Terence Edgar "Terry" Duckworth is the son of the late Jack and Vera Duckworth.
Terry was born in June 1964 and moved to Coronation Street with his parents in 1983 after finishing a stint in the Parachute Regiment. Like his dad, Terry was a Jack the Lad, always up for a good get-rich-quick scheme. He went into business with Curly Watts before leaving Weatherfield with a married woman in 1987.
After leaving the Street, Terry's roguish streak turned into a sinister, avaricious edge. Jack quickly cottoned on to the fact that Terry was a bad 'un but Vera stood by her son until the bitter end. Terry usually appeared in the Street when he thought he could get money out of Jack and Vera. Among his more despicable deeds were selling his son Tommy to his late wife Lisa's parents, forcibly removing him from Jack and Vera's care, selling Vera a dodgy car which resulted in Judy Mallett suffering a fatal embolism, and doing a runner with money Jack paid him to donate a kidney to his son Paul Clayton (leaving Vera to face the dangerous operation herself.)
Terry fathered three sons by three different women. Paul Clayton was the result of a brief relationship with the neighbour's daughter Andrea, but she had broken up with Terry before either of them knew she was pregnant. He still liked her and tried very hard to be involved but she shut him out so he moved away. Brad Armstrong was the result of a fling, but he shirked the responsibility of actually raising him (although undoubtedly both were better off without him). As of 2008, he ran a mobile phone business and lived with his partner. He visited the Street for Vera's funeral in 2008 but failed to attend Jack's funeral two years later, considering it "too far" to travel; Jack didn't want Terry at the funeral anyway. In 2012, he began work on Se7enth Hea7en, a lap dancing club on Viaduct Street, and was shocked to be reunited with his son Tommy. Upon learning that Tommy had come into money, Terry won him round and hired him to work on the club.
Biography
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1964-1988: Earlier life
Terry in January 1984
Terry moved to Coronation Street with his parents Jack and Vera in 1983. He worked in an abattoir initially, and later went into business doing removals and house clearances with his friend Curly Watts.
Terry fled the Street in 1987 with the wife of an old army mate, after their affair had been discovered, however he returned a year later needing more cash, and pawned a watch to Alec Gilroy and ended up getting involved in an argument with Don Brennan as he owed him cash for a taxi fare, which Jack later paid.
1992-2002: Sinister turn
Terry returned to the Street in 1992 with his new pregnant girlfriend Lisa Horton, but ended up being banged up in prison after committing GBH and Lisa told his parents about him being sent down. Terry later married Lisa, but used this as an excuse to get out of prison and made a runner, but was eventually recaptured a few days later and was sent back to prison. Lisa had given birth to his son Tommy in September, but was later hit by a car outside the Rovers the following year. Jack and Vera had later started to look after Tommy.
Terry sells his son Tommy to Lisa's parents (Christmas 1992)
When Terry got out of prison in December he took his son Tommy and sold him to Lisa's parents, Jeff and Doreen Horton, stating that Jack and Vera weren't able to take care of Tommy. Terry tried to make up an excuse saying it wasn't about the money, but Jack saw right through Terry and punched him. Terry quickly left the Street once again.
He however returned to the Street a couple of years later with Tommy as Lisa's parents failed to pay the money in order to keep him. Upon his was return, he had a one-night stand with Tricia Armstrong which resulted in pregnancy. He tried to play the model son with his parents as he wanted to make easy cash as they were now running the Rovers, however the pub was absorbing a lot of their profits leaving Jack and Vera with little. Terry later re-sold his son back to the Hortons, which led to Vera writing Terry out of her will and Jack refusing to even acknowledge his existence. Terry left the Street once again.
In April 1997, he made another brief visit to visit Tricia who gave birth to their son Brad, although he could barely remember her name. Tricia was happy for him to be there, but when she later realised that Terry could never become a father to Brad, she left the Street with her boyfriend Ray Thorpe. Terry tried to cheat his parents once again by trying to steal the takings they earned from the Rovers. When Jack gave Terry an envelope full of money to take to the bank, Terry decided to do a runner with the cash, however he later found out that the envelope wasn't full of money, but rather just cut up newspaper. He returned to the pub angry at his father, but Jack revealed that he knew that Terry would make a run with the money, so decided to trick him. Feeling disgraced, Terry left the Street once again.
He turned up once again in 1999 where he sold Vera a posh car, however it turned out to be a death trap which resulted in the death of Judy Mallett. When he turned up again at Christmas that year, he was punched by Judy's widowed husband Gary for causing her death. Jack told his son how much misery he caused everyone and never to darken their doorstep again, and Vera finally stood up to her son telling him how evil he was, and threw him out. Terry hated the fact that Tyrone Dobbs moved into Jack and Vera's and became a second son to them.
He turned up in November 2000 when his son Paul Clayton needed a kidney transplant, and Terry was a correct match. Terry agreed to giving the transplant if Jack gave him money. However when he got the money, Terry took it and fled leaving his mother to donate her kidney instead, which nearly resulted in her death, but managed to save Paul's life. Terry later turned up at the hospital unnoticed by his parents to check if his parents were alright, before disappearing once more.
In October 2001, Terry ended up in prison once again as he was framed for murder by a policeman for sleeping with his wife. Jack decided to help his son out as he realised he was telling the truth, and Terry was released from prison in January 2002. He made his peace with his parents before leaving again. Sometime later he moved to Wolverhampton and went into mobile phone sales.
2002-2012: Later years
When his mother Vera passed away in January 2008, Terry returned for her funeral. He failed to recognise his son Paul and was just mostly there to make sure Jack didn't expect him to move in with him. Terry told his dad not to sell his house to Tyrone and his fiancée Molly Compton as he should keep it in the family. He also told his son Paul that he wouldn't be back until Jack dies and then left. When his father passed away nearly three years later, Terry was contacted by Tyrone. However, he made up an excuse that it was "too far away" to attend funeral. Although Tyrone was disgusted, he knew that Jack didn't really want Terry at the funeral anyway.
In 2012, he arrived back in Weatherfield to set up Se7enth Hea7en, a lap-dancing club on Viaduct Street. He had thumped Tommy Duckworth who had parked his van outside his premises, not knowing it was his son who he had sold many years previously until Tyrone confirmed it. However, Terry still didn't want anything to do with Tommy, and was set on concentrating on his business. After finding out that Tommy came into money and had inherited £12,000 from his granddad Jeff Horton, Terry made out he wanted to get to know him and won Tommy's trust. He then offered Tommy a job working for him, which Tommy accepted.
When the residents discovered he was setting up a lap-dancing club after a stripper named Cherry performed her audition routine in the Rovers, they were disgusted and didn't want it. Some went into Terry's premises to protest and refused to come out delaying his work, but he later managed to get them removed. When Tyrone's policewoman girlfriend Kirsty Soames suspected Terry of buying round Councillor Charles Peake - as Terry couldn't just set up a club without the residents opinion - she and Tyrone went to Weatherfield Town Hall to try and look through his office and later discovered he had taken a bribe from Terry, and had the councillor arrested for his actions. Terry was angry and distraught.
It later turned out that he owed money to loan shark Rick Neelan and planned on leaving the Street. Tommy gave Rick his inheritance, but Terry still owed him money. Terry then plotted to have Se7enth Hea7en burnt down to claim insurance money, and wanted Tommy to do it while he caused a distraction in the pub. Tommy was close to doing it, but his girlfriend Tina McIntyre stopped him. Tommy later left, and Terry arrived and was angry that Tina had interfered. When he planned to burn the place down himself, Tina threatened to call the police, and when Terry attempted to stop her she fell and hit her head and put her in hospital. Terry told Tommy that Rick had attacked her, and persuaded him to get Tyrone to lend Jack's money to Tommy to pay off the debt, which Tyrone did. Terry needed a quick escape, and while at the hospital claimed Rick was waiting for him and Tommy handed over the money. Terry headed back to the flat and started to pack, then Tommy turned up after finding out Terry put Tina in hospital after she revealed it after waking up. Tommy then gave Terry a choice, stay to show he wants a relationship with him, or leave with the money. Terry chose the money, and wanted to flee. He told Tommy he was glad he never grew up like him, and left the Street with the money, leaving Tommy to deal with Rick.
Other information
In December 2000, when Vera believed she was going to die after donating her kidney instead of Terry, so confessed to Jack that he may not be the father to Terry as she had an affair with another man who could possibly be Terry's father. However Jack later told Curly Watts that he knew about the affair and gave her lover a battering, and also knew Terry must be his son due to the similarities between them both.
Background information
- Nigel Pivaro originally auditioned for the role of Curly Watts, which the role was given to Kevin Kennedy. However producers invited Pivaro back to audition for Terry. Terry was brought in along with Curly and Kevin Webster to create a new group of young characters and create a young comedy trio.
- Nigel played the role regularly for five years, departing in 1987. He returned the following year for a few months, and continued to make brief stints from 1992 to 2012. Originally a more Jack the Lad like his father Jack, Terry became a villainous character in the show, and his returns normally led to him breaking his parents' hearts. A notable storyline was when he sold his son Tommy Duckworth to his in-laws, a storyline that was revisited again twenty years later when he met his grown up son, played by Chris Fountain in 2012.
Quotes
"Where does he live?" (First line, to mother Vera)
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"Ain't that the truth? See you kidda!" (Final line, to son Tommy)