Terry Duckworth - profile of Coronation Street's bad lad

With thanks to Corriepedia for this profile of Terry Duckworth, who returned  to Coronation Street this week.


Terence Edgar "Terry" Duckworth was the son of Jack and Vera Duckworth.

Terry was born in June 1964 and moved to Coronation Street with his parents in 1983 after finishing a stint in the Parachute Regiment. Like his dad, Terry was a jack the lad, always up for a good get-rich-quick scheme. He went into business with Curly Watts before leaving Weatherfield with a married woman in 1987.


After leaving the Street, Terry's roguish streak turned into a sinister, avaricious edge. Jack quickly cottoned on to the fact that Terry was a bad 'un but Vera stood by her son until the bitter end. Terry usually appeared in the Street when he thought he could get money out of Jack and Vera; among his most despicable deeds were selling his son Tommy to his late wife Lisa's parents, forcibly removing him from Jack and Vera's care, selling Vera a dodgy car which resulted in Judy Mallett suffering a fatal embolism, and doing a runner with money Jack paid him to donate a kidney to his son Paul Clayton, leaving Vera to face the dangerous operation herself.

Terry fathered three sons by three different women; Paul Clayton and Brad Armstrong were both the results of flings, but he shirked the responsibility of actually raising them (although undoubtably they were better off without him).


Terry returned to the street in 1992 with his new pregnant girlfriend Lisa Horton - Tommy Duckworth's mum - but ended up being banged up in prison after committing GBH and Lisa told his parents about him being sent down. Terry later married Lisa, but used this as an excuse to get out of prison and did a runner, but was eventually recaptured a few days later and was sent back to prison. Lisa had given birth to his son Tommy in September that year, but was later hit by a car outside the Rovers the following year. Jack and Vera had later started to look after Tommy.

When Terry got out of prison in December 1993, he took his son Tommy and sold him to his parents-in-law the Hortons, stating that Jack and Vera weren't able to take care of Tommy. Terry tried to make up an excuse saying it wasn't about the money, but Jack saw right through Terry and punched him. Terry left the street once again.

He however returned to the street a couple of years later with Tommy due to Lisa's parents failing to pay the money in order to keep him. When he was back, he had a one night stand with Tricia Armstrong which ended up with her being pregnant to his son Brad. He tried to play the model son with his parents as he wanted to make easy cash as they where now running the Rovers Return, however the pub was absorbing a lot of their profits leaving Jack and Vera with little. Terry later re-sold his son back to the Hortons, which led to Vera writing Terry out of her will and Jack refusing to even acknowledge his existence. Terry left the street once again.


In April 1997, he made another brief visit to visit Tricia who gave birth to their son, although he barely could remember her name. Tricia was happy for him to be there, but when she later realised that Terry could never become a father to Brad, she left the street with her boyfriend Ray Thorpe.

Terry tried to cheat his parents once again by trying to steal the takings they earned from the Rovers. When Jack gave Terry an envelope full of money to take to the bank, Terry decided to do a runner with the cash, however he later found out that the envelope wasn't full of money, but rather just cut up newspaper. He returned to the pub angry at his father, but Jack revealed that he knew that Terry would make a run with the money, so decided to trick him. Feeling disgraced, Terry left the street once again.

He turned up again in 1999 where he sold Vera a posh car, however it turned out to be a death trap which resulted in the death of Judy Mallett. When he turned up again on Christmas that year, he was punched by Judy's widowed husband Gary for causing her death. Jack told his son how much misery he caused everyone and never to darken their doorstep again, and Vera finally stood up to her son telling him how evil he was, and threw him out. Terry hated the fact that Tyrone Dobbs moved into Jack and Vera's and became a second son to them.

He turned up in November 2000 when his son Paul Clayton needed a kidney transplant, and Terry was a right match. Terry agreed to giving the transplant if Jack gave him money. However when he got the money, Terry took it and fled leaving his mother to donate her kidney instead, which nearly resulted in her death, but managed to save Paul's life. Terry later turned up at the hospital unnoticed by his parents to check if his parents where alright, before disappearing.

In October 2001, Terry ended up in prison once again as he was framed for murder by a policeman for sleeping with his wife. Jack decided to help his son out as he realised he was telling the truth, and Terry was released from prison in January 2002. He made his peace with his parents before leaving again. Sometime later he moved to Wolverhampton and went into Mobile Phone sales.

When his mother Vera passed away in January 2008, Terry came for her funeral. He failed to recongise his son Paul and was just mostly there to make sure Jack didn't expect him to move in with him. Terry told his dad not to sell his house to Tryone and his fiancee Molly Compton as he should keep it in the family. He also told his son Paul that he won't be back until Jack snuffs it. Terry then left the street one last time and never came back.


When his father passed away nearly 3 years later, Terry was contacted by Tyrone over Jack's passing, however Terry made up an excuse saying it was "too far" for him to travel for Jack's funeral, which left Tyrone disgusted.


And now in spring 2012, Terry will return to Coronation Street. Does he know his son Tommy is living in his old family home? What's he coming back for and what trouble will he, undoubtedly cause?

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