Percy Sugden Percy Sugden was caretaker at the Community Centre from 1983 to 1988 . He later lodged with Emily Bishop until 1997 . Percy was married to Mary , who died in 1978 . They had no children together . He carried with him fond memories of World War II , within which he served as an NCO in the Royal Army Catering Corps , driving a mobile canteen across the Western Desert . In Coronation Street , he was generally seen as opinionated and nosy ; many sympathised with Emily for putting up with him for so long . While Percy was undeniably overbearing at times , he was very loyal to Emily and was a great help to her when she had a nervous breakdown in 1992 . He left the Street in 1997 to get away from noisy neighbours the Battersbys , preferring the quiet of Mayfield Court old folk ' s home . Percy ' s friends in the Street were Maud Grimes , who he was briefly engaged to , Phyllis Pearce , to whom Percy was the man of her dreams , and Randy , his faithful budgie . Biography . Percy Sugden arrived in the Street in 1983 as the new caretaker at the Community Centre . Old soldier Percy had been a cook in the Army and his proudest boast was : " When you ' ve made gravy under shell fire , you can do anything ! " In 1983 , Percy suggested to Mavis Riley that his pet budgie , Randy , should mate with her pet budgie , Harriet . Mavis was not happy with the idea ! Percy was well - meaning , but bossy and interfering . He had little family , but was close to his niece , Elaine Prior , who married Bill Webster in 1985 . In 1987 , Percy formed the Percy Sugden Formation Dancers , containing such local notables as Hilda Ogden and Phyllis Pearce . He groomed them to an enter a local dance contest . Fed up with his bossiness , the dancers finally ousted Percy and elected a new chairman . Percy reacted by cancelling the group ' s entry in the dance contest , and informing them that new entries were no longer being accepted ! Also in 1987 , Percy decided to be a good neighbour , making regular visits to Alf Roberts , who was recovering from a heart attack . Alf was horrified when insensitive Percy told him stories of other heart attack victims who had not been so lucky to survive ! Upon reaching retirement age in 1988 , Percy was forced to leave his flat at the Community Centre and move out of the Street . Miserable at being away from the neighbourhood , he slumped into lethargy until Emily Bishop took pity on him and moved him in as her lodger at No 3 . Percy was delighted , but Mavis Riley , an old friend of Emily ' s , initially reacted with some jealousy . When Mavis married Derek Wilton later in 1988 , Percy was thrilled to act as Best Man ( although nobody had actually asked him ! ) and took it upon himself to see that Derek made it to the wedding this time ! Like Albert Tatlock and Ena Sharples before him , Percy was disappointed by many of the " doings " of the younger generation . When Brian Tilsley was stabbed and killed outside a nightclub in 1989 , Percy blamed it on " Acid Drops " ( Acid House ) , stating that in his day people attending George Formby concerts hadn ' t come dashing out stabbing folk ! Percy had unwanted female attention thanks to Phyllis Pearce and Maud Grimes . Phyllis pursued him for most of the 1980s and into the 1990s , and sought to make him jealous by being seen around with other local pensioners , including Sam Tindall and Arnold Swift . But Percy was quite unmoved . In 1997 , Percy ' s happy life in the Street was shattered when the Battersbys moved in next door . Percy couldn ' t stand his boisterous new neighbours , so he decided to move into a retirement complex , Mayfield Court . By 1998 , Percy was still living in Mayfield Court with Phyllis Pearce and had recently been joined by Maud Grimes Quotes . " You have done something in your life if you ' ll let me say so . Something very important in this world . You ' ve been an example - an example of decency and right - mindedness . " ( To Emily )