Vernon Tomlin 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'', portrayed by

Ian Reddington Ian Reddington (born 25 September 1957) is an English actor with many stage and television credits since the early 1980s. He became widely known for television roles such as the Chief Clown in the '' Doctor Who'' serial '' The Greatest Show in ...

. He appeared from December 2005 until September 2008, when the character was written out of the series. The character was the second husband of

Liz McDonald Elizabeth 'Liz' McDonald (also Greenwood and Tomlin) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. She is portrayed by Beverley Callard. She made her first appearance on 27 October 1989. Callard opted to lea ...

, played by

Beverley Callard Beverley Jane McEwan (''née'' Moxon; previously Atkinson, Sowden and Callard; born 28 March 1957) is an English actress, known for her role as Liz McDonald in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and Flo Henshaw in '' Two P ...

Storylines

A band musician, Vernon began a relationship with

. However, she dumped him after he made a pass at new barmaid

Michelle Connor Michelle Connor (also McDonald) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', portrayed by former Hear'Say singer, Kym Marsh. The character first appeared on-screen during the episode airing on 3 April 2006. ...

(

Kym Marsh Kimberley Gail Ratcliff (''née'' Marsh, previously Ryder and Lomas; born 13 June 1976) is an English actress, television presenter and singer. In 2001, she won a place in the band Hear'Say as a result of appearing on the reality television ser ...

). He then became the new potman and cellarman, although he is shamelessly work-shy and often looks for excuses not to work. He proposed to Liz in 2007, unaware that she was enjoying a fling with brewery delivery man Derek, until Derek confessed all on 15 July that same year. Vernon was prepared to leave Weatherfield, but returned after Liz made a Motown compilation tape which she gave to

Lloyd Mullaney Lloyd Mullaney is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Craig Charles. He made his first on screen appearance on 20 June 2005. The character departed on 23 July 2006, while Charles was suspended ...

to play in his taxi en route to the airport. Vernon eventually relented and returned to Liz. The couple were due to tie the knot in a special New Years episode which was complicated by Jim McDonald's return, when Jim, having had everyone think that he'd turned over a new leaf, savagely beat Vernon up at the back of the Rovers, and also hitting Bob, the keyboard player with the band. Steve jumped in and stopped Jim from giving him a worse beating, and seeing as his father hadn't changed, sent him away for good. A battered and bloodied Vernon finally married Liz at the Register office on New Year's Eve 2007. In 2008, Vernon and Liz returned happily married, and Vernon, having already overseen the redecoration of the Rovers Return, was planning his next project. In March 2008, Vernon came up with the idea of a smoking shelter; an area at the back of the Rovers for people to smoke in following the introduction of the smoking ban the previous July. He recruited two of his friends, musicians/builders, Vince and Don, to work on it, although Liz wasn't happy when they did more slacking than working, and then left the shelter unfinished when they got a cruise ship gig. Several weeks later, Vernon discovered Vince and Don needed a drummer for the gig and managed to get a ticket for Liz. However, Liz decided she couldn't leave ''The Rovers'' and Vernon went alone. Liz privately admitted to Deirdre she had made a mistake marrying Vernon. In June 2008, Liz and Vernon separated after Liz got cold feet about purchasing a nightclub and their marriage. Vernon then moved out of the Rovers and was offered a spare room in Lloyd's flat above Street Cars. After seeing

Roy Cropper Roy Cropper is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by David Neilson. He first appeared on-screen on 19 July 1995. Originally a secondary character, he was given a more prominent role in 1997, by ...

short-staffed at Roy's Rolls, Vernon offered to help him out. Liz and Vernon then decided to just be friends. At the start of September 2008, Vernon tried to woo Liz back by singing her a song, (Don't Fall Into) The Mason's Arms, alluding to Liz and Harry Mason's near-fling. Media website Digital Spy branded the song the character sang as a 'stroke of genius'. In September 2008, Vernon discovered that a record label were interested in his song. However, his happiness was short-lived after he saw Liz and Harry in a passionate clinch in the back room of the Rovers, dashing all hopes of a reconciliation. On the following day, 22 September, Vernon decided to leave Weatherfield for

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He made several more attempts to convince Liz to go with him, however, she was more interested in a planned date with Harry Mason that evening. Eventually, Vernon left Liz a note telling her he would park his van at the end of the street at 8pm and stay there until 8:20pm. Liz had Deirdre read the note to her and was then let down by Harry who took wife Clarissa out instead. At 8:20, Vernon said a final goodbye to Lloyd, with his parting words of wisdom "Fate Decides", and drove out of Weatherfield, Liz was too late to catch him. Vernon sent Liz a "Christmas for One" CD for Christmas 2008, and a card for their first wedding anniversary.

Departure

The character left the show in September 2008; Vernon's divorce from Liz was finalized off-screen in June 2009.

References

External links

Vernon Tomlin at ITV Soaps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomlin, Vernon Coronation Street characters Fictional bartenders Fictional musicians Fictional taxi drivers Television characters introduced in 2005 Fictional entertainers Male characters in television