Janice Battersby
Encyclopedia
Janice Bernadette Battersby (née Lee) is a fictional character
in the UK television ITV
soap opera
, Coronation Street
. Portrayed by actress Vicky Entwistle
, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 6 January 1997.
On 2 August 2010 it was announced that Entwistle had quit her role as Janice Battersby after 14 years on the show and would depart in 2011. She made her final appearance on 25 March 2011 after she leaves Weatherfield with new boyfriend Trevor Dean
(Steve Jackson) to go travelling around the world.
. A new producer, Brian Park, was brought in to revitalise the soap in 1997. Dubbed "the axeman", Park was responsible for culling 8 long-running and established characters, as well as giving the go-ahead for more controversial and sensationalist storylines, aimed at attracting a younger audience. He also introduced various new characters, among them were the Battersby family. Dubbed the "family from hell", the Battersbys were Janice and her husband Les
, living with him and his daughter Leanne
and a daughter of her own, Toyah, who was the result of a short-lived relationship Janice had with Ronnie Clegg when she was 16. Although not above occasional law-breaking, Janice was nowhere near as anti-social as Les.
going on to secure the role. In 2005 after 8 years in the show the character of Janice was axed by producer Tony Wood along with characters Sunita Alahan
and Jessie Jackson. However a few weeks after the axing, a last minute decision was made and the character was given a reprieve by the newly drafted producer Steve Frost. Of this decision the soaps spokesperson said: "The new producer has talked to Vicky Entwistle and asked if she would like to stay with the programme. Janice is a very popular character, but ultimately it was the producer's own decision to keep her on, prompted by the great new storylines the character can play out."
, had his own nickname for her: "Lippy" because of her loud mouth and answering back. An inside spokesperson for Coronation Street said of Janice's character in 2005 that: "She is well loved for being such a feisty character who can get quite nasty at times.".
(Jane Danson
) and daughter Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor
). She soon gets a job as a machinist
in the Underworld garment factory, where she is consistently rude to her various managers. She breaks up with Les after having an affair with Dennis Stringer (Charles Dale
) in 2001, who is also seeing Eileen Grimshaw
(Sue Cleaver
) at the time. Les is so upset that he attempts suicide, and while driving him to hospital, Dennis is killed in a car crash; Les survives. Janice is left devastated by Dennis's death.
In March 2003, Janice sneaks into the storeroom at the factory for a crafty cigarette but she drops the cigarette when caretaker Harry Flagg (Iain Rogerson
) locks her in, a fire starts. Just before the whole room burns down, factory manager Nick Tilsley
(Adam Rickett) comes to her rescue - and as a result of the fire, she ends up in hospital and Nick is sacked by owner Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs
).
Janice later becomes involves with police officer, Mick Hopwood. When Mick and Les get into a fight, Les is unfairly imprisoned, and Janice splits up with Mick. A later attempt at reconciliation with Les fails as a result of interference from Cilla Brown (Wendi Peters
).
In the summer of 2005, Janice discovers, to her horror, that she has nits
. Drunkenly, she asks friend Sean Tully
(Antony Cotton
) to shave her head. When she sees her bald head in the mirror, she is appalled. A couple of weeks later, she has a mud fight with resident Claire Peacock
(Julia Haworth
) on the Red Rec after Claire calls her a "pug faced scumbag".
In early 2006, Janice and Leanne are involved in a car accident, when Danny
(Bradley Walsh) does not ask Kevin Webster
(Michael Le Vell
) to perform a full service on the car. They crash into Gail Platt
's (Helen Worth
) front wall. Since then, Janice has become increasingly angry at the Websters, leading to a rivalry with Kevin's wife Sally
(Sally Dynevor), Janice's co-worker at Underworld. The rivalry comes to a head on February 27, 2006, when Janice is sacked by her employer Danny Baldwin, and shortly after, she is punched by nemesis Sally, in the middle of the Rovers Return Inn
. She leaves the Street in shame.
However, it was reported in December 2005, that despite original plans for her to be written out of the series, Vicky Entwistle's contract was renewed. She leaves to stay with Toyah in London in March 2006, but returns by April 2006, telling Leanne that life in London was not any better than life in Weatherfield. She then helps Leanne as she discovers Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs
)'s original will, that Leanne's boyfriend Danny does not know about.
In January 2007, Janice's heating breaks down and she calls plumber Roger Stiles (Andrew Dunn
) to fix it, who turns up late. After socialising a bit, Roger asks Janice to go with him to France
for a few months, which she accepts. She returns in March and Roger returns in June. She subsequently finds out that her stepdaughter Leanne is a prostitute; after everyone finds out, Janice gets into a brawl with co-worker Kelly Crabtree
(Tupele Dorgu
). Janice pleads with her to give up her work, but Leanne initially refuses as it is too lucrative. Eventually she admits that she can't go on with it and Leanne moves in with her. Janice and Roger reconcile, and Roger gives Leanne a loan for the restaurant she plans to open with Paul Clayton
(Tom Hudson
). His lack of money means he struggles to pay his rent, so he moves in with Janice. Leanne's restaurant burns down in April 2008. A few weeks later, Paul tells the police he and Leanne set the place on fire for insurance money. Janice is furious with Leanne for lying to her.
In September 2008, Janice and Leanne discover that one of the Lottery syndicate tickets for Underworld is a winner, to the tune of nearly 25,000 pounds. Initially willing to tell the other girls of the win, Janice decides to keep quiet after some persuasion from Leanne. They claim the winnings by setting up a bogus bank account in Rosie Webster
's (Helen Flanagan
) name. In the meanwhile, Rosie vanishes, worrying her parents Kevin and Sally. When they find out about Rosie's win, they begin to wonder if she has absconded with the cash. Unable to live with her guilty conscience, Janice eventually comes clean to Sally and Kevin on 8 October 2008. She is arrested while at work in the factory. Roger later finds out about the scam from the factory girls. This leads to his departure. He has a row with her over the scam and leaves the Street on the same day. Janice is left on the Street in tears as Roger drives away. Leanne sees her from her upstairs window and callously just shuts the blind.
In November 2008, Janice goes on trial for the scam alone, she has agreed to keep Leanne's name out of it. She receives community service, much to the annoyance of the colleagues she has betrayed. The following month, she starts her work placement at the canteen at Weatherfield General Hospital and is initially delighted to discover that her supervisor is Emily Bishop
(Eileen Derbyshire
), whom she sees as a pushover. However, she is proven wrong as Emily is very strict. On 29 December 2008, she goes for a smoke break outside the hospital and meets Mike Scott (Anthony Bessick). He tells her he is in for a chest infection, downgraded from pneumonia. She tells him about her community service, and they laugh over their shared misfortune. Janice then goes back to work, but that night her friends tell her that she has been beaming the whole time she has been out with them, which suggests that she still has Mike on her mind.
Mike reappears on 30 January 2009, when he and Janice chat. However, he keels over and collapses. Janice alerts people in the hospital car park of what is happening. Nurses later tell her that Mike has died, following an operation one week earlier. Mike's wife Laura is grateful that Janice had been with him when he died. After this, Janice decides that she wants to become a nurse but is met with ridicule by her friends which makes her more determined. She is delighted when new factory boss Luke Strong
(Craig Kelly
) offers to send her on a first-aid course in March 2009. Janice puts her learned skills to use when young Joshua Peacock (Benjamin Beresford
) collapses after swallowing a bee at the Street's summer fete. He is later rushed to hospital and recovers. Janice later tells Kelly that she does not want to be a nurse any more from the horror that Joshua could have died.
In January 2010, Trevor Dean, a local dustman, manages to provoke the ire of Janice after he refuses to empty her rubbish bin. In protest, she jumps onto the side of his bin lorry and holds on as he drives down the street. Later, the pair become friends, and after telling Trevor she is looking for a lodger, he agrees to move in with her. It is obvious that Janice is very attracted to him, however, to her disappointment he begins dating her boss Carla Connor
(Alison King
). Janice is disappointed when Trevor later leaves Weatherfield after breaking up with Carla.
On 6 December 2010, a tram crashes on to the cobbles, following an explosion at 'The Joinery' Bar. Janice puts her first aid training to use, helping the injured in the Rovers. She also witnesses stepdaughter Leanne's wedding to Peter Barlow
(Chris Gascoyne), which takes place in hospital as he was injured in the disaster.
In January 2011, Janice meets a man called Gaz at a singles night in the Rovers who invites her to go on holiday with him. However, she is too drunk to board the flight and returns later on in the evening. At this time, Chris Gray (Will Thorp
) has paid an associate to rob Janice's flat, hoping to cause trouble for a local taxi firm; he is disturbed by her entry and runs off into the night, knocking Janice to the ground and left shaken. In the weeks following the burglary, Janice becomes very nervous of living alone and eventually gives up her flat, moving in with workmate Julie Carp
(Katy Cavanagh
). In March 2011, with Underworld struggling to remain afloat, Janice says the wrong thing once too often, when she tries to convince her co-workers to go on strike, and Carla sacks her.
Janice is pleasantly surprised when she bumps into Trevor again. He tells her that he is only staying around for a short time as he is leaving to go on a world trip. A few days later he offers Janice the chance to go with him. With no job, and Leanne now happily married to Peter, she agrees. After saying a goodbye to Leanne, Janice's co-worker Izzy Armstrong
(Cherylee Houston
) spots her and tells all the locals and they all go outside to wave her off. Janice spots them coming out of the Rovers, so they drive into a puddle soaking all her friends and she shouts "Losers" as she drives off into the distance with Trevor.
In July 2011, Leanne received a phonecall from Janice to wish her on her 30th birthday, she tells Leanne that she is currently working at a hotel in France. On this day, Leanne finds out that newcomer Stella Price
is her birth mother but decides not to tell Janice because she has been more of a mother to her than Stella ever was.
.
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 Vicky Entwistle
Vicky Entwistle
Vicky Entwistle is an English actress who is most famous for playing the role of "loudmouth" factory worker Janice Battersby in ITV1's long-running soap opera Coronation Street....
, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 6 January 1997.
On 2 August 2010 it was announced that Entwistle had quit her role as Janice Battersby after 14 years on the show and would depart in 2011. She made her final appearance on 25 March 2011 after she leaves Weatherfield with new boyfriend Trevor Dean
Trevor Dean
Trevor Dean is a fictional character in the British soap opera Coronation Street, played by actor Steve Jackson. He first appears during the episode airing on 28 January 2010 as a lodger for Janice Battersby ....
(Steve Jackson) to go travelling around the world.
Background
The mid 1990s were a time of big change behind-the-scenes at Coronation Street. The long-running serial was being regularly beaten in the ratings by rival soap EastEndersEastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
. A new producer, Brian Park, was brought in to revitalise the soap in 1997. Dubbed "the axeman", Park was responsible for culling 8 long-running and established characters, as well as giving the go-ahead for more controversial and sensationalist storylines, aimed at attracting a younger audience. He also introduced various new characters, among them were the Battersby family. Dubbed the "family from hell", the Battersbys were Janice and her husband Les
Les Battersby-Brown
Leslie Nelson "Les" Battersby-Brown is a fictional character on the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. He was played by Bruce Jones...
, living with him and his daughter Leanne
Leanne Battersby
Leanne Anika Barlow is a fictional character on the soap opera Coronation Street. Portrayed by actress Jane Danson, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 4 July 1997....
and a daughter of her own, Toyah, who was the result of a short-lived relationship Janice had with Ronnie Clegg when she was 16. Although not above occasional law-breaking, Janice was nowhere near as anti-social as Les.
Casting
Auditions were held for the part of Janice Battersby with actress Vicky EntwistleVicky Entwistle
Vicky Entwistle is an English actress who is most famous for playing the role of "loudmouth" factory worker Janice Battersby in ITV1's long-running soap opera Coronation Street....
going on to secure the role. In 2005 after 8 years in the show the character of Janice was axed by producer Tony Wood along with characters Sunita Alahan
Sunita Alahan
Sunita Alahan is a fictional character from the British ITV1 soap opera Coronation Street, played by Shobna Gulati. She made her first on-screen appearance on 23 March 2001 and remained in the show until 2005, when the character was axed from the serial by producer Tony Wood...
and Jessie Jackson. However a few weeks after the axing, a last minute decision was made and the character was given a reprieve by the newly drafted producer Steve Frost. Of this decision the soaps spokesperson said: "The new producer has talked to Vicky Entwistle and asked if she would like to stay with the programme. Janice is a very popular character, but ultimately it was the producer's own decision to keep her on, prompted by the great new storylines the character can play out."
Character development
Janice is a very larger than life character and is not afraid of confrontation with other people. ITV publicity describes the character along with her former husband as 'Weatherfield's answer to Wayne and Waynetta Slob' but did stress that her character has shown her softer side in certain storylines such as Toyah's rape and proved she actually does have morals when she tried to stop Leanne's prostititution. Her manager at Underworld from 2004 to 2006, Danny BaldwinDanny Baldwin
Daniel "Danny" Baldwin, is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor Bradley Walsh, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 28 May 2004 and remained until his departure on 31 December 2006.-Creation and...
, had his own nickname for her: "Lippy" because of her loud mouth and answering back. An inside spokesperson for Coronation Street said of Janice's character in 2005 that: "She is well loved for being such a feisty character who can get quite nasty at times.".
Storylines
Janice first appears in January 1997. In July 1997 she returns along with husband Les (Bruce Jones), step-daughter LeanneLeanne Battersby
Leanne Anika Barlow is a fictional character on the soap opera Coronation Street. Portrayed by actress Jane Danson, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 4 July 1997....
(Jane Danson
Jane Danson
Jane Danson is an English actress, most famous for playing the role of Leanne Battersby in Coronation Street.-Acting:...
) and daughter Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor
Georgia Taylor
Georgia Taylor is an English actress, known for her role as Toyah Battersby in Coronation Street and currently for playing Ruth Winters on Casualty. She was born in Wigan, Greater Manchester....
). She soon gets a job as a machinist
Machinist
A machinist is a person who uses machine tools to make or modify parts, primarily metal parts, a process known as machining. This is accomplished by using machine tools to cut away excess material much as a woodcarver cuts away excess wood to produce his work. In addition to metal, the parts may...
in the Underworld garment factory, where she is consistently rude to her various managers. She breaks up with Les after having an affair with Dennis Stringer (Charles Dale
Charles Dale
Charles Dale is a Welsh actor who is well known for playing Dennis Stringer in Coronation Street, Gary "Chef" Alcock in The Lakes and Clive Eustace in The Eustace Bros.....
) in 2001, who is also seeing Eileen Grimshaw
Eileen Grimshaw
Eileen Grimshaw, is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by Sue Cleaver, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 3 May 2000....
(Sue Cleaver
Sue Cleaver
Sue Cleaver is an English actress. She is best known for her regular role in Coronation Street.She studied at the Manchester Metropolitan School of Theatre and her first television appearance was a small part in an episode of A Touch of Frost...
) at the time. Les is so upset that he attempts suicide, and while driving him to hospital, Dennis is killed in a car crash; Les survives. Janice is left devastated by Dennis's death.
In March 2003, Janice sneaks into the storeroom at the factory for a crafty cigarette but she drops the cigarette when caretaker Harry Flagg (Iain Rogerson
Iain Rogerson
Iain Rogerson is a British actor born in Cefn-y-bedd, Wrexham, Wales. Rogerson is best known for his portrayal of Harry Flagg in Coronation Street.- External links :...
) locks her in, a fire starts. Just before the whole room burns down, factory manager Nick Tilsley
Nick Tilsley
Nicholas Paul "Nick" Tilsley is a fictional character in the British soap opera Coronation Street. Originally known as "Nicky", he was the first-born child of Brian Tilsley and Gail Platt , and has been portrayed by three different actors. Warren Jackson from 1981 to 1996, then by Adam Rickitt...
(Adam Rickett) comes to her rescue - and as a result of the fire, she ends up in hospital and Nick is sacked by owner Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs
Johnny Briggs (actor)
Johnny Briggs, MBE is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Mike Baldwin in the soap opera Coronation Street, in which he appeared from 1976 to 2006...
).
Janice later becomes involves with police officer, Mick Hopwood. When Mick and Les get into a fight, Les is unfairly imprisoned, and Janice splits up with Mick. A later attempt at reconciliation with Les fails as a result of interference from Cilla Brown (Wendi Peters
Wendi Peters
Wendi Louise Peters is an English television and theatre character actress. Peters is married to Kenny Linden and they have one daughter together called Gracie who was born in 2000.-Film:...
).
In the summer of 2005, Janice discovers, to her horror, that she has nits
Head louse
The head louse is an obligate ectoparasite of humans. Head lice are wingless insects spending their entire life on human scalp and feeding exclusively on human blood...
. Drunkenly, she asks friend Sean Tully
Sean Tully
Sean Tully, is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor Antony Cotton, the character first appeared on screen during the episode airing on 13 July 2003. Sean works as a factory machinist, and as a part-time barman in the Rovers Return...
(Antony Cotton
Antony Cotton
Antony Cotton is an English actor and singer best known for his roles in Coronation Street and the original UK version of Queer as Folk.-Early and personal life:...
) to shave her head. When she sees her bald head in the mirror, she is appalled. A couple of weeks later, she has a mud fight with resident Claire Peacock
Claire Peacock
Claire Peacock , is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actress Julia Haworth, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 9 April 2003, as the new nanny of established character Ashley Peacock's son Joshua...
(Julia Haworth
Julia Haworth
Julia Louise Haworth is an English actress best known as Claire Peacock on ITV's Coronation Street, a role she has played since 2003...
) on the Red Rec after Claire calls her a "pug faced scumbag".
In early 2006, Janice and Leanne are involved in a car accident, when Danny
Danny Baldwin
Daniel "Danny" Baldwin, is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor Bradley Walsh, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 28 May 2004 and remained until his departure on 31 December 2006.-Creation and...
(Bradley Walsh) does not ask Kevin Webster
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....
) to perform a full service on the car. They crash into 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...
's (Helen Worth
Helen Worth
Helen Worth is an English actress, best known for her portrayal of the Coronation Street character Gail McIntyre- Early life :...
) front wall. Since then, Janice has become increasingly angry at the Websters, leading to a rivalry with Kevin's wife Sally
Sally Webster
Sally Webster is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actress Sally Dynevor, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 27 January 1986.-Casting:...
(Sally Dynevor), Janice's co-worker at Underworld. The rivalry comes to a head on February 27, 2006, when Janice is sacked by her employer Danny Baldwin, and shortly after, she is punched by nemesis Sally, in the middle of the Rovers Return Inn
Rovers Return Inn
The Rovers Return Inn is a fictional public house on the long-running British soap opera Coronation Street. The Rovers Return occupies the corner of Coronation Street and Rosamund Street. Since the first episode it has been the principal setting in the show and many of its most memorable moments...
. She leaves the Street in shame.
However, it was reported in December 2005, that despite original plans for her to be written out of the series, Vicky Entwistle's contract was renewed. She leaves to stay with Toyah in London in March 2006, but returns by April 2006, telling Leanne that life in London was not any better than life in Weatherfield. She then helps Leanne as she discovers Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs
Johnny Briggs (actor)
Johnny Briggs, MBE is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Mike Baldwin in the soap opera Coronation Street, in which he appeared from 1976 to 2006...
)'s original will, that Leanne's boyfriend Danny does not know about.
In January 2007, Janice's heating breaks down and she calls plumber Roger Stiles (Andrew Dunn
Andrew Dunn (actor)
Andrew Dunn is an English actor, best known for the role of Tony in the BBC sitcom Dinnerladies between 1998 and 2000. He was born in Leeds, but was raised in North Shields, eight miles east of Newcastle upon Tyne, before leaving for London at the age of 20. He trained as a teacher but decided he...
) to fix it, who turns up late. After socialising a bit, Roger asks Janice to go with him to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
for a few months, which she accepts. She returns in March and Roger returns in June. She subsequently finds out that her stepdaughter Leanne is a prostitute; after everyone finds out, Janice gets into a brawl with co-worker Kelly Crabtree
Kelly Crabtree
Kelly Louise Crabtree is a fictional character from the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actress Tupele Dorgu, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 6 September 2004....
(Tupele Dorgu
Tupele Dorgu
Tupele Dorgu is a British actress, best known for playing the role of Kelly Crabtree on the soap opera Coronation Street from 2004 to 2010....
). Janice pleads with her to give up her work, but Leanne initially refuses as it is too lucrative. Eventually she admits that she can't go on with it and Leanne moves in with her. Janice and Roger reconcile, and Roger gives Leanne a loan for the restaurant she plans to open with Paul Clayton
Paul Clayton (Coronation Street)
Paul Clayton is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by Lee Booth, the character first appeared on-screen during an episode that aired on 29 November 2000...
(Tom Hudson
Tom Hudson
Tom Hudson is an English Actor who can also be credited as Thomas Hudson.Hudson is best known for his roles as Baz Wainwright in Grange Hill between 2003 and 2007 and as Paul Clayton in Coronation Street between 2007 and 2008.In February 2008, ten months after landing the role of Terry Duckworth's...
). His lack of money means he struggles to pay his rent, so he moves in with Janice. Leanne's restaurant burns down in April 2008. A few weeks later, Paul tells the police he and Leanne set the place on fire for insurance money. Janice is furious with Leanne for lying to her.
In September 2008, Janice and Leanne discover that one of the Lottery syndicate tickets for Underworld is a winner, to the tune of nearly 25,000 pounds. Initially willing to tell the other girls of the win, Janice decides to keep quiet after some persuasion from Leanne. They claim the winnings by setting up a bogus bank account in Rosie Webster
Rosie Webster
Rosie Webster is a fictional character in the British television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. The character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 24 December 1990. Originally portrayed by actress Emma Collinge from her birth until December 1999, the character has since been...
's (Helen Flanagan
Helen Flanagan
Helen Joyce Flanagan is a British actress best known for playing Rosie Webster in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street.Flanagan has played Rosie Webster in Coronation Street since 2000, when she was ten years old....
) name. In the meanwhile, Rosie vanishes, worrying her parents Kevin and Sally. When they find out about Rosie's win, they begin to wonder if she has absconded with the cash. Unable to live with her guilty conscience, Janice eventually comes clean to Sally and Kevin on 8 October 2008. She is arrested while at work in the factory. Roger later finds out about the scam from the factory girls. This leads to his departure. He has a row with her over the scam and leaves the Street on the same day. Janice is left on the Street in tears as Roger drives away. Leanne sees her from her upstairs window and callously just shuts the blind.
In November 2008, Janice goes on trial for the scam alone, she has agreed to keep Leanne's name out of it. She receives community service, much to the annoyance of the colleagues she has betrayed. The following month, she starts her work placement at the canteen at Weatherfield General Hospital and is initially delighted to discover that her supervisor is Emily Bishop
Emily Bishop
Emily Bishop is a long-standing fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street...
(Eileen Derbyshire
Eileen Derbyshire
Eileen Derbyshire, MBE is an English actress, best known for her role as Emily Bishop on the soap opera Coronation Street. She has played the character since 1961, making her the longest-serving female cast member in a British soap opera...
), whom she sees as a pushover. However, she is proven wrong as Emily is very strict. On 29 December 2008, she goes for a smoke break outside the hospital and meets Mike Scott (Anthony Bessick). He tells her he is in for a chest infection, downgraded from pneumonia. She tells him about her community service, and they laugh over their shared misfortune. Janice then goes back to work, but that night her friends tell her that she has been beaming the whole time she has been out with them, which suggests that she still has Mike on her mind.
Mike reappears on 30 January 2009, when he and Janice chat. However, he keels over and collapses. Janice alerts people in the hospital car park of what is happening. Nurses later tell her that Mike has died, following an operation one week earlier. Mike's wife Laura is grateful that Janice had been with him when he died. After this, Janice decides that she wants to become a nurse but is met with ridicule by her friends which makes her more determined. She is delighted when new factory boss Luke Strong
Luke Strong
Luke Strong is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor Craig Kelly, the character appeared throughout 2009. Luke took over Carla Gordon's share of the Underworld factory with Tony Gordon...
(Craig Kelly
Craig Kelly (actor)
Craig Kelly is a British actor, best known for his role as Vince Tyler in the Channel 4 television series Queer as Folk and as Luke Strong in Coronation Street.-Biography:...
) offers to send her on a first-aid course in March 2009. Janice puts her learned skills to use when young Joshua Peacock (Benjamin Beresford
Benjamin Beresford
Benjamin Beresford is a British actor known for his role as Joshua Peacock on ITV's Coronation Street. Ben has played the role since 2004, taking over from Brandon Jackson and Stephen Collins.-References:...
) collapses after swallowing a bee at the Street's summer fete. He is later rushed to hospital and recovers. Janice later tells Kelly that she does not want to be a nurse any more from the horror that Joshua could have died.
In January 2010, Trevor Dean, a local dustman, manages to provoke the ire of Janice after he refuses to empty her rubbish bin. In protest, she jumps onto the side of his bin lorry and holds on as he drives down the street. Later, the pair become friends, and after telling Trevor she is looking for a lodger, he agrees to move in with her. It is obvious that Janice is very attracted to him, however, to her disappointment he begins dating her boss Carla Connor
Carla Connor
Carla Connor 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 portrayed by actress Alison King. Carla was created by producer Steve Frost as part of the new Connor family....
(Alison King
Alison King
Alison King is an English actress. She has had major television roles as Lynda Block in the Sky One television series Dream Team, and as Carla Connor in Coronation Street since 2006.- Early life and education :...
). Janice is disappointed when Trevor later leaves Weatherfield after breaking up with Carla.
On 6 December 2010, a tram crashes on to the cobbles, following an explosion at 'The Joinery' Bar. Janice puts her first aid training to use, helping the injured in the Rovers. She also witnesses stepdaughter Leanne's wedding to Peter Barlow
Peter Barlow (Coronation Street)
Peter Francis Barlow is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera Coronation Street. The character first appeared onscreen during the episode aired on 15 April 1965...
(Chris Gascoyne), which takes place in hospital as he was injured in the disaster.
In January 2011, Janice meets a man called Gaz at a singles night in the Rovers who invites her to go on holiday with him. However, she is too drunk to board the flight and returns later on in the evening. At this time, Chris Gray (Will Thorp
Will Thorp
Will Thorp is an English actor.-Early life:Living in Frome as a youngster, Thorp attended a Catholic college in near-by Trowbridge, Wiltshire. He studied at Bath College and joined Musical Youth Theatre Company at an early age. Thorp was also a member of the National Youth Theatre...
) has paid an associate to rob Janice's flat, hoping to cause trouble for a local taxi firm; he is disturbed by her entry and runs off into the night, knocking Janice to the ground and left shaken. In the weeks following the burglary, Janice becomes very nervous of living alone and eventually gives up her flat, moving in with workmate Julie Carp
Julie Carp
Julie Carp is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, Coronation Street, played by actress Katy Cavanagh...
(Katy Cavanagh
Katy Cavanagh
Katy Cavanagh in North Shields, North Tyneside and grew up in Bolton, Greater Manchester and educated at Canon Slade School is an English actress, best known for her appearances in Coronation Street in the role of Julie Carp since 2008....
). In March 2011, with Underworld struggling to remain afloat, Janice says the wrong thing once too often, when she tries to convince her co-workers to go on strike, and Carla sacks her.
Janice is pleasantly surprised when she bumps into Trevor again. He tells her that he is only staying around for a short time as he is leaving to go on a world trip. A few days later he offers Janice the chance to go with him. With no job, and Leanne now happily married to Peter, she agrees. After saying a goodbye to Leanne, Janice's co-worker Izzy Armstrong
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:...
) spots her and tells all the locals and they all go outside to wave her off. Janice spots them coming out of the Rovers, so they drive into a puddle soaking all her friends and she shouts "Losers" as she drives off into the distance with Trevor.
In July 2011, Leanne received a phonecall from Janice to wish her on her 30th birthday, she tells Leanne that she is currently working at a hotel in France. On this day, Leanne finds out that newcomer Stella Price
Stella Price
Stella Price is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Michelle Collins. Collins' casting was announced in April 2011 and she began filming her scenes in May. The actress commutes from north London to Manchester for filming. Collins joined the show in...
is her birth mother but decides not to tell Janice because she has been more of a mother to her than Stella ever was.
In other media
Janice's recognisable appearance and loud mouth tendencies led to her being spoofed on ITV TV show 2DTV2DTV
2DTV is a British satirical animated television show that was broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom, directed by Tim Searle.2DTV employs the same satirical style as Spitting Image, but using animation rather than puppets. The animation was produced on computer, frequently with animators working up...
.