Eddie Windass
Encyclopedia
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 in spring 2011 after being axed by producer Phil Collinson
. Huison made his final appearance as Eddie on 25 April 2011.
. 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." Fellow cast member Debbie Rush spoke about their odd surname and stated they were expecting comments when seen in public about it. Producers also revealed that they had high hopes for the family compared to what happened to Number 6's previous tenants The Mortons.
(Jack P. Shepherd
) and his boss Joe McIntyre
(Reece Dinsdale
) confront him and his family about a bounced cheque that they had used to pay for their fitted kitchen. Several weeks later, the Windasses move into Coronation Street after renting number 6 from Jerry Morton
(Michael Starke
). After Anna nags him to find employment, Eddie gets a job as a taxi driver at Streetcars, but is reluctant to hand over any paperwork to Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson
), due to fiddling Incapacity Benefit
.
Eddie plans to start up a darts team, but once he collects the money from the team, he tells them he has been mugged and lost the money. Anna is disgusted and accuses him of going back to his old scheming ways., Eddie's plan backfires when Kirk Sutherland
(Andrew Whyment
) approaches him a few days later, telling him that he has spoken to everyone and they have agreed to keep the team going, since it means so much to Eddie. The Rovers' team consists of Dark Destroyer Eddie, Kirk, Kevin
(Michael Le Vell
) and Bill Webster
(Peter Armitage
), Ashley Peacock
(Steven Arnold
) and Lloyd Mullaney
(Craig Charles
). Eddie's ruse is uncovered when a visiting darts team arrive at the Rover's to play against his team. The rival team's captain recognises him as Eddie had tried a similar scam two years before and the team chase him.
In May 2009, Eddie overhears Roy Cropper
(David Neilson
) giving employee Anna the Roy's Rolls password and account number for the Cash 'n' Carry. He deviously takes the details from Anna's handbag and buys alcohol under the pretence that he is working for Roy. He is the Cash 'n' Carry's millionth customer and wins a city break to Europe. He tells Anna that he is taking her away for a romantic break and that he has been putting money aside to pay for it. However, Eddie's scam is exposed when Roy's wife Hayley
(Julie Hesmondhalgh
) sees a cardboard cut of Eddie as the millionth customer at the Cash n' Carry. Eddie is then banned from the Cafe by his wife. In July 2009, it is revealed that Eddie and Anna are not in fact married, as he proposes to her. She rejects him and it becomes clear that he has proposed many times previously.
Eddie and Anna deal with son Gary for most of 2009. He goes to prison after a robbery setup, orchestrated by David Platt, and after his release, becomes interested in joining the army. Eddie is reluctant to show emotion but bakes a cake to show Gary how proud he is. Several months later, Gary goes AWOL after a friend loses limbs in battle. Eventually Eddie calls the military police and tells them Gary is at home, because he feels his son needs to face up to his responsibilities. When Gary is away from home, Anna begins keeping an eye on Chesney Brown
(Sam Aston
) when he's having family problems. Anna decides she wants to adopt a child, and warms Eddie to the idea. They begin a competition with Steve and Becky McDonald
(Katherine Kelly
), who also want to adopt.
In early 2011 Eddie and Anna begin fostering nine year-old Faye Butler (Ellie Leach). Faye proves to be a handful for the Windasses as she doesn't take to her new home right away, her presence leads to tension between the couple and Eddie reveals he never wanted to adopt. Eddie pleads with Anna to send Faye back, but Anna refuses to give up on her. When Len offers Eddie a job in Germany, he gives Anna an ultimatum to choose between him or Faye. Anna is appalled Eddie has placed her in such a position, and tells him that given the choice, she'd choose Faye every time. With this, the couple end their relationship and Eddie packs his bags before saying goodbye to Gary and leaving for Germany.
of The Guardian
slated the character because of his scrounging ways and shoddy appearance stating: "Gary's dad Eddie has no positive attributes to speak of. None. He's six feet tall with a collapsed orange Sideshow Bob hairdo and an ambidextrous limp which switches from left to right leg depending on which Social Security officer is spying on him. He has a permanently fuddled expression which could be down to Temazepam, plain idiocy or the fact all his good brain cells are engaged in working out how to rob your wallet." Tony Stewart of The Mirror also describes Eddie's character as a scrounger. MSN branded Eddie and his family as chavs
and being perfect guests for the Jeremy Kyle
show, and going onto to calling them a million miles away from lower class yobbish families 'The Mortons' and 'The Battersbys'. Where as Simon Swift of Soaplife magazine commented on the fact that on first looks he couldn't help feeling that Eddie and his clan are a bit too much like original neighbours-from-hell the Battersbys. Ben Ashford of The Sun newspaper compared the real life fraud crimes of The Peters family, who came up with a range of illnesses including agoraphobia and alcoholism to swindle state handouts, as that mirroring Eddie and his onscreen family branding both units as 'scroungers'. Kris Green of media website Digital Spy
praised and commented on the fact that the Windass clan had 'settled in so well, in such a short space of time', with fellow actor Mikey North
stating that their success is down to the good writing and many plotlines the family received in the short time period.
Upon the airing of Eddie's final episodes in April 2011, Jane Simon of The Daily Mirror
wrote that she is "gutted" to see the character depart the show and adds that she hopes "the Corrie bosses see sense and decide to glue the Windass family back together before too long".
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 actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
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...
, 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 in spring 2011 after being axed by producer Phil Collinson
Phil Collinson
Philip "Phil" Collinson is a British television producer. He was initially an actor, before switching to working behind the cameras in the industry as a script editor and writer on programmes such as Springhill and Emmerdale, later becoming the producer of Peak Practice, Doctor Who and Coronation...
. Huison made his final appearance as Eddie on 25 April 2011.
Background
The character of Eddie was created as part of a new family unit that new producer Kim Crowther introduced 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." Fellow cast member Debbie Rush spoke about their odd surname and stated they were expecting comments when seen in public about it. Producers also revealed that they had high hopes for the family compared to what happened to Number 6's previous tenants The Mortons.
Personality and identity
Speaking of his character Huison said: “Eddie’s a great character to play, he thinks he’s hard and head of the family, but he’s always one step behind Gary and Len. Eddie is always up to silly scams. He uses crutches but you may notice he doesn’t always limp with the same leg…”Storylines
The character's storylines start immediately after his first onscreen appearance when 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...
(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....
) and his boss 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...
) confront him and his family about a bounced cheque that they had used to pay for their fitted kitchen. Several weeks later, the Windasses move into Coronation Street after renting number 6 from 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 (composer)
Michael Starke is an American neo-baroque composer who has gained a following worldwide for his chamber works that showcase the recorder....
). After Anna nags him to find employment, Eddie gets a job as a taxi driver at Streetcars, but is reluctant to hand over any paperwork to 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....
), due to fiddling Incapacity Benefit
Incapacity benefit
Incapacity Benefit is a United Kingdom state benefit that is paid to those below the State Pension age who cannot work because of illness or disability and have made National Insurance contributions. It is administered by Jobcentre Plus...
.
Eddie plans to start up a darts team, but once he collects the money from the team, he tells them he has been mugged and lost the money. Anna is disgusted and accuses him of going back to his old scheming ways., Eddie's plan backfires when Kirk Sutherland
Kirk Sutherland
Kirk Sutherland is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. The character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 22 May 2000, played by an uncredited actor ....
(Andrew Whyment
Andrew Whyment
Andrew "Andy" Whyment is an English television actor, best known for comedy roles, including his roles as Darren Sinclair-Jones in The Royle Family and Kirk Sutherland in the soap opera Coronation Street.-TV career:...
) approaches him a few days later, telling him that he has spoken to everyone and they have agreed to keep the team going, since it means so much to Eddie. The Rovers' team consists of Dark Destroyer Eddie, Kirk, Kevin
Kevin Webster
Kevin John Webster is a long-standing fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor Michael Le Vell, the character first appeared onscreen on 19 October 1983...
(Michael Le Vell
Michael Le Vell
Michael Le Vell is an English character actor, who since 1983 has played the role of garage mechanic, Kevin Webster, in the soap opera Coronation Street....
) and Bill Webster
Bill Webster
William Geoffrey "Bill" Webster is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor Peter Armitage, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 6 February 1984. He remained in the show until 1985 when Armitage decided to leave,...
(Peter Armitage
Peter Armitage
Peter Armitage is a statistician specialising in medical statistics.Peter Armitage attended Huddersfield College and went on to read mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge. Armitage belonged to the generation of mathematicians who came to maturity in the Second World War...
), Ashley Peacock
Ashley Peacock
Ashley Sibelius Peacock is a fictional character from the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor Steven Arnold, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 1 February 1995.On 23 April 2010, it was announced that the character had been axed along...
(Steven Arnold
Steven Arnold
Steven Arnold is an English actor best known for his role as Ashley Peacock in the long running hit show Coronation Street.- Early life :...
) and Lloyd Mullaney
Lloyd Mullaney
Lloyd Mullaney is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor Craig Charles, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 20 June 2005 and remained on screen until 23 July 2006 when Craig Charles was suspended but he...
(Craig Charles
Craig Charles
Craig Joseph Charles is an English actor, stand-up comedian, author, poet, radio and television presenter, best known for playing Dave Lister in the British cult-favourite science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf...
). Eddie's ruse is uncovered when a visiting darts team arrive at the Rover's to play against his team. The rival team's captain recognises him as Eddie had tried a similar scam two years before and the team chase him.
In May 2009, Eddie overhears 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....
) giving employee Anna the Roy's Rolls password and account number for the Cash 'n' Carry. He deviously takes the details from Anna's handbag and buys alcohol under the pretence that he is working for Roy. He is the Cash 'n' Carry's millionth customer and wins a city break to Europe. He tells Anna that he is taking her away for a romantic break and that he has been putting money aside to pay for it. However, Eddie's scam is exposed when Roy's wife Hayley
Hayley Cropper
Hayley Anne Cropper is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street...
(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...
) sees a cardboard cut of Eddie as the millionth customer at the Cash n' Carry. Eddie is then banned from the Cafe by his wife. In July 2009, it is revealed that Eddie and Anna are not in fact married, as he proposes to her. She rejects him and it becomes clear that he has proposed many times previously.
Eddie and Anna deal with son Gary for most of 2009. He goes to prison after a robbery setup, orchestrated by David Platt, and after his release, becomes interested in joining the army. Eddie is reluctant to show emotion but bakes a cake to show Gary how proud he is. Several months later, Gary goes AWOL after a friend loses limbs in battle. Eventually Eddie calls the military police and tells them Gary is at home, because he feels his son needs to face up to his responsibilities. When Gary is away from home, Anna begins keeping an eye on Chesney Brown
Chesney Brown
Chesney Brown is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor Sam Aston, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 14 November 2003....
(Sam Aston
Sam Aston
Samuel David "Sam" Aston is an English child actor, best known for having played, since 2003, the role of Chesney Battersby-Brown on Britain's longest running soap opera, Coronation Street...
) when he's having family problems. Anna decides she wants to adopt a child, and warms Eddie to the idea. They begin a competition with Steve and Becky McDonald
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:...
), who also want to adopt.
In early 2011 Eddie and Anna begin fostering nine year-old Faye Butler (Ellie Leach). Faye proves to be a handful for the Windasses as she doesn't take to her new home right away, her presence leads to tension between the couple and Eddie reveals he never wanted to adopt. Eddie pleads with Anna to send Faye back, but Anna refuses to give up on her. When Len offers Eddie a job in Germany, he gives Anna an ultimatum to choose between him or Faye. Anna is appalled Eddie has placed her in such a position, and tells him that given the choice, she'd choose Faye every time. With this, the couple end their relationship and Eddie packs his bags before saying goodbye to Gary and leaving for Germany.
Reception
Grace DentGrace 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...
slated the character because of his scrounging ways and shoddy appearance stating: "Gary's dad Eddie has no positive attributes to speak of. None. He's six feet tall with a collapsed orange Sideshow Bob hairdo and an ambidextrous limp which switches from left to right leg depending on which Social Security officer is spying on him. He has a permanently fuddled expression which could be down to Temazepam, plain idiocy or the fact all his good brain cells are engaged in working out how to rob your wallet." Tony Stewart of The Mirror also describes Eddie's character as a scrounger. MSN branded Eddie and his 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 being 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, and going onto to calling them a million miles away from lower class yobbish families 'The Mortons' and 'The Battersbys'. Where as Simon Swift of Soaplife magazine commented on the fact that on first looks he couldn't help feeling that Eddie and his clan are a bit too much like original neighbours-from-hell the Battersbys. Ben Ashford of The Sun newspaper compared the real life fraud crimes of The Peters family, who came up with a range of illnesses including agoraphobia and alcoholism to swindle state handouts, as that mirroring Eddie and his onscreen family branding both units as 'scroungers'. Kris Green of media website Digital Spy
Digital 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....
praised and commented on the fact that the Windass clan had 'settled in so well, in such a short space of time', with fellow 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:...
stating that their success is down to the good writing and many plotlines the family received in the short time period.
Upon the airing of Eddie's final episodes in April 2011, Jane Simon of The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror is a British national daily tabloid newspaper which was founded in 1903. Twice in its history, from 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was changed to read simply The Mirror, which is how the paper is often referred to in popular parlance. It had an...
wrote that she is "gutted" to see the character depart the show and adds that she hopes "the Corrie bosses see sense and decide to glue the Windass family back together before too long".