Concepta Regan
Occupation	Barmaid
Born	15th January 1926
Birthplace	Castleblaney, Ireland
Father	Sean Riley
Mother	Shelagh Riley
Spouse(s)	Harry Hewitt (1961) Sean Regan (1972)
Children	Christopher Hewitt (1962)
First appearance	23rd December 1960
Last appearance	31st December 1975
Duration	1960-1964, 1967, 1972, 1975
Number of appearances	321
Played by	Doreen Keogh

Concepta Regan (née Riley, previously Hewitt) was a barmaid of the Rovers Return Inn in the early 1960s, and married Harry Hewitt in 1961. Their son Christopher was born in 1962, and Concepta wanted the Hewitts to move to her native Ireland, eventually winning over Harry over the objections of his daughter from his first marriage, Lucille, who stayed in the UK.

Harry was killed in a motoring accident in 1967. Concepta's second husband was Sean Regan.

BiographyEdit

1926-1960: Early lifeEdit

Born 15th January 1926 to an Irish Catholic family, by the 1960s Concepta Riley had a room above the Rovers Return Inn in Weatherfield and worked there as a barmaid under landlords the Walkers.

1960-1962: Concepta and HarryEdit

After an extended stay with her family in Ireland, Concepta returned to Weatherfield. She enjoyed a flirtation with bus driver Harry Hewitt, and was thrilled when he invited her to the Bus Depot Dance, but vied for his attentions with Florrie Lindley, and briefly tried to make him jealous by dating Michael Regan. Harry proposed to Concepta on a Street picnic in Blackpool and she accepted. Concepta's family were initially wary of her marrying a non-Catholic but gave their blessing when Harry said that any children of the marriage could be raised Catholic. They were married on the 1st October at St. Theresa's church, a local Catholic church. Harry's daughter Lucille was a (somewhat reluctant) bridesmaid and Len Fairclough was best man. The Hewitts took their honeymoon at the Isle of Man. After marrying, Concepta left her job at the Rovers, but occasionally helped out when they were short-staffed.

Concepta moved into 7 Coronation Street but was unhappy to be sharing the same bed with Harry that his first wife had. In an attempt to placate her, Harry bought a new suite of bedroom furniture, neglecting to buy the all-important new bed. Concepta understood that Harry had not done this on purpose and realised they would never see exactly eye to eye.

Concepta soon found out that she was pregnant and was filled with conflicting emotions. Though glad to finally be a mother she was concerned that, at 35, she was too old to be pregnant for the first time. Christopher Hewitt was born on 6th August 1962.

Subsequently, Concepta doted on Christopher and left Lucille feeling excluded and unwanted. Ena Sharples intervened and pointed out to Concepta that she had two children. A party thrown to celebrate the first anniversary of the Hewitt marriage ended in drama when Christopher, who had been taken for a walk by Lucille, went missing. Concepta was distraught and wandered the streets searching for her son and crying out his name. She was taken home and sedated by the doctor. Christopher was found and returned unharmed.

Concepta took a dislike to Harry's whippets and told him to get rid of them. He swapped the pair for a greyhound Lucky Lolita, which Concepta took to instantly, but since Harry intended to sell it when it did well, Concepta was the only resident of the Street pleased when it lost a race. Her neighbours had lost money but it meant the Hewitts kept Lolita.

1963-1967: Leaving WeatherfieldEdit

Concepta began to believe that living in a city suburb was damaging Christopher's health when he developed a chesty cough. Concepta became convinced that living on the Irish countryside would be better for him, though it took a long time to persuade Harry of this as Lucille was against it.

When her father retired from his garage business Harry was eventually persuaded to move to Ireland to take over the family business at a garage in the village of Castle Blaney. Concepta, Harry, and Christopher moved to Ireland but Lucille opted to stay behind to finish her exams.

It was on a return visit to Weatherfield in 1967 that Concepta became a widow. Returning to attend Elsie Tanner's wedding, Harry was crushed to death whilst attempting to fix Len Fairclough's van. Concepta was left a grieving single mother and returned to Ireland to raise Christopher surrounded by her family. Concepta and Christopher were occasionally visited in Ireland by an orphaned Lucille.

1967 onwards: Concepta and SeanEdit

Concepta returned to visit Annie Walker in 1972 and announced that she was to re-marry, this time to Sean Regan. In 1975, she and her husband were visiting Weatherfield when, unbeknownst to Concepta, Regan made a pass at Bet Lynch. Concepta told her old landlady Annie Walker that she knew Sean had cheated on her before, but let Bet believe that she thought Bet had made a play for Sean. This was her last visit to Weatherfield.

QuotesEdit

"If you must know I've come by aeroplane." (First line).

"Harry and me were married on October 1st 1961, and it happened a few months later." (Last line, to Len Fairclough).

See alsoEdit

• Full list of appearances

External linksEdit

• Concepta Regan at www.corrie.net