Doris Speed
Encyclopedia
Doris Speed, MBE was an English actress, best known for her role as snooty Rovers Return landlady Annie Walker
on Coronation Street
, a role she played from 1960 to 1983.
brewery in Manchester, as a clerk. Returning to acting relatively late in life, she had a small role in the 1960 Stanley Baker
vehicle Hell Is a City
which was set in Manchester
.
She also worked on a 1950s police television series Shadow Squad. In 1960, close friend and writer of Shadow Squad Tony Warren
created the soap opera Coronation Street, purportedly writing the character of Annie Walker
specifically for her
She appeared in 1,746 episodes and was one of only a handful of original cast members still appearing in the 1980s. Towards the end of her run on Coronation Street, a national newspaper published her birth certificate, which proved her to be many years older than she had claimed. She publicly fainted when she learned the news, while at work on Coronation Street. She was advised to go home to rest and never returned. Weeks later, burglars robbed her house while she was asleep.
http://real70s.blogspot.com/2006/11/yes-mrs-walker-rovers-return-1970-1979_23.html.
She was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on 29 November 1977, for her impact on British society in the role of Annie.
Annie Walker
Anne "Annie" Walker is a long-standing fictional character in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street. She was played by actress Doris Speed from the series' first episode in 1960 until Speed retired from the role 23 years and 1,746 episodes later in 1983.The character of Annie has been noted as...
on 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...
, a role she played from 1960 to 1983.
Early life and career
As a child she toured with her musical and comedy artist parents - George Speed and Ada Worsley, moving to different schools - almost every week. Her debut came to her at the age of three years old, as she toddled on to stage in a nightdress to sing a song about a golliwog. Two years later, she made her acting debut as the velvet-suited infant Prince of Rome in a Victorian melodrama, called The Royal Divorce. She then appeared in repertory theatres and in numerous radio plays. She left acting to work for, amongst others, the GuinnessGuinness
Guinness is a popular Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin. Guinness is directly descended from the porter style that originated in London in the early 18th century and is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide, brewed in almost...
brewery in Manchester, as a clerk. Returning to acting relatively late in life, she had a small role in the 1960 Stanley Baker
Stanley Baker
Sir Stanley Baker was a Welsh actor and film producer.-Early career:William Stanley Baker was born in Ferndale, Rhondda Valley, Wales. In the mid-1930s his parents moved to London, where Baker spent most of his formative years...
vehicle Hell Is a City
Hell Is a City
Hell Is a City is a 1960 film based on the novel by Maurice Procter. It was made by British studio Hammer Film Productions filmed in Manchester it was also written and directed by Val Guest...
which was set in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
.
She also worked on a 1950s police television series Shadow Squad. In 1960, close friend and writer of Shadow Squad Tony Warren
Tony Warren
Anthony McVay Simpson MBE , better known by his stage name Tony Warren, is an award-winning English television scriptwriter, best known for creating the soap opera Coronation Street...
created the soap opera Coronation Street, purportedly writing the character of Annie Walker
Annie Walker
Anne "Annie" Walker is a long-standing fictional character in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street. She was played by actress Doris Speed from the series' first episode in 1960 until Speed retired from the role 23 years and 1,746 episodes later in 1983.The character of Annie has been noted as...
specifically for her
She appeared in 1,746 episodes and was one of only a handful of original cast members still appearing in the 1980s. Towards the end of her run on Coronation Street, a national newspaper published her birth certificate, which proved her to be many years older than she had claimed. She publicly fainted when she learned the news, while at work on Coronation Street. She was advised to go home to rest and never returned. Weeks later, burglars robbed her house while she was asleep.
Later years
The stress surrounding the incidents caused her to have a minor breakdown, and she left the show to live the rest of her days in a nursing home, although she made a guest appearance in the 30th anniversary special programme, Happy Birthday Coronation Street in 1990, where she was given a standing ovation. Her final television appearance was an interview given with the actor Kenneth Farrington (her on-screen son) in 1993. She died in 1994, at the age of 95.Personal life
Doris Speed never married: she lived with her mother, a former music hall performer, until the latter's death in 1973. Unlike the stereotypically-Tory Annie Walker, Speed was a lifelong supporter of the Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
http://real70s.blogspot.com/2006/11/yes-mrs-walker-rovers-return-1970-1979_23.html.
She was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on 29 November 1977, for her impact on British society in the role of Annie.