Percy Sugden is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...

from the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

ITV

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

'' Coronation Street'', played by

Bill Waddington William Joseph Waddington (10 June 1916 – 9 September 2000) was an English actor, comedian and co-author who was born in Oldham, Lancashire. In later life he achieved stardom as the pompous ex-serviceman Percy Sugden in Granada Televisi ...

. He appeared between 1983 and 1997.

Creation

The character was introduced to ''Coronation Street'' as a potential caretaker of the Community Centre. Percy's niece, Elaine Prior, stayed with him until she married

Bill Webster Bill Webster is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, ''Coronation Street'', played by Peter Armitage. The character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 6 February 1984 and remained in the show until 1985 when ...

( Peter Armitage). Percy was also a school crossing patrol 'lollipop' man, and

Phyllis Pearce ''Coronation Street'' is a British soap opera created by writer Tony Warren. It was first broadcast on ITV on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in 1982, by order of first appearance. Caroline Clegg Ca ...

( Jill Summers) came to respect him greatly after he was injured trying to protect her. In 1997 Bill Waddington decided to leave the show after 14 years. His last appearance was in October 1997.

Storylines

Percy Sugden arrived on the Street in August 1983 as the new caretaker at the Community Centre. Old soldier Percy had been a cook in the Army serving with the Eighth Army in North Africa whose proudest boast was: "When you've made gravy under shell fire, you can do anything!". He had little family, but was close to his niece, Elaine Prior (Judy Gridley), who married

( Peter Armitage) in 1985. In 1983, Percy suggested to Mavis Riley (

Thelma Barlow Thelma Barlow (''née'' Pigott; born 19 June 1929) is an English television actress and writer, known for her roles as Mavis Wilton in the long-running ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'' and as Dolly Bellfield in the BBC One sitcom '' di ...

) that his pet budgie, Randy, should mate with her pet budgie, Harriet. Mavis was not happy with the idea. In 1987, Percy formed the Percy Sugden Formation Dancers, containing local notables such as

Hilda Ogden Hilda Ogden (also Crabtree) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'', one of the best-known of all the regular characters in the serial, whose name became synonymous with a classic hard-working Northern ...

(

Jean Alexander Jean Margaret Hodgkinson (11 October 1926 – 14 October 2016), known by the stage name Jean Alexander, was a British television actress. She was best known to television viewers for her long running role of Hilda Ogden in the soap opera ''Co ...

) and

( Jill Summers). He encouraged them to an enter a local dance contest - however, fed up with his bossiness, the dancers finally ousted Percy and elected a new chairman. Percy reacted by cancelling the group's entry in the dance contest, and informing them that new entries were no longer being accepted. Percy decided to be a good neighbour, making regular visits to

Alf Roberts Alfred Sidney "Alf" Roberts, OBE is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'', played by Bryan Mosley. He ran a grocery shop at No. 15 and was involved in local politics, including two spells as mayor of ...

(

Bryan Mosley Bryan Mosley (25 August 1931 – 9 February 1999) was a British actor, best known for his role as grocer Alf Roberts in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Early life Mosley was born in Leeds, an only child, to Agnes Basquil ...

), who was recovering from a heart attack; Alf was horrified when insensitive Percy told him stories of other heart attack victims who had not been so lucky to survive. Upon reaching retirement age in 1988, Percy was forced to leave his flat at the Community Centre and move out of the Street. Miserable at being away from the neighbourhood, he slumped into lethargy until Emily Bishop (

Eileen Derbyshire Eileen Derbyshire, MBE (born 6 October 1931) is an English retired actress, best known for her role as Emily Bishop in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. She played the character for 55 years from January 1961 to January 2 ...

) took pity on him and moved him in as her lodger at No 3. Percy was delighted, but Mavis Riley, an old friend of Emily's, initially reacted with some jealousy. When Mavis married Derek Wilton ( Peter Baldwin) later that year, Percy was thrilled to act as best man (although nobody had actually asked him) and took it upon himself to see that Derek made it to the wedding this time, having heard of their failed wedding in 1978. Like Albert Tatlock ( Jack Howarth) and

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 ...

) before him, Percy was disappointed by many of the "doings" of the younger generation. When

Brian Tilsley 1978 saw several characters making their debuts on the British Soap Opera '' Coronation Street'', including Ed Jackson, Ida Clough and Brian Tilsley, among others. Ed Jackson Thomas Edward "Ed" Jackson was one of two robbers who staged a robb ...

(

Christopher Quinten Christopher Quinten (born Christopher Bell; 12 July 1957) is a British actor, best known for his role as Brian Tilsley on '' Coronation Street'', which he played from 1978 to 1989. Career Quinten started his career as a dancer in West End prod ...

) was stabbed and killed outside a nightclub in 1989, Percy blamed it on "Acid Drops" ( acid house), stating that in his day, "people attending

George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961) was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he s ...

concerts hadn't come dashing out stabbing folk!". Percy had unwanted female attention, thanks mainly to Phyllis Pearce and Maud Grimes ( Elizabeth Bradley). Phyllis pursued him for most of the 1980s and into the 1990s, and sought to make him jealous by being seen around with other local pensioners, including Sam Tindall (

Tom Mennard Tom Mennard (11 February 1918 – 2 November 1989) was an English comedian and actor. Mennard had a long career in variety, radio and television. Mennard was born in Beeston, Leeds, the son of an undertaker.Roy Hudd & Philip Hindin, ''Roy Hudd's ...

) and Arnold Swift ( Harry Littlewood); Percy remained unmoved. In 1997, Percy's happy life in the Street was shattered when the Battersby family moved in next-door. Percy couldn't stand his boisterous new neighbours, so he decided to move into a retirement complex at Mayfield Court. By 1998, Percy was still living in Mayfield Court with Phyllis Pearce and they had recently been joined by Maud Grimes. Percy was never seen or mentioned again. Actor Bill Waddington died in 2000 and it is to be assumed that the character of Percy died with him.

Reception

Along with Stafford Hildred, actor

wrote a book about his character called ''The importance of being Percy'', which was released in 1992.

References

External links

Percy Sugden
a
corrie.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sugden, Percy Coronation Street characters Fictional World War II veterans Television characters introduced in 1983 Male characters in television