The former Coronation Street star has appeared on ITV and BBC shows including Strictly Come Dancing and Waterloo Road
The former Coronation Street star has appeared on ITV and BBC shows including Strictly Come Dancing and Waterloo Road
It has been almost 64 years since Coronation Street first appeared on ITV in December 1960. The long-running soap follows the lives of people living in the fictional town of Weatherfield.
The much-loved show, which has had more than 10,000 episodes, was recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s longest running soap opera ahead of its 50th anniversary in 2010. So it’s no surprise that many characters have left the cobbles along the way.
Nostalgic fans of the show can watch previous episodes of the show through Classic Coronation Street on ITV3 and streaming service ITVX. Viewers are currently following the show’s storylines from 2005, with one storyline centring on former character Frankie Baldwin.
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Frankie, played by actress Debra Stephenson, first arrived on the cobbles back in 2004 when her husband, Danny, bought half of Underworld. The couple didn’t have a smooth-sailing relationship as her husband, played by Bradley Walsh, had multiple affairs.
After her husband’s affair with Leanne Battersby came to light, Frankie finally left him for good – leading to a romantic relationship with her stepson, Jamie, who was also in a relationship with Leanne. The couple planned to move to Spain but Frankie called it off and left for Essex on New Year’s Eve in 2006, leaving Jamie heartbroken.
In 2009, Roy and Hayley Cropper were invited to her wedding to a footballer in Romania. But Debra Stephenson hasn’t appeared on the show as Frankie Baldwin for nearly 20 years.
Before joining Coronation Street, people may have recognised Debra from her role as Shell Dockley on Bad Girls. She received multiple National Television Award nominations for her performance between 1999 and 2003. She also had multiple comedic roles on radio and television including The Friday Night Project and TV to Go.
After leaving the soap, the 52-year-old actress starred alongside Jon Culshaw on BBC’s The Impression Show with Culshaw and Stephenson from 2009 until 2011. Debra was a contestant on a Christmas special of Strictly Come Dancing in 2011, where she danced the American Smooth with partner Ian Waite.
The actress, originally from Hull, was a guest on Waterloo Road where she played Naomi Scotcher. She has also appeared in My Mad Fat Diary, Doctors and Holby City.
More recently, Debra played Jeni Sinclair in Holby City and Queen Elizabeth II in Spitting Image. Her last listed television role was Anita Luttrell in Mrs. Brown’s Boys in 2023.
