Plain-speaking and not one for any nonsense, Betty should have retired years ago but she prefers to mind her business - and her famous hotpots - from behind the Rovers bar.
We all need dreams. The trouble is, I dreamt mine years ago.
1969 Moves into the Street with policeman hubby Cyril to help sister Maggie run the corner shop, but soon transfers her talents to the Rovers.
1970 Terrorised by one of Cyril's arrests, Keith Lucas, but Cyril sees him off and nearly kills him.
1974 Cyril dies and Maggie leaves for Zaire. Megan Hopkins discovers that Betty has a secret illegitimate son, Gordon.
1975 Admits all to Gordon, who has been brought up as Maggie's son. Gordon drunkenly blurts it out to everyone in the Rovers.
1982 Suffers a broken arm after a brutal mugging. Shocked when old flame Ted Farrell visits as he's unwittingly the father of Gordon. Decides to keep the news a secret.
1989 Nearly molested by barman Charlie Bracewell but fights him off.
1994 Becomes mayoress of Weatherfield alongside mayor Alf Roberts after his wife, Audrey, makes a mockery of the job.
1995 Gets together with old flame Billy Williams and they marry in October.
1997 Unlucky Betty lost her second husband when Billy died suddenly of a heart attack.
1999 Celebrates 30 years of working at the Rovers.
2001 Gets a lifetime achievement award from the brewery.
2003 Betty has a fire. Her son Gordon arrives and wants her to move into a home but Fred offers her refuge at the Rovers.
2004 Temporarily walks out after a disagreement with fellow barmaid Bev Unwin.
Born in Leicester on 20 May 1920, Betty's family moved to Manchester when she was two. Her mum Nellie forced her into performing as a child and by the time she was 14 years old she had a professional career.
Betty was a top singing star during the 1930s and 1940s and worked for over seven years with legendary bandleader Harry Hall and his BBC dance orchestra. Betty originally auditioned for the role of Hilda Ogden on the Street in 1964, but was turned down and subsequently decided to give up showbusiness after injuring her back. Howard Baker, Coronation Street's then director, later tracked Betty down and persuaded her to sign up for the soap as Betty Turpin (her original name).
Betty married South African singer Wally Peterson, but the couple split when he returned to South Africa after seven years of marriage. Betty now lives with her younger sister Freda near Altrincham in Cheshire.
