Lucille Hewitt is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''
Coronation Street'', played by
Jennifer Moss. Created by
Tony Warren
Anthony McVay Simpson (8 July 1936 – 1 March 2016) publishing under pen name Tony Warren, was an English television screenwriter and actor, best known for creating the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. He created other television dramas ...
as one of ''Coronation Street's'' original characters, at eleven years old Lucille was the show's only child character upon its inception and first appeared in the episode broadcast on 21 December 1960.
Daughter of widowed bus conductor
Harry Hewitt (
Ivan Beavis), Lucille spent several years in an orphanage in her youth, but occasionally visited her father. When Harry married again in 1961, this time to barmaid
Concepta Riley
Concepta Riley (also Hewitt and Regan) is a fictional character from the British television soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Doreen Keogh. Concepta was created by Tony Warren as one of ''Coronation Street's'' original characters. She ...
(
Doreen Keogh
Doreen Sheila Elsie Keogh (10 April 1924 – 31 December 2017) was an Irish actress of radio, stage, television and film, who was best known for roles in numerous television serials and telefilms, but most especially Concepta Riley the first ba ...
), Lucille was able to return home but took an instant disliking to her stepmother. The following year, Concepta gave birth to a half-brother for Lucille,
Christopher Hewitt (Stephen Ward). When Christopher was kidnapped while in his sister's care, Lucille received the blame, which strengthened the hatred between Lucille and Concepta. In 1964, Harry and Concepta moved to
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
alongside Christopher; however, Lucille refused to follow them, and ended up being fostered by local
landlords
A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, t ...
Jack
Jack may refer to:
Places
* Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA
People and fictional characters
* Jack (given name), a male given name, ...
(
Arthur Leslie) and
Annie Walker (
Doris Speed
Doris Speed, MBE (3 February 1899 – 16 November 1994) was an English actress, best known for her role as landlady of the Rovers Return Inn Annie Walker on ''Coronation Street'', a role she played from the programme's first episode in 1960 un ...
).
Both of Lucille's father figures died in the years that followed, with Harry being crushed to death in 1967 and Jack suffering a
heart-attack in 1970. Another loss for Lucille came when she was jilted by her fiancée
Gordon Clegg
Jenny Sutton
Jennifer Louise "Jenny" Tanner (née Sutton) was the first wife of Dennis Tanner.
Jenny was raised in a family of nine at a fourth-floor flat near Battersea Power Station. In 1968, the attractive young blonde arrived in Weather ...
(
Bill Kenwright), and Lucille longed to escape Annie's strictly-run household. Over the years, Lucille and Concepta mended their relationship, and in 1974 Lucille joined her and Christopher in Ireland, never to return.
Storylines
Lucille runs away from the orphanage in December 1960 and finds her way back home. Her father,
Harry Hewitt (Ivan Beavis), gives in to her pleas and arranges for her to stay for the holidays. Ultimately, Lucille is allowed to return permanently from the orphanage when her aunt,
Alice Burgess (
Avis Bunnage
Avis Bunnage (22 April 1923, Ardwick, Manchester – 4 October 1990, Thorpe Bay, Southend-on-Sea) was an English actress of film, stage and television.
She attended Manley Park Municipal School and Chorlton Central School in Manchester. She ...
), agrees to move in to look after her niece while her father is away working. However, the pair did not get on, and Alice's stay was a short one.
Harry married barmaid
Concepta Riley
Concepta Riley (also Hewitt and Regan) is a fictional character from the British television soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Doreen Keogh. Concepta was created by Tony Warren as one of ''Coronation Street's'' original characters. She ...
(
Doreen Keogh
Doreen Sheila Elsie Keogh (10 April 1924 – 31 December 2017) was an Irish actress of radio, stage, television and film, who was best known for roles in numerous television serials and telefilms, but most especially Concepta Riley the first ba ...
) in 1961, and the pair had a baby boy
Christopher Hewitt (Stephen Ward) on 6 August the following year. Lucille was initially jealous of the baby because of the attention he got, and did not like the adjustments she had to make to accommodate the new arrival. She felt second-best to Christopher, and that she was losing the father who adored her to his new family.
Lucille briefly ran away from home, but was persuaded to return by
Ena Sharples
Ena Sharples (née Schofield) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Violet Carson. She appeared in the first-ever episode, broadcast on 9 December 1960, and stayed with the show until 2 April ...
(
Violet Carson
Violet Helen Carson, OBE (1 September 1898 – 26 December 1983) was a British actress of radio, stage and television, and a singer and pianist, who had a long and celebrated career as an actress and performer during the early days of BBC Rad ...
). When she returned, the Hewitts planned a party to celebrate Harry and Concepta's first anniversary. Whilst Christopher was in Lucille's care, she went away for a moment, and when she returned, he was gone. Lucille was suspected by the police of having an active part in Christopher's disappearance because of her jealousy towards him. Christopher was later found, having been kidnapped by
Joan Akers (
Anna Cropper).
Concepta was always wanting Harry to move the family to
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
; in 1963, Harry conceded and for a moment the family looked set to leave
Weatherfield. Lucille begged her father to change his mind, and only the issue of Lucille's schooling made him decide to stay. A year later, Concepta pressed Harry on the issue again, and this time he obliged. Lucille, however, was adamant that she was staying in Weatherfield to finish her exams. She moved in with
Jack
Jack may refer to:
Places
* Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA
People and fictional characters
* Jack (given name), a male given name, ...
(
Arthur Leslie) and
Annie Walker (
Doris Speed
Doris Speed, MBE (3 February 1899 – 16 November 1994) was an English actress, best known for her role as landlady of the Rovers Return Inn Annie Walker on ''Coronation Street'', a role she played from the programme's first episode in 1960 un ...
) in the
Rovers Return
The Rovers Return Inn is a fictional pub in the long-running British soap opera '' Coronation Street''.
The Rovers Return occupies a corner of the fictional Coronation Street and Rosamund Street set location in the show. The pub was built by ...
. At one point, Concepta asked Lucille to consider moving to Ireland until she turned 21, but Harry was fine with her staying behind.
Unfortunately, later that day Harry was crushed to death while repairing a car. Lucille consequently stayed in Ireland for a while with Concepta. Upon her return, she fell in love with
Gordon Clegg
Jenny Sutton
Jennifer Louise "Jenny" Tanner (née Sutton) was the first wife of Dennis Tanner.
Jenny was raised in a family of nine at a fourth-floor flat near Battersea Power Station. In 1968, the attractive young blonde arrived in Weather ...
(
Bill Kenwright. Tired of their parents' interference, the couple attempted to elope to
Gretna Green
Gretna Green is a parish in the southern council area of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on the Scottish side of the border between Scotland and England, defined by the small river Sark, which flows into the nearby Solway Firth. It was histori ...
, but missed their train. The marriage was cancelled at the last minute when Gordon jilted Lucille and left to work in London as an accountant. In 1974, Gordon returned for
Maggie Clegg (
Irene Sutcliffe
Irene Sutcliffe (12 July 1924 – 3 May 2019) was an English actress. She was best known for playing Maggie Clegg in ITV's ''Coronation Street'', a role she played from 1968 until 1975. She had a long career; her first credited TV role was in 19 ...
)'s wedding. To avoid seeing him, Lucille went to Ireland to visit her stepmother and half-brother. She never returned to Weatherfield.
Development
Creation
One of ''Coronation Streets
original characters conceived by
Tony Warren
Anthony McVay Simpson (8 July 1936 – 1 March 2016) publishing under pen name Tony Warren, was an English television screenwriter and actor, best known for creating the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. He created other television dramas ...
, the character of Lucille existed as far back as the initial conception of the show, when ''Coronation Street'' was known as ''Florizel Street'', although at this time she was named Janice. Jennifer Moss made her debut as Lucille in the second dry run, alongside her onscreen father
Harry Hewitt (Ivan Beavis). Due to being four foot eleven, Moss could pass for eleven years old, though she was nearly sixteen when Coronation Street premiered on 9 December 1960. In her early years, Lucille was portrayed as an impressionable young schoolgirl who had a difficult relationship with her stepmother,
Concepta Riley
Concepta Riley (also Hewitt and Regan) is a fictional character from the British television soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Doreen Keogh. Concepta was created by Tony Warren as one of ''Coronation Street's'' original characters. She ...
(
Doreen Keogh
Doreen Sheila Elsie Keogh (10 April 1924 – 31 December 2017) was an Irish actress of radio, stage, television and film, who was best known for roles in numerous television serials and telefilms, but most especially Concepta Riley the first ba ...
). Four years older than her character, Moss related to the troubles Lucille went through as she got older: "If you're a teenager, a teenage rebel is quite easy to play because we've all gone through sort of the stroppy bit."
As she was a minor when the programme first started, Moss's appearances were initially restricted. This was explained by Lucille living in an orphanage following the death of her mother. She made 29 appearances in 1961, up to November of that year, when the
Equity actors' strike began, leaving Moss unable to sign a new contract until industrial action ended the following April. During this absence, Lucille was still living at 7 Coronation Street and would be mentioned occasionally to keep her alive in viewers' minds. Lucille was the first regular character to return after the strike was over, re-appearing in Episode 142 on 23 April 1962.
Personal problems and ultimate firing
Moss successfully battled
alcoholism
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...
in the 1980s, which was the reason underlying her being sacked from ''Coronation Street'' for bad behaviour by then-producer
Susi Hush in 1974. Moss stated that she drank to numb the pain she felt after the death of her father, Reg. In an interview with the ''Evening Times'' in 1979, Moss, then living in a three-apartment house in
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington t ...
, found for her by the local Social Works Department when she was homeless, Moss said: "My youngest daughter, Sarah, is only three years old and is mentally handicapped... while I was pregnant I was drinking all the time. I will go to my grave with this damage to my child on my conscience." Her eldest daughter, Naomi (like Sarah) was taken into care, and her baby boy had died when he was three days old in 1976.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hewitt, Lucille
Coronation Street characters
Television characters introduced in 1960
Female characters in television
Child characters in television