Shirley Armitage is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Played by Lisa Lewis, the character appeared for a period of six years between 1983 and 1989. Shirley became the programme's first regular black character. Shirley Armitage was a machinist at Baldwin's Casuals. From 1988 to 1989, she lived with Curly Watts in the shop flat but left the area when they split up.