Mavis Riley
| Mavis Wilton | |||||||||||
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| Coronation Street character | |||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Thelma Barlow | ||||||||||
| Duration | 1971–1997 | ||||||||||
| First appearance | 11 August 1971 | ||||||||||
| Last appearance | 10 October 1997 | ||||||||||
| Introduced by |
Leslie Duxbury (1971) Brian Armstrong (1972) Eric Prytherch (1973) |
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| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||
| Occupation | Office Clerk (1971-1973) Newsagent (1973-1997) Matron (1997—) |
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| Home | Lake District | ||||||||||
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| Father | Tom Riley |
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| Mother | Margaret Riley |
| Husband | Derek Wilton (1988–1997) |
| Aunts | Edith Mary Platt |
| First cousins | Ethel Platt |
Mavis Wilton (also Riley) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, Coronation Street, played by Thelma Barlow. A long-running series regular, Mavis appeared in the show for 26 years from 1971 to 1997. Introduced for a one-off cameo appearance, she proved popular with producers and viewers and subsequently became a regular.
Mavis was portrayed as moralising, repressed, and dithering, and often appeared in comic scenes with her boss Rita Sullivan or her husband Derek Wilton. She was generally well received by critics, described as a national institution and one of Coronation Street's best loved characters, an old-fashioned spinster. Barlow has been praised for her portrayal of Mavis, a character notably spoofed by impressionist Les Dennis during the 1980s.
Barlow decided to leave Coronation Street in 1997; her character left to run a guest house in Cartmel following the death of her husband. Barlow has said that the producers of Coronation Street repeatedly asked her to return as Mavis, but she declined.
Born in Weatherfield, Mavis was brought up in Grange-over-Sands where her parents, despite being teetotal, ran an off-licence. Mavis first appears in Coronation Street in 1971 at Emily Nugent (Eileen Derbyshire) and Ernest Bishop's (Stephen Hancock) engagement party, as a friend/colleague of Emily's from the mail order warehouse and is invited to be a bridesmaid at the wedding. She is initially employed as a receptionist at the local vet and then as an assistant in the corner shop, but takes a job offered by Rita Littlewood (Barbara Knox) at The Kabin newsagents, 14 Rosamund Street. Mavis and Rita are complete opposites – Rita sexy and self-assured, Mavis mouse-like and dowdy – but they get on well and become friends. Rita often despairs at Mavis's choices in life, particularly when it comes to men. Rita's dominance over Mavis seems like bullying to outsiders, but she is only thinking of Mavis's best interests.
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