Today the nation awoke to news of Jack Duckworth's departure from Coronation Street. Shares in Newton and Ridley may never recover. Actor Bill Tarmey will exit after the 50th anniversary in December – so is Jack set to join his little swamp duck Vera in that great Red Rec in the sky? And will we ever see Little Tommy again?
Those of us who call into Weatherfield several times a week knew the end was near when Jack moved out of No 9 last year. Disappearing to Blackpool for months on end was one thing. Living in suburbia with that Connie was quite another.
For 30 years we've followed Jack's life from home to the Rovers via his allotment and, occasionally, The Flying Horse. A product of Rochdale Road Secondary Modern, Jack was young once. As white-suited alter ego Vince St Clair he had an eye for the birds, as well as those beloved pigeons. He first appeared at Gail and Brian's wedding in 1979, the year Margaret Thatcher was quoting St Francis of Assisi on the doorstep of 10 Downing Street. Gail, of course, is currently behind bars awaiting her murder trial, not having had much luck with men since Brian was stabbed to death. No wonder Jack preferred to confide his most private thoughts to the fancies in the back yard coop.
A club turn and former Granada extra, Bill Tarmey was brought in to the soap after the departure of Rovers barman Fred Gee – with Jack and Vera Duckworth eventually taking over where Stan and Hilda Ogden left off. The warring Duckworths became the King and Queen of Corrie, even running the Rovers at one stage. Veteran Corrie producer Bill Podmore wrote in his memoirs: "As Jack Duckworth, hen-pecked hubby, would-be Romeo and loser in life, Bill found fame and fortune. It couldn't have happened to a nicer man."
For over three decades we watched Jack lose out to lifelong sparring partner Vera, never doubting their love or his heartbreak when she died in her chair from heart failure after one last perfect day out in Blackpool. "The way things run in the world now, there would be two dozen reasons for Jack and Vera to split up, but they never have," remarked Bill. "Till death do us part."
So now Jack faces his own final curtain. Tyrone will be bereft and real son Terry will be lurking in the background trying to cash in. Ta-ra chuck. The Street will never be quite the same again.
Classic Duckworth quotes:
• Jack: "Lace curtains round the dustbin, that's the Barlows."
• Jack on his mother-in-law: "If she lived in India, she'd be sacred. She's like Boris Karloff after a busy night at the graveyard."
• Vera: "It's a lottery, is marriage." Jack: "No, you've got a chance on the lottery."
