working in the cafe. Initially his wife Hayley (Julie Hesmondhalgh
Julie Hesmondhalgh
Julie Hesmondhalgh is an English actress.Hesmondhalgh was born in Accrington, Lancashire. As a teenager, she was moderately interested in acting, but wished to become a social worker. She applied to drama school to be with her friends, and studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art...
) is skeptical but is impressed by Anna's work ethic and she continues working there. Hayley also takes Anna's side when Eddie steals and poses as Roy in a scam to receive free alcohol from the cash-and-carry.
Anna is dismayed in 2010 when Gary decides that he wants to join the Army. Fearing for his life on the frontline, she eventually comes to terms with his career decision. However, Anna is later dismayed when Gary is reported as being AWOL, after she comforts him over his secret fears he returns to duty.
2010 also sees Anna and Eddie looking into adopting a child. They both attend meetings to do with adopting (which Becky
Becky McDonald
Rebecca "Becky" McDonald is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, a long-running serial drama about working class life in the fictional town of Weatherfield. She is played by actress Katherine Kelly. Becky was created by producer Steve Frost as a recurring...
(Katherine Kelly
Katherine Kelly (actress)
Katherine Kelly, is a British actress and recording artist who is most well known for playing Becky McDonald in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street. She has also starred in the film Mischief Night.-Early life and career:...
) and Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson
Simon Gregson
Simon Gregson is an English actor. He is known for being a cast member of the British soap opera Coronation Street in which he has played Steve McDonald since 1989....
) also go to) and have a meeting with a social worker at their home. Anna's brother's son Rory comes to stay while his parents went on holiday, Eddie is seen pushing Rory round in a pram, which makes Becky very upset that Anna and Eddie have been given a child while her and Steve have not. It is later revealed that Rory is Anna's nephew after a heated debate with the social worker.
In early 2011, young Faye Butler (Ellie Leach) comes to stay with Anna and Eddie, with a view towards them both becoming her foster parents. Faye is quite a troubled young girl and this causes a rift to form between Anna and Eddie as he becomes discouraged with fostering. Anna is adamant that she will support Faye, particularly after her biological mother is found dead following a drug overdose. Eddie breaks the tragic news in quite a clumsy way to Faye and this angers Anna a great deal. Eventually, Eddie issues Anna with an ultimatum, to choose between him and Faye. Anna chooses Faye and Eddie moves to Germany as a result.
After Eddie's departure, Anna forges a close friendship with builder Owen Armstrong
Owen Armstrong
Owen Armstrong is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Ian Puleston-Davies. He made his first on-screen appearance on 9 June 2010.-Casting:...
(Ian Puleston-Davies
Ian Puleston-Davies
-Early life and career:Born in Flint, Wales, Puleston-Davies has starred in the ITV drama Vincent alongside Ray Winstone, and Ghostboat , alongside David Jason. He has also played the lead roles in Conviction and the BBC Three series Funland.He has starred in long-running dramas such as Holby...
), whose daughter Izzy
Izzy Armstrong
Isabelle 'Izzy' Armstrong is a fictional character on the UK soap Coronation Street portrayed by Cherylee Houston. The character first appears on-screen on April 16, 2010; she is introduced as a new love interest for Kirk Sutherland. Soon after her arrival she gets a job at the Underworld factory....
(Cherylee Houston
Cherylee Houston
Cherylee Houston is a British actress. She grew up in Morecambe, Lancashire, in the United Kingdom. She is best known for her role as Izzy Armstrong, friend of Kirk Sutherland in Coronation Street.-Early life:...
) is dating Gary. Anna is dismayed when she discovers that her landlord Jerry Morton
Jerry Morton
Jerry Morton, played by Michael Starke, is a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Coronation Street. He was introduced in March 2007. It was announced in April 2008 that Jerry and the rest of the Mortons would leave the show later in 2008....
(Michael Starke
Michael Starke (actor)
Michael Starke , is a British actor best known for his role as Thomas 'Sinbad' Sweeney which he played for 16 years in the soap opera Brookside...
) is planning on selling No. 6. Unable to afford buying the house, she is worried as Faye has finally found stability in her new home. Owen, much to Anna's surprise, buys the house and becomes her new landlord. This brings them closer together, much to Faye's jealousy as she fears that Owen will take Anna away from her.
Reception
Kris Green of media website Digital SpyDigital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
commented that Anna and the Windass family had 'settled in so well, in such a short space of time'. Actor Mikey North
Mikey North
Michael "Mikey" North is an English actor best known for his role as Gary Windass in Coronation Street.-Early life and career:...
attributed their success as characters to a combination of good writing and prominent plotlines received in a relatively short time period. Ben Ashford of The Sun newspaper compared the Windass family to the real life fraudsters the Peters family, who claimed a range of illnesses including agoraphobia and alcoholism and swindled state handouts, branding both families 'scroungers'.
Grace Dent
Grace Dent
Grace Dent is an English journalist, author, and broadcaster. Dent writes mainly for The Guardian, where she has a weekly column on television, 'Grace Dent's TV-OD'. She also writes for magazines such as Tatler and Marie Claire. She writes a restaurant review column for the London Evening...
of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
has said that she likes the character of Anna, pointing out her redeeming personality traits: "Chief apologist for all of these people is Anna Windass, Eddie's wife and Gary's mum, who is so surprisingly sweet and non-abrasive that she manages to keep her entire clan on the right side of likable just through hapless handwringing alone." going onto say "I rather like Anna, although Gail Platt isn't a fan. I was expecting another Cilla Battersby, but instead she's more Emily Bishop in a sea-green velour fake Juicy Couture and Asda slippers. Anna knows that, children-wise, her and Gail have lots in common and they'd work better as a team than at war." Tony Stewart of The Mirror also describes Anna's character as a scrounger. MSN branded Anna and her family as chavs
Chav
A chav is a term that is used in the United Kingdom to describe a stereotype of teenagers and young adults from an underclass background.-Etymology:...
and suggested they would make the perfect guests for the Jeremy Kyle
Jeremy Kyle
Jeremy Kyle is an English radio and television presenter, best known for his British daytime television chat show on ITV, The Jeremy Kyle Show. Kyle is also the host of an American talk show of the same name that premiered on 19 September 2011.-Radio career:From 1986 to 1995, Kyle worked as a...
show. Simon Swift of Soaplife magazine stated that at first, he couldn't help feeling that Anna and her clan are a bit too much like original neighbours-from-hell the Battersbys.
In 2009 Ruth Deller of entertainment website Lowculture
Lowculture
lowculture.co.uk is a UK television website founded in January 2003 by Paul Lang, who currently works as the art director of Doctor Who Adventures.-Purpose:...
who runs a monthly feature of the most popular and unpopular soap opera characters, profiled the Windasses, adding that Anna is the main reason to why they were initially unpopular, stating: "The Windass family’s introduction has not gone down too well, and Donna (sic) seems to be the prime target for the vitriol against them. Perhaps they can be redeemed a la the Jacksons in EE or the Timminses in Neighbours, or perhaps they’ll just leave…"