Owen Armstrong

Owen Armstrong
Coronation Street character
Portrayed by	Ian Puleston-Davies
Introduced by	Kim Crowther
Duration	2010—
First appearance	9 June 2010
Classification	Present; regular
Profile
Home	17a Victoria Street
Occupation	Builder
Family Daughters Izzy Armstrong Katy Armstrong Grandsons Joseph Brown

Owen Armstrong is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Ian Puleston-Davies. He made his first on-screen appearance on 9 June 2010.

Casting

In January 2010, it was announced that actor Ian Puleston-Davies had joined the cast of Coronation Street as Owen, the father of Izzy (Cherylee Houston).^[1] Coronation Street producer, Kim Crowther called Puleston-Davies a "wonderful actor" and added that she had "really high hopes" for him.^[1] He signed an initial six-month contract.^[2] Coronation Street producers approached Puleston-Davies about appearing in the show after they saw him star in the play, Everybody Loves A Winner in 2009.^[2] Puleston-Davies met with producers, who created the role of Owen especially for him.^[2] He began filming his scenes in February.^[1] Owen was originally given the surname of Butterfield, but this was later changed to Armstrong.^[3] Georgia May Foote was later cast as Owen's other daughter, Katy.^[4]

Character development

Characterisation

Coronation Street describes Owen as "tough-but-tender".^[5] Crowther described him as "a bit controlling" having brought up Izzy and Katy alone.^[1] Sue Crawford of the Daily Mirror described him as a "tough-talking businessman" and "over-protective".^[2] In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Puleston-Davies called Owen a "loveable rogue", stating: "He has an edge and I'm happy to report he turns out to be a player."^[2] During an interview with media entertainment website Digital Spy, Coronation Street's new producer, Phil Collinson explained that Owen is "quite a dark, brooding character" who would "set the cat among the pigeons".^[6] Collinson added that Owen is a "very different bad boy" and potentially dangerous.^[6] In December 2010, Puleston-Davies defended Owen's violent nature and manipulative ways, saying, "He's not an evil man with an axe, or a hammer! Everything he does has reasoning behind it. He's got morals - but they're his own morals. Don't write Owen off - he's not an out-and-out bad guy... honest!"^[7]

Relationship with Liz McDonald

Owen meets Liz McDonald (Beverly Callard) and the pair embark on an "unlikely relationship".^[1] The Daily Mirror said that Liz and Eileen Grimshaw (Sue Cleaver) both fall "head over heels" for his cheeky charm. Puleston-Davies told the Daily Mirror that Owen likes Liz, but causes competition between her and Eileen and plays them off against each other.^[2] In September 2010, The Sun reported that Liz's ex-husband, Jim McDonald (Charles Lawson) would return and fight for Liz's affections.^[8] Owen finds himself on the receiving end of Jim's "acid tongue" after Liz shows her feelings towards him. Jim becomes jealous of Owen and Liz and causes problems between them.^[8] The newspaper said "These tactics might have worked with [Liz's] ex-husband Vernon Tomlin (Ian Reddington) but they won't work with Owen, and he gets his builder mates to duff him up. He's left in a really bad way."^[8] When asked about Owen and Liz's relationship in an interview with Digital Spy, Callard admitted that Liz can be "so stupid".^[9] She said "Liz thinks he's great, but of course the viewers know different. They're just beginning to see another side of him. Liz is completely unaware of that. She's so stupid sometimes!"^[9]

Eileen later discovers that Liz is really the object of Owen's affections.^[10] Of this, Cleaver said that Eileen is a "very bad judge of character" and would seek her revenge on Owen.^[10] In January 2011, Eileen steals a £10,000 cheque from Owen whilst balancing his books.^[11] Eileen steals the cheque in order to pay for the repairs to her damaged roof. Speaking to soap opera reporting magazine Inside Soap about the plot, Cleaver explained: "Eileen's petrified because she knows what a nasty piece of work Owen is - and, at the end of the day, she's broken the law. Owen isn't a pussycat like Lloyd and Steve - he doesn't take prisoners. I think Eileen's right to be afraid!"^[11] Cleaver later told soap opera reporting magazine Soaplife that Eileen thinks Owen "won't miss the money".^[12] When Eileen pays the cheque into the bank she knows she has made a mistake and decides to pay it back.^[12] Cleaver said Eileen feels guilty because Owen is being nice to her and repairing her roof.^[12] Owen's bank card is then rejected, even though Carla Connor (Alison King) has told him that she paid Eileen the £10,000 she owed. Cleaver said Eileen is terrified when Owen tells her he knows she has stolen the money and threatens to go to the police.^[12] Cleaver added: "[Eileen's half-sister] Julie [Carp] (Katy Cavanagh) points out Eileen's got far more on Owen than he's got on her. But Eileen's scared."^[12]

Storylines

Owen arrives at The Rovers Return public house and begins talking to Izzy Armstrong. Gary Windass (Mikey North) wrongly accuses Owen of harassing Izzy and Owen tells him that he is Izzy's father. She tells Owen she wants nothing to do with him and he agrees to leave, but insists that he will return. Owen tells Izzy to meet him and whilst he is waiting, he meets Liz McDonald and takes an interest in her. He apologises to Izzy and realises that she is an adult now. Weeks later, Owen returns and Carla Connor hires his building company to rebuild her underwear factory, which angers local builder, Bill Webster (Peter Armitage). Owen buys the builder's yard from Bill and moves to Victoria Street with his younger daughter, Katy. Owen starts dating Eileen Grimshaw, who begins doing administrative work for him. He meets up with Liz and tells her he is interested in her and not Eileen. The following morning, Eileen's lodger, Sean Tully (Anthony Cotton) sees Owen and Liz kissing and tells Eileen. Eileen shuns Owen and explains that Sean saw him and Liz kissing. Owen then threatens Sean to keep out of his business.

When Katy begins a relationship with Chesney Brown (Sam Aston), Owen bans them from seeing each other. They later convince Owen they are serious about their relationship. Liz's ex-husband Jim McDonald returns and becomes jealous of Owen and Liz's relationship. Owen is unhappy when Liz shows her feelings for Jim and has him beaten up. Liz then leaves for Spain to visit her son, Andy (Nicholas Cochrane) and Owen ends their relationship. When Izzy begins a relationship with Gary, Owen offers him a job, which he accepts. On Gary's first day, he is accidentally locked in Owen's van, which reminds him of being at war in Iraq. Owen unlocks the van and as he explains it was an accident, Gary tries to attack him, but is stopped by Owen's employee and Eileen's son, Jason Grimshaw (Ryan Thomas). Owen then tells Gary to stay away from Izzy. Owen attempts to split them up, but to no avail.

Owen checks Eileen's roof and tells her that it needs thousands of pounds worth of work doing before it deteriorates further. Eileen puts in an insurance claim, however, it is rejected as the roof damage is down to neglect. Eileen blames Owen, but he tells her that she should have paid for a full survey. Whilst Eileen is going through Owen's books, Carla Connor (Alison King) arrives and pays a £10,000 cheque which she owed. Eileen then steals the cheque. Carla informs Owen that she has given the cheque to Eileen and he tells Carla he had forgotten about it. Owen begins to feel guilty about the way he has treated Eileen and offers to repair her roof. Owen's bank card is later rejected and he realises that his money has been stolen. He invites Eileen for a drink, where he tells her that he knows she stole money from him. He then threatens to call the police. Eileen confesses her crime to her half-sister, Julie Carp (Katy Cavanagh), who reminds her that she knows Owen has been ripping off the taxman. Eileen and Julie break into the builder's yard and steal documents proving Owen's tax evasion. Eileen tells Owen that she needs to see him. He arrives at Eileen's, where she gives him a £10,000 cheque and shows him the copies of the documents proving his tax evasion and theft. Eileen later tells Sunita Alahan (Shobna Gulati) about Owen's tax evasion and suggests that Sunita blackmail Owen into finishing her shop refurbishment. Knowing Eileen told Sunita, Owen secretly takes Jason's house keys and lets himself into Eileen's. He finds the documents and takes them. He files the documents away and reports Eileen to the police for fraud. The police visit Owen and he tells them that Eileen has been embezzling money from his business. Eileen is arrested, but Izzy later forces Owen to apologise to her.

In August 2011, Owen buys No. 6, Coronation Street so that Anna Windass (Debbie Rush) will have a secure home for her adoptive daughter Faye Butler (Ellie Leach). It's clear that Owen is interested in Anna romantically but Faye interferes by stealing Owen's phone and sends a text message to Anna pretending to be Owen. Anna is baffled when the text tells her that he no longer has an interest in her and is cancelling their date. It isn't long before Gary finds Owen's phone in Faye's bedroom and she is forced to tell the truth that she sent the text message. When Owen tries to arrange another date with Anna, she declines saying that it wouldn't be fair as Faye has already had too much upheaval in her life. Owen is disappointed but tells Anna that he understands.

Owen and Anna are unable to fight their feelings for one another and later begin a relationship but decide that it would be best to keep it from Faye to avoid upsetting her. However, Faye spots them together and is immediately annoyed. After some initial resistance, Gary assures her that they will not get abandon her and she accepts Owen from that point.

Reception

Crawford said that Puleston-Davies had made a "big impact" since joining Coronation Street.^[2] Cleaver described Owen as "a nasty piece of work" and "not the sort of man you want to cross".^[12]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Green, Kris (29 January 2010). "Corrie casts new lover for Liz McDonald". Digital Spy (Hachette Filipacchi UK). http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s3/coronation-street/news/a200273/corrie-casts-new-lover-for-liz-mcdonald.html. Retrieved 27 May 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Crawford, Sue (23 July 2010). "New Corrie star Ian Puleston-Davies describes struggle with OCD on TV set". Daily Mirror. Trinity Mirror. http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2010/07/23/i-m-battling-with-my-ocd-every-day-just-being-in-the-rovers-is-a-minefield-115875-22433623/. Retrieved 27 May 2011. 
3. ^ Green, Kris (13 April 2010). "'Coronation Street' family given new surname". Digital Spy (Hachette Filipacchi UK). http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s3/coronation-street/scoop/a214077/coronation-street-family-given-new-surname.html. Retrieved 27 May 2011. 
4. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (9 June 2010). "Corrie role for former 'Grange Hill' star". Digital Spy (Hachette Filipacchi UK). http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s3/coronation-street/news/a224317/corrie-role-for-former-grange-hill-star.html. Retrieved 27 May 2011. 
5. ^ Green, Kris (23 January 2010). "Disabled regular for 'Coronation Street'". Digital Spy (Hachette Filipacchi UK). http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s3/coronation-street/news/a198583/disabled-regular-for-coronation-street.html. Retrieved 28 May 2011. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Green, Kris (23 June 2010). "Character teasers from Corrie's Phil Collinson". Digital Spy (Hachette Filipacchi UK). http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s3/coronation-street/scoop/a231687/character-teasers-from-corries-phil-collinson.html. Retrieved 28 May 2011. 
7. ^ Sperling, Daniel (26 December 2010). "Puleston-Davies: 'I'm no Corrie villain'". Digital Spy (Hachette Filipacchi UK). http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s3/coronation-street/news/a294829/puleston-davies-im-no-corrie-villain.html. Retrieved 28 May 2011. 
8. ^ ^{a b c} Millar, Paul (18 September 2010). "Jim McDonald savagely beaten in Corrie". Digital Spy (Hachette Filipacchi UK). http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s3/coronation-street/news/a277578/jim-mcdonald-savagely-beaten-in-corrie.html. Retrieved 28 May 2011. 
9. ^ ^{a b} Love, Ryan (1 October 2010). "Liz and Jim McDonald are "never boring"". Digital Spy (Hachette Filipacchi UK). http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s3/coronation-street/news/a279787/liz-and-jim-mcdonald-are-never-boring.html. Retrieved 30 May 2011. 
10. ^ ^{a b} Love, Ryan (15 September 2010). "Corrie's Eileen 'will seek her revenge'". Digital Spy (Hachette Filipacchi UK). http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s3/coronation-street/news/a277020/corries-eileen-will-seek-her-revenge.html. Retrieved 28 May 2011. 
11. ^ ^{a b} Kilkelly, Daniel (12 January 2011). "Sue Cleaver: 'Eileen should fear Owen'". Digital Spy (Hachette Filipacchi UK). http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s3/coronation-street/news/a297545/sue-cleaver-eileen-should-fear-owen.html. Retrieved 28 May 2011. 
12. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Love, Ryan (21 January 2011). "Cleaver: 'Owen is a nasty piece of work'". Digital Spy (Hachette Filipacchi UK). http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s3/coronation-street/news/a299403/cleaver-owen-is-a-nasty-piece-of-work.html. Retrieved 28 May 2011. 

External links

• Character profile on the ITV website