Brenda Shaw was a waitress at The Vine club and friend of Sharon Duffy. In November 1972, when Jacko Ford was charged with burgling Benny Lewis's luxury apartment and stealing £500, Ken Barlow carried out his own investigation into the crime in the hope of exonerating Jacko, and began to suspect Sharon when he learned about her gaining access to the flat key from Ray Langton.
In attempting to trace Sharon, Ken visited the Vine to enlist Brenda's help. Having had no part in the robbery, Brenda was as helpful as she could be to Ken, giving him information about Franny and Sharon's relationship, detailing a row between Sharon and Franny on the night of the robbery, and telling him about Sharon buying a load of new clothes afterwards. Although she found out for Ken that Sharon and Franny were in London, he gave up the investigation shortly afterwards, and Jacko remained on remand until January 1973 when their accomplice, Freddie Slack, confessed all to the police.
- The character was credited with a surname in Episodes 1228 and 1229 but with a first name only in both of her subsequent appearances.