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Concepta Regan (née Riley, previously Hewitt) was a Rovers barmaid in the early 1960s, second wife of Harry Hewitt and mother of Christopher.

Marrying Harry in 1961, Concepta gave up work the following year to raise their son Christopher. Most of the drama in their lives concerned Lucille, Harry's teenage daughter from his first marriage, who refused to accept Concepta as her mother. When in 1964 Concepta persuaded Harry to take over her father Sean's garage in her native Ireland, Lucille stayed behind in Weatherfield and moved in with Jack and Annie Walker, with the rest of the family settling in Castleblayney.

After just six years of marriage, Concepta was widowed when Harry was killed in a motoring accident. In 1973, she married Sean Regan, a younger man who made Concepta happy enough to overlook his philandering ways.

Biography[]

1926-1960: Upbringing and settling in Weatherfield[]

Concepta Regan was born on 15th January 1926 to a devout Irish Catholic family. In September 1960, Concepta moved into the spare bedroom above the Rovers Return Inn in Weatherfield which had been made vacant by the departure of landlords Jack and Annie Walker's daughter Joan. She took on the duties of a barmaid, a role which had previously been held by Lizzie Hewitt until her untimely death the previous year. Annie found Concepta to be the confidant that she had always hoped Joan would have become.

1961-1964: Marriage to Harry and motherhood[]

Throughout 1961 bus driver Harry Hewitt, who himself was no stranger to attention from the ladies with admirers such as Elsie Tanner and Esther Hayes, began to form an attraction to Concepta but was weary of letting his feeling be known in fear that the locals would think Concepta was stepping into his dead wife Lizzie's shoes after already taking her position at the Rovers. Concepta enjoyed her flirtations with Harry and was thrilled when he invited her to the Bus Depot Dance, but she vied for his attentions with shopkeeper Florrie Lindley. She briefly tried to make Harry jealous by dating Michael Regan.

Harry proposed to Concepta in May 1961 on the coach back from a daytrip to Blackpool for the annual Whit Monday picnic and she accepted. Her family were initially against the idea but gave their blessing when Harry agreed to raise any children they would potentially have as Catholic. They were married at St. Theresa's Church on 1st October with Harry's daughter Lucille somewhat reluctantly acting as bridesmaid and Len Fairclough as best man. The Hewitts went on their honeymoon to the Isle of Man and upon their return Concepta left her job at the Rovers, but would occasionally still lend a hand when they were short-staffed, and moved into 7 Coronation Street.

Concepta was unhappy to be sharing the same bed as Harry and his late wife and 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.

Episode189

1962: Concepta is frantic after baby Christopher goes missing

Subsequently, Concepta and Harry doted on Christopher and left Lucille feeling excluded and unwanted. Ena Sharples intervened and reminded 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.

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 Castleblayney. Concepta, Harry, and Christopher moved to Ireland but Lucille opted to stay behind to finish her exams.

1967-1975: Sporadic visits to Weatherfield[]

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.

Episode1561

1975: Concepta's final ever visit to Coronation Street

Concepta returned to visit Annie Walker in 1972 and announced that she was to remarry, 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.

Following the death of barmaid Betty Williams in 2012, the last will and testament of Annie Walker was discovered among her possessions. Dated 1984, the document cited Concepta as one of the beneficiaries.

Personality[]

Duckworths 1983
"If you've owt to say, spit it out before it flamin' well chokes yer"
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Relationships[]

Duckworths 1983
"If you've owt to say, spit it out before it flamin' well chokes yer"
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Please edit this article to fill in the missing parts and remove this message when done.

Background information[]

Duckworths 1983
"If you've owt to say, spit it out before it flamin' well chokes yer"
This article or section is unfinished.
Please edit this article to fill in the missing parts and remove this message when done.

Concepta was one of the 21 original characters created by Tony Warren and debuted in the fifth episode on the 23rd December 1960. In 1964 she was axed from the series and departed alongside on-screen husband Harry Hewitt. She made numerous short returns in 1967, 1972 and 1975.

First and last lines[]

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

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

Appendices[]

Duckworths 1983
"If you've owt to say, spit it out before it flamin' well chokes yer"
This article or section is unfinished.
Please edit this article to fill in the missing parts and remove this message when done.

List of addresses[]

Address Duration
Ireland Birthplace
Rovers Return Inn Unknown date to October 1961
7 Coronation Street October 1961 to 19th August 1964
Ireland August 1964 onwards

See also[]

Original characters
Ken Barlow | Frank Barlow | Ida Barlow | David Barlow | Jack Walker | Annie Walker | Elsie Tanner | Dennis Tanner | Linda Cheveski | Ivan Cheveski | Harry Hewitt | Lucille Hewitt | Concepta Riley | Ena Sharples | Minnie Caldwell | Martha Longhurst | Albert Tatlock | Christine Hardman | Florrie Lindley | Esther Hayes | Leonard Swindley
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