Jenny Connor (also Bradley) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Sally Ann Matthews. She made her first appearance on-screen on 6 January 1986. Originally fostered by Rita Fairclough (Barbara Knox), she has been featured in storylines including her troubled relationship with her father and Rita's partner, Alan Bradley (Mark Eden), his death when he is killed in a tram accident after chasing Rita in Blackpool and a brief underage romance with married man Robert Weston (Philip Bretherton), their separation in 1991 led to Jenny leaving Weatherfield on 1 March 1991.
Jenny returned for a short stint on 17 September 1993 when she visited Rita for money, but Rita's rejection of her resulted in Jenny leaving again on 8 October 1993. She returned for four months from 18 February 2015 after meeting Kevin Webster (Michael Le Vell) through online dating, and they began a relationship. She is seen to develop an obsession with his young son Jack (Jaxon and Maddox Beswick), which culminated in Jenny abducting him, before being found in Hull, where she is arrested by police, leading to her departure on 15 June 2015. On 11 August 2015, it was announced that Jenny would be returning permanently on 27 January 2016. Although upon her return she is portrayed as a tragic character, her role has become more comedic. She married Johnny Connor (Richard Hawley) in 2017 and later storylines revolved around their relationship. Jenny and Johnny later separated and she became the sole owner and landlady of the Rovers Return Inn.
Storylines
1986–1993
Jenny was fostered by Rita Sullivan (Barbara Knox), following the death of her mother, Pat, in a road accident. Her father, Alan Bradley (Mark Eden), was traced after being absent for six years and re-entered her life. Although she initially felt bitter towards him, they soon bonded as he settled into No. 7 with Rita.
Aged seventeen, Jenny ran off to France with Martin Platt and met a medical student - Patrice Podevin (Franck Dubosc), whom she ended up falling in love with. Patrice soon followed her back to the UK and they got engaged, though Patrice promised Alan that he would wait until he had finished his studies before they got married. However, after he discovered that Jenny had kissed another man called Gary Grimshaw (Colin Kerrigan) at a party, Patrice called off the engagement and returned to France. In 1989, on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, Jenny stops Alan suffocating Rita - but continues to stand by her father regardless, although she was torn between her loyalty to him and her love for Rita. Due to his trial plea, Alan is allowed to walk free. He soon returns and starts stalking Rita, causing her to have a breakdown and losing her memory. Rita moves to Blackpool, but her absence makes many residents think Alan has killed her and he becomes the object of widespread hatred and suspicion. Alan soon tracks Rita down, but dies after being hit and killed by a tram while chasing a distressed Rita across the tracks. Jenny blames Rita for his death and begins to study Biology at Manchester Polytechnic the following year. During this time, Rita moves into a flat on the other side of the street and rents the house to Jenny and her friend, Flick Khan (Rita Wolf), also a student at the Polytechnic. Jenny drops out of her course after becoming bored and starts an affair with married dentist, Robert Weston (Philip Bretherton). When he leaves his wife, she moves in with him but the relationship does not last very long, and, in 1991, Robert went back to his wife and Jenny left the street. In 1993 Jenny visited Rita and asked her for £30,000 to start a beauty salon but Rita gave her £1,000 and threw her out of her home. Jenny later marries a man named Mr. Midgeley and they have a son named Tom, who drowns in a paddling pool. Jenny left him unattended while she went inside to get her handbag to get money to buy him an ice cream from the ice cream van. Tom was four years old when he died.