Caitlin Ryan was the daughter of Dougie Ryan, a man who had a passionate belief in living with nature and the great outdoors and fancied himself as the poor man's Bear Grylls. As a youngster, she had shared his enjoyment of their camping trips, even though her mother stayed resolutely at home, but their paths were diverging as she got older and Dougie began to become a little too self-centred with his obsession.
They were on their latest jaunt at a campsite in a forest in Wales which had also been chosen by the residents of No's 5 and 9 Coronation Street for a week's break in August 2015. The first one to encounter Caitlin was Craig Tinker who was desperately trying to get a signal on his phone in order to have his GCSE results rung through. He was taken with her but she was more dismissive, wanting peace and quiet in order to do her drawing. He asked to see her work but she took umbrage when she thought he was accusing her of copying the style of Akira Toriyama whereas Craig was just complimenting her.
Although she stormed off in a huff, she later joined in a barbecue at the campsite and apologised to Craig, saying that she had a sore point about her artwork as her teacher had said it was derivative. The next day, her dad took Tyrone Dobbs, Chesney Brown and Sinead Tinker on a twenty-four hour trekking trip but Caitlin refused to come. Dougie wasn't pleased when Craig offered to look after her and voiced his displeasure but he had to back down hurriedly when Beth Sutherland stepped in to defend the honour of her son.
Left behind, Craig was delighted to discover that Caitlin didn't share the disgust that some others did about rats and she admitted that she no longer got the pleasure that she used to from camping trips. Although Fiz Stape was ostensibly keeping an eye on the teenagers, she took her two girls off for a walk and left the youngsters together to talk.
A couple of days later, Caitlin was pleased for Craig when his GCSE results came through, especially as he had gained an "A" grade in art. She drew a picture of Craig in the style of Edvard Munch's The Scream which he asked her to sign, promising to put it up on his wall at home. Caitlin had the ambition to study the history of fine art, even though her father felt that something like engineering would be a better subject for future job prospects. Craig encouraged her to do her own thing and was delighted when she kissed him in appreciation of the genuine compliments he passed her way. He reciprocated but they were caught by Dougie who went ballistic at the pair. Back at the camp, his complaints came up against a brick wall from Beth when he raged at the youngsters as she stood up for her son but it was Caitlin who pointed out that she was now sixteen and he ought to change the habits of a lifetime and start listening instead of lecturing her. She pointed out that he was too driven and focused on achievements and targets and he had stopped being a fun dad. Dougie fully accepted the criticism and father and daughter reconciled.
The young couple planned to meet during the following month, however Craig was upset when she texted him to say that she couldn't make their date. Caitlin did in fact turn up at Nick's Bistro on 5th October, the day that Tim Metcalfe and Sally Webster were married. She apologised for standing him up, explaining that she was in A&E with her dad after the TV fell on him.
Caitlin turned up briefly on Christmas Day to spend some time with Craig and in the New Year, the pair began working on a replacement mural in Maddie Heath's memory. Earlier in the day, Kevin Webster had called the council to complain about the graffiti daubed on the wall at Webster's Autocentre, and blamed himself when he realised that they must have also cleaned off the tribute in the ginnel.
When Sarah Platt was about to give birth in Weatherfield General, Craig offered for him and Caitlin to babysit for Max Turner and Lily Platt - against Caitlin's wishes, who said she didn't like spending time with children. Regardless, Caitlin went along and she and Craig persuaded the children to express themselves through spray painting. The activity backfired however, when Max and Lily spray-painted the entire kitchen at No.8. Craig and Caitlin argued over whose fault it was.
In May 2016, Caitlin was losing interest in Craig and his attempts to be romantic with her were unsuccessful. She received an offer from Dundee University and wasn't keen on a long-distance relationship with Craig and so she ended things, much to Craig's disappointment.
List of appearances[]
2015
2016