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Shannon Jade Tattersall was the daughter of Zoe Tattersall and Liam Shepherd. Shannon was sold to Gary and Judy Mallett for £2,000 when she was born and raised for a short time as Katie Joyce Mallett before Zoe reneged on the deal and decided to bring up her daughter herself.

Tragically, Shannon died from meningitis at just eight months old while being baby-sat by Leanne and Nick Tilsley.

Biography[]

Shannon was born in August 1997 to teenage parents Zoe Tattersall and Liam Shepherd. Zoe had grown up in care and fallen in with a bad crowd, hanging around the arcade where Judy Mallett worked. When Liam began blackmailing Judy for money, Judy was horrified to discover that Zoe wanted to have an abortion, particularly as Judy was struggling to conceive herself. A few months later, Zoe turned up on the doorstep of No.9 where Judy lived with her husband Gary, having been abandoned by Liam and fled her latest children's home. Judy concocted a plan to raise Zoe's baby as her own in exchange for paying Zoe £2,000, which Gary reluctantly went along with. Zoe moved in with the Malletts but Judy was furious to find her in premature labour after drinking and smoking with her friend Leanne Battersby. Judy's worries were calmed when Zoe gave birth to a healthy baby girl.

Thinking it would help secure their rights, Gary falsely declared himself to be the father on the birth certificate, so the child became officially known and christened as Katie Joyce Mallett. Zoe remained with the Malletts for a few more weeks but Zoe's suppressed maternal instincts for the baby were starting to kick in which unsettled the Malletts. They handed her the £2,000 and she left the street. Unfortunately for Gary and Judy, Zoe had told Leanne the truth about Katie's parentage before she left and in November, gossip began to spread. Judy branded Leanne a liar and slapped her when she confronted her which prompted Leanne to track down Zoe and ask her to come back to tell the truth. When Zoe returned wanting access to Katie, the Malletts were terrified they would lose her, especially when Zoe moved in with Ashley Peacock at No.4 and considered moving to Newcastle to escape. Before they could, Zoe snatched the baby back and the Malletts were forced to accept that she wouldn't be theirs.

Zoe renamed the baby Shannon Jade, but her idea of a happy family with Liam didn't work out when she took Shannon back to his squat. She returned to Ashley who let the pair stay with him and later began a relationship with Zoe. Zoe loved her daughter but owing to her age and background, was not the most attentive mother, often leaving Ashley or Judy to babysit. In April 1998, Zoe and Ashley went out for the night and left newlyweds Leanne and Nick Tilsley to babysit Shannon but tragedy struck when she began crying and vomiting. The couple raised the alarm but by the time the ambulance arrived, Shannon had stopped breathing and the little girl tragically died from meningitis aged just eight months old.

Shannon's death devastated those close to her, especially Zoe who suffered a breakdown in the aftermath, requiring her to be sectioned. At the end of the year, Zoe left for America after becoming involved with the Etheric Foundation.

Background information[]

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

See also[]

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