Cast Members

Charles Lawson

Charles Lawson: As Jim McDonald (1989-2000), arrives in Weatherfield from Northern Ireland where he’d been in the army for more than a decade. Jim is noted for his violent  nature, the passionate volatile relationship with his wife Liz, and as the father of his twin sons, Andy and Steve. He continues to make brief returns in the story line…imprisoned for the manslaughter of a drug dealer in 2000, escaped in 2003, recaptured and eventually released in 2007. Jim’s most recent appearance was in 2011 when he made a losing attempt to rob a bank and take hostages in a bizarre bid to win back his ex-wife Liz.

Currently in prison for seven years, the authorities have permitted us to take charge of Charles for this tour with his son, Andy plus Ashley and Claire Peacock.

Steven Arnold

Steven Arnold: As Ashley Peacock, he made his debut in 1996 as a butcher’s bicycle delivery boy. He encountered many disasters along the way. In 1999, he married, became a father, and then a widower when his wife was murdered. Ashley believed his son, Joshua, was his, but tests later revealed otherwise. He went on to marry Claire, the nanny. Ashley died in December 2011 during a tram crash, saving his friend with the viaduct later crushing him to death.



Julia Haworth

Julia Haworth: As Claire Peacock, she first arrives in 2003 as a nanny to Joshua Peacock, after his mother is murdered. A romance develops between Claire and Joshua’s father Ashley, and they finally marry on Christmas Day 2004. Her storyline, initially intended to include a child abduction plot, was re-developed but criticized for being a vehicle supporting a politicized corporate campaign and and encouraging social action/volunteer work benefiting Mental Health and ‘Women In Crisis’ issues. Due to these controversies, the Peacock family was cut from the storyline, with Claire making her last appearance on January 14 2011, after tricking police and escaping to France for a life as a fugitive. 

Nick Cochrane

Nicholas Cochrane: As Andy McDonald, one of the twins debuted in December 1989. He was the brains of his family, but had a lot of trouble dealing with stress within it. He finally pulled out of their craziness, finished university and moved to Spain in 1997. He reappeared to attend his mother and father’s remarriage in 2000, stopping off long enough to have a short fling with a local ‘hipster’ Toyah Battersby. He also returned to be best man at his brother’s second marriage in 2004.