John James "Johnny" Connor was the former licensee of the Rovers Return and the estranged husband of Jenny.
Johnny was the former husband of Louisa Connor with whom he had two children, Aidan and Kate. He was also the father of Carla Connor, following an extra-marital affair with her mother Sharon. He managed to keep it a secret from Louisa until 1993 when Sharon spilled the beans, leading a hysterical Louisa to accidentally run into the path of an oncoming car and be fatally injured.
After some years in Spain, Johnny was cleaned out by his ex and returned to Manchester to reclaim £100,000 of his money that Aidan had invested in Underworld, though he ultimately kept his money in the factory and stayed on to run it with Aidan and Carla. Life after that wasn't easy for Johnny as he was diagnosed with MS in 2016, lost Aidan in 2018 when his son took his own life, and was sentenced to eight months in prison in 2021 for robbery and ABH, charges which related to crimes committed by Johnny and Scott Emberton in 1980 which had indirectly caused the death of a security guard, Grant Newsome.
In 2017, he married Jenny Bradley, a former cleaner at the factory, and the following year he sold his share of the factory to Carla, who he now acknowledged as his daughter, and bought the Rovers, which the Connors ran as husband and wife. When he was released from prison, Johnny found out that Jenny had cheated on him with Ronnie Bailey, causing him to end their marriage and sell. his share of the Rovers to Jenny. However, he still loved her, and when the street was later hit by a sinkhole disaster, Johnny braved the waters to rescue Jenny, drowning in the attempt.
Biography
1953-2014: Marriage, affair, parenthood and loss
Born in Manchester in July 1953, Johnny eventually met and married a woman called Louisa and the pair were soon joined by Johnny's second cousin Barry Connor and his wife Helen, who had relocated from Dublin and planned to set up a business in England.
While in Manchester Barry and Helen had three children together, Paul, Liam and Michelle, and Johnny and Louisa had two, Aidan in April 1983 and Kate in November 1989. Johnny and Barry's children grew up alongside each other, and also got to know siblings Carla and Rob Donovan who lived locally. Unbeknown to everyone else Johnny was Carla's father, following his affair with a married woman, Sharon, in 1974.
Johnny's marriage with Louisa appeared solid until December 1993 when Sharon disclosed her and Johnny's secret. Upon discovering the truth about Johnny's affair, a hysterical Louisa ran away and was accidentally struck and killed by a car after stepping out into the road without looking. Terrified that Aidan and Kate would learn the truth, and blame him for their mother's death, Johnny attempted to convince Barry that he should return to Ireland in the hope that he would take his three children and Carla with him, as Carla had begun a serious relationship with Paul and the pair couldn't be separated. As a result of this Barry and Helen decided to return to Ireland but none of their children followed suit. Johnny later moved to another part of Manchester with his children and limited contact with the rest of the Connors.
At some point Johnny and Kate moved to Spain, alongside Johnny's new girlfriend. While there Kate came to terms with her sexuality and came out as lesbian to her father. Johnny was initially unhappy with the revelation but eventually warmed to the idea as he just wanted her to be happy. When Kate became engaged to her long-term partner Caz Hammond Johnny promised Kate that he would give her the wedding of her dreams. However, not long after Johnny split from his girlfriend and she cleaned him out, taking the villa and all of his savings. This forced Johnny to track Aidan down as, earlier in the year, he had deposited £100,000 into Aidan's bank account as a tax dodge.
2015-2016: Past exposed
In August 2015, Aidan stole £100,000 from Johnny and used the money to buy a share in Carla's factory, Underworld. Johnny tracked his son down during the following month and demanded his money back as he was penniless since his ex-girlfriend cleaned him out.
In December, Johnny was sent a visiting order from Carla's brother, Rob Donovan from Highfield Prison. Johnny told Nick Tilsley about the letter but was unsure about telling Carla. However, she ended up noticing the letter and asked Johnny what it was about. Johnny told Carla that Rob had been in contact, and she urged Johnny to go and find out what he wanted. Johnny duly visited Rob, who told him he was Carla's dad. Rob knew this as his mother Sharon once told him that she slept with Johnny, and that Carla was born nine months later. Rob blackmailed Johnny, saying that he would give him a week to pay £10,000, or he would send out a visiting order to Carla. Johnny avoided the blackmail by telling Carla himself, after gaining certainty through a DNA test on a tissue she had discarded. His legitimate children were both angry with him when they found out, and Aidan virtually disowned him.
2016-2017: Meeting Jenny Bradley and MS
In May 2016, Johnny and his employee Jenny Bradley went to visit Blackpool so Jenny could properly lay her long deceased father Alan to rest. At the same time Tim Metcalfe and Kevin Webster were taking Jack Webster for a visit to the resort. While the trio were eating in the Seashore Snack Bar, Jack ran away. He was spotted by Jenny running past her towards an oncoming tram. Jenny sprinted after the boy and snatched him before he could be run over. Johnny rushed to see if Jenny was okay; her only injury was a twisted ankle.
Later that month Johnny discovered that Tracy Barlow knew about Carla's one-night stand with Robert Preston and warned her not to ruin Carla's wedding. On the big day itself, Johnny locked Tracy in a cupboard in the factory, hoping to stall her long enough so Carla could marry Nick.
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In September 2017, Johnny and Jenny got married at Rita Tanner's hospital bedside when she was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Starting life as newlyweds didn't get off to a great start when they found the factory empty of furniture and even without the roof. They were further horrified when they worked out that Aidan's fiancée Eva Price had organised the factory and the bank accounts to be cleared out as an act of revenge for Aidan's affair with Maria Connor. When Johnny realised that Eva was responsible, he ultimately disowned Aidan.
2018: Aidan's suicide and kidnapping Susie
In May 2018, Johnny found his son's body in the bathroom of his son's flat after he had committed suicide. Johnny suffered immense grief and began to look at others to blame for why Aidan couldn't open up, and as a result he lashed out at those close to him, including Jenny, who Johnny felt never cared for Aidan.
When it turned out that Eva had given away her and Aidan's baby Susie to Toyah Battersby and an (unknowing) Peter Barlow, Johnny began to fight for custody of the baby even though Eva got her back after Toyah believed the baby was better off with her mother and couldn't live with the lies. Although Johnny wasn't interested in helping Carla gain back the revived Underworld from Alya Nazir (whom Aidan had left all his shares to in his will), he later decided he wanted the business back as he felt it belonged to their family.
In July, a vengeful Peter teamed up with the Connors in order to aid in their chances of gaining custody.
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Personality
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Relationships
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Background information
Johnny was introduced alongside Aidan and Kate in 2015 in order to extend the Connor family.
First and last lines
"No it can't." (First line, to Carla Connor)
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"I love you." (Final line to Jenny Connor, shortly before drowning in the sewers underneath Coronation Street)
Appendices
(To be completed)
List of addresses
| Address | Duration |
|---|---|
| Manchester | July 1953 to unknown |
| Spain | Unknown |
| 15a Victoria Street | 2nd December 2015 to 10th August 2016 |
| 12 Victoria Court | 10th August 2016 to 8th August 2018 |
| Rovers Return Inn | 8th August 2018 to July 2021 |
| Mawdsley Street | July 2021 until 18th October 2021 |
Employment history
| Role | Institution | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Landlord | Rovers Return Inn | 8th August 2018 to July 2021 |