Barbara Knox, 86, is one of Coronation Street’s longest-serving cast members after arriving in Weatherfield in 1964 as the iconic Rita Tanner.
The brazen soap redhead appeared on the soap from 1970 to 1995, and made a brief return in 2003.
She is the seventh longest-serving soap actor worldwide and the second longest-serving actor in Coronation Street.
The iconic ITV show celebrates its 10,000th episode today.
To celebrate, the veteran soap star shared a throwback swimsuit snap that featured some of Corrie’s most iconic female characters from 1974 on Tuesday.
The picture marked the first time the soap went abroad to Majorca, Spain.
Strong women have ruled Weatherfield since Corrie first aired in December 1960, so of course a group of female characters would head off for a girls trip.
Bet Lynch won a Spot The Ball competition so Hilda Ogden, Emily Bishop, Rita Sullivan, Mavis Riley, Deirdre Barlow, Annie Walker and Betty Turpin all flew out.
This meant that cast members Jean Alexander, Eileen Derbyshire, Barbara Knox, Thelma Barlow, Anne Kirkbride, Doris Speed and Julie Goodyear could do something that was impossible on the cobbles, got into swimwear and filmed on the sunny beach.
(Image: ITV)
Rita went off on a pedalo with a Spanish waiter, but he ended up kissing Mavis and declaring his undying love for her.
She is the only cast member from the trip to still appear in the soap.
However, the fun girls trip sparked drama on-screen and off for the group when they returned back home, as their male co-stars were livid that they weren’t allowed to go on the trip.
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On the soap, Ernie Bishop didn’t want Emily to go because he’d have to look after himself for a week, whilst Stan Ogden felt abandoned by Hilda, and Len Fairclough insisted Mavis would have to stay behind if Rita went – leading to him considering to sell the Kabin.
But Barbara revealed that in real life, the men were genuinely annoyed by the trip, saying on Corrie special 60 Unforgettable Years: “I’ll tell you a story out of school. We got word that the ladies were going to work in Majorca for a week and the men in the cast, the silly beggars, they wouldn’t speak to us.
“So off we went to Majorca and everyone thought they’re having a great time – but it was dreadful.”
(Image: Mirrorpix)
Barbara’s first began acting on stage and made her professional stage debut in the musical The Boy Friend in 1964.
Since then Barbara has appeared in; Never Mind The Quality, Feel the Width, George and the Dragon, A Family at War and Emergency, Ward 10.
Barbara has also performed alongside Ken Dodd in the 1972 sketch Funny You Should Say That.
She even had to ask Ken Dodd for permission to start on Coronation Street as the filming overlapped.
Barbara played a nurse In the pairs sketch and had to kneel down over Ken, who then looked up to her and said “Don’t let me down in Coronation Street.”
(Image: Mirrorpix)
Barbara first played the role of Rita Littlewood in Coronation Street on 2 December 1964, when she appeared for only one episode as an exotic dancer and a friend of Dennis Tanner.
She returned in January 1972 as Rita Bates, the common-law wife of Harry Bates, and in the decades since then the character has been married three times, to Len Fairclough, Ted Sullivan and Dennis Tanner.
In real life, Barbara’s love life was just as dramatic as she married Denis Mullaney in 1956, having children Maxine, John and Amanda together.
(Image: WireImage)
She and Dennis split in 1977 and she married John Knox the same year, but they sadly split in 1994 and she has remained single since.
In 2010, Barbara was awarded an MBE for her services to drama.
She has also won numerous awards for her role as Rita, including the Lifetime Achievement Award at the British Soap Awards.
In 2014 Barbara was arrested for drink driving but wasn’t charged formally until April 4th that year.
(Image: Mirrorpix)
She appeared in Macclesfield Magistrates court and originally pleaded not guilty to the charge.
On January 23 2015 she changed her plea to guilty.
She was banned from driving for a year and fined £4750.
Barbara has kept a friendship with former Corrie co-star, Michelle Keegan who left the soap in 2014.
Michelle told Radio Times: “I am really close with Barbara. When I have a scene with Barbara, I know it’s going to be really good.”
Known for empowering strong women, the soap has had many great female characters.
(Image: Mirrorpix)
“Even when I came in Tina again it followed suit from 60 years ago that that was what the character was going to be,” explained former star Michelle Keegan.
“Taking no nonsense and standing up for herself. I think Coronation Street do that so well.”
Actress Helen Worth who played Gail Platt said: “If you put me in the same category of all those wonderful characters of strong northern women then that’s wonderful. I feel I’ve done my job.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
