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Patricia Mary "Tricia" Armstrong (née Marsden) was the mother of Jamie and Brad.

First sighted in 1994 when her adolescent son Jamie was suspected of shoplifting at Bettabuy, Tricia moved to Coronation Street in 1995, separated from her abusive husband Carl who was doing time in Strangeways. She and Jamie lived in digs at No.1 until they were evicted by Mike Baldwin, who installed them in a flat at 5 Crimea Street out of guilt.

A born fighter, Tricia was devoted to Jamie and would argue with anyone who crossed them. She spent most of her time in the street on the dole until Mike took her on as a machinist at Baldwin's Sportswear. In 1996, she fell pregnant by Terry Duckworth and was taken under Jack and Vera's wing until Brad was born, after which she left the street with Jamie and her new partner Ray Thorpe.

Biography[]

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At some point in her life Tricia married Carl Armstrong, who was abusive and ended up in prison. In 1984 she gave birth to their son Jamie. In March 1994 Jamie was caught shoplifting in Bettabuy by manager Curly Watts. This resulted in Tricia dating Curly in an attempt to get her son off. While the couple were on a date Jack Duckworth agreed to babysit Jamie. However Carl turned up, having recently been released from prison, and thumped Jack as he thought he was Tricia's new man. When Carl then turned up at Bettabuy to look for Curly he chose to end things with Tricia.

In 1995 Tricia returned to the area, looking to rent a flat from Alma Baldwin. Alma didn't think the flat was suitable and instead convinced her husband Mike to let the Armstrongs move into 1 Coronation Street, which he had recently purchased from Deirdre Rachid. Tricia immediately got on the wrong side of Vera Duckworth, who suspected her of having an affair with Jack. Jack was uncomfortable when Tricia got a job at the Rovers Return pub as he knew it would fuel Vera's suspicions. However after learning about Carl's abuse of Tricia, Vera sympathized with her and tried to get Tricia and Curly back together - however, he wasn't interested.

In the same year Mike Baldwin ordered the Armstrongs to leave as he was evicting them and selling the house to Ken Barlow. They refused to leave and barricaded themselves in. When Mike tried to get in through the window Jamie threw a chamber pot of water over him, to the amusement of the neighbours. Tricia eventually agreed to vacate the premises when Mike offered to set her and Jamie up in one of his flats in Crimea Street. Tricia caused problems for caretaker Deirdre Rachid by spreading rumours she was sleeping with Mike. However they later put aside their differences and became friends.

In 1996 Tricia was facing money troubles and tried to escape them by offering to have sex with Mike in exchange for leniency on the rent. He was disgusted and refused. Things reached a head when she stopped paying her TV license, and was sentenced to a week in prison. As a result of this Jamie was put in a foster home but, deeply unhappy, ran away and convinced reluctant Deirdre to allow him to stay at her flat for the remainder of his mother's stay. Bill Webster later escorted Jamie to meet Tricia when she was released. Tricia was elated, but Jamie was soon causing his mum problems again, putting punctures in people's bike tyres and then offering to repair the bikes in exchange for money.

Tricia's financial problems grew worse when her dole was stopped after the DSS found out she was doing cleaning work for Mike. Fortunately Mike came to her rescue and took her on as a machinist at his factory. After Terry Duckworth escorted a drunk Tricia home they had sex which resulted in Tricia falling pregnant. After finding out, Tricia managed to get hold of Terry's address by getting in touch with Jeff and Doreen Horton, grandparents of Terry's second-born son Tommy Duckworth. However she found out from Terry's girlfriend Nicola Owens that Terry had left her, doing a runner with £1,800 she had lent him. Vera wanted to support Tricia and help her when the baby was born but Jack offered her money for an abortion. Outraged, Tricia turned Jack's offer down as she wanted the child.

Tricia got in trouble with Mike at the factory as she was always late and getting other people to clock her in. Mike then sacked her after finding out she was pregnant. Shortly after this Tricia was taken in by Jack and Vera at the Rovers. The pair were delighted by the birth of their grandson Brad Armstrong, named after actor Brad Pitt. Things were finally going well for Tricia as she began a relationship with Ray Thorpe who was committed to her and Jamie. Jack saw Ray was a decent guy and was supportive of the relationship. Just as the couple were planning to leave the street Terry came back onto the scene and Tricia became conflicted as to who she should be with. She left Ray for Terry but it didn't last long as Terry couldn't keep up his nice guy act and Tricia realised he would never be a reliable father to her children. Ray took her back and in May 1997, after a fond farewell to Jack and Vera, Tricia, Jamie and Ray departed the street for good to begin their new life.

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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Hobbies and interests[]

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

Duckworths 1983
"If you've owt to say, spit it out before it flamin' well chokes yer"
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The role of Tricia, portrayed by Tracy Brabin, was not the actress's first in Coronation Street - she had previously played Chloe, a flirtatious co-worker of Derek Wilton, for two episodes in December 1989.

Tricia was introduced initially for six episodes only in early 1994 starting with Episode 3668 broadcast on the 7th March, alongside son Jamie (played by Joseph Gilgun). The characters were reintroduced more long-term at the start of 1995, starting with Episode 3806 broadcast on the 18th January. Tricia and Jamie soon moved into 1 Coronation Street, establishing themselves as regulars in the programme.

Tricia and Jamie were written out of Coronation Street in spring 1997 when Tracy Brabin fell pregnant and decided to take some time off acting to spend with her new child. Their final scenes aired in Episode 4187, broadcast on the 2nd May.

Brabin later entered politics and was elected as Labour MP for Batley and Spen in 2016, following the murder of incumbent MP Jo Cox. In December 2020, to celebrate the soap's 60th anniversary, she made a speech in the House of Commons about the programme and her time on it. In May 2021 she was elected Mayor of West Yorkshire, the first person to take up the newly created role. Assuming office required her to resign her Commons seat.

First and last lines[]

"Megadeath t-shirt." (First line)

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"Yeah, we'll ring. Hey, stop that!" (Final line, to Vera Duckworth, then to son Jamie)

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
Inkerman Street flat late-July 1994 to 25th January 1995
1 Coronation Street 25th January 1995 to 17th July 1995
5 Crimea Street 17th July 1995 to 10th January 1997
Rovers Return Inn 10th January 1997 to 2nd May 1997

See also[]

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