Dennis Tanner Dennis Tanner was the son of Elsie Tanner and a Coronation Street resident from 1942 to 1968 , and then again from 2011 to 2014 . He is the estranged husband of Rita Tanner , the brother of Linda Cheveski , and the uncle of Paul and Martin Cheveski . Dennis was the black sheep of the Tanner family . An ex - borstal boy , Dennis pursued a legitimate career as a talent scout for Lenny Phillips and spent a few years working in clubs . His camp , charming manner made him a natural entertainer , but his hare - brained schemes never went to plan and after a few years he quit the business . In 1968 , now a sales rep , Dennis married Jenny Sutton and the two moved to Bristol . Five years later , the marriage had broken down and Dennis found himself in prison for conning money out of pensioners . After some lean years , including a spell of homelessness in late 2010 , Dennis found himself back on the Street in 2011 after some forty years away . Within months of his return , Dennis entered into a romantic relationship with old flame Rita Sullivan . Though reluctant to continue the relationship for fear of sponging off her , the couple ended up realising their love and got engaged in March 2012 , marrying in June of the same year . However after many complications , their marriage hit a rocky patch in February 2014 and Dennis left Weatherfield with friend and neighbour Gloria Price , although this union didn ' t last as he was back in Weatherfield by April . Despite his best efforts to try and reconcile with Rita , he ended up leaving in July that year . Biography . 1942 - 1960 : Early life . Dennis Tanner was born at 11 Coronation Street , Weatherfield on 1st April 1942 , the son of Elsie and Arnold , and younger brother of Linda . He was delivered by neighbour Vi Todd , and the family continued to live in the house , such as it was : Arnold and Elsie separated in 1945 and Arnold didn ’ t contact Elsie again until 1961 . Growing up without a father figure , Dennis was frequently in trouble as a child . At nine years old , he even managed to etch " Dennis Tanner 1951 " into the window ledge of No . 11 . He always lived by his own rules and ended up spending time in a borstal in 1960 after committing petty theft . When he returned home , he spent more time moping around the house than looking for a job , however unlikely it was that anyone would employ him . When he won £25 at the dog track , people were quicker to believe he had stolen the money . Elsie was relieved when neighbour Harry Hewitt revealed that he had seen Dennis win the money , providing him with an alibi . 1960 - 1963 : Career in showbusiness . When Dennis did find work , it was in the auditorium of the Orinoco Club ; a job with prospects but not quite in the way Elsie had envisioned . He briefly dated one of the club ' s acts , Eunice Bond , but when he took her home Elsie was unwelcoming . Dennis told Elsie that he was embarrassed to bring girls home and called her a hypocrite - she had had more than her fair share of boyfriends over the years . Dennis was intrigued by the world of showbusiness ; after a few months , he took a regular singing spot at the club , performing under the stage name Ricky Dennis . He hoped that an agency would recognise his talent and sign him up , but when well - known agent Lenny Phillips asked to see him , he was advised by Lenny to abandon his singing career as he wasn ' t very good , and work for him as a talent scout . Dennis was made Assistant Manager at the Orinoco and in 1962 left Weatherfield for London to open an office there for Lenny ' s agency . In 1963 , Dennis returned and moved back in with Elsie . True to form , he immediately caused trouble by opening the door to bailiffs , unaware of the lengths Elsie had gone to keep them out . He was quiet about his life in London , but when Mavis Fox arrived looking for a Dennis Tanner who lived in a detached house in Coronation Street , Elsie smelled a rat and got it out of Dennis that he had been living with Mavis ' family and that the upper - class girl had believed he was from a wealthy family . He tried to pretend that his gran lived in Coronation Street and Elsie was the maid but had to admit the truth eventually . When he did so , Mavis lost interest in him and returned home . Still working for Lenny Phillips , Dennis kept his eye out for new talent . He was ecstatic when he met window cleaner Walter Potts , who turned out to be a talented singer . Walter agreed to hire Dennis to find him gigs . Walter ’ s career was just starting to take off when Lenny ’ s partner Laurie Frazer showed up and put Dennis under pressure for not signing up Walter officially , only on gentleman ’ s agreement – Walter had since signed a three - year contract with a London agency , invalidating his agreement with Dennis . Amazingly , Dennis wasn ' t sacked , but later lost the job anyway for failing to open the office over Christmas . 1964 - 1966 : Back to square one . To the residents ’ surprise , Dennis went back to square one when he got a new job in the loading bay at Amalgamated Steel . It was a physical job he wasn ’ t suited to and he didn ’ t get along with his workmates . Without a care , he took the blame for damaged stock so he would be sacked . Next up was a job at the Viaduct Sporting Club , which he had to thank Elsie for as she was dating its manager Laurie Frazer . Surprisingly , he packed it in after only a few months to study hairdressing . The course was unpaid but Elsie approved of it and wanted to encourage him , and so she secretly took a job posing for art students in order to fund Dennis while he wasn ' t earning . When Dennis found out , he offered to drop out of the course for Elsie ' s sake but she persuaded him not to . After passing his exams , he got a job at the posh Gerald ' s Salon . Later in 1964 , Dennis met Sandra Petty , who fell for him . To his horror , Sandra ' s dad Lionel Petty bought the Corner Shop , making it impossible for Dennis to avoid her . In exchange for use of the shop storeroom to keep bulk items he intended to sell , Dennis agreed to go out with Sandra . His scheme worked until Sandra got into trouble for storing 144 boxes of crackers in the loft at Gamma Garments for Dennis . She finished with him , calling him selfish . Dennis was disheartened - but only because he now had 108 Christmas trees and nowhere to put them ! In December of the same year , Dennis spotted his friend Rita Littlewood in the Rovers Return and allowed her to stay the night at the Tanner residence . Rita would become an important figure in Dennis ' s life almost half a century later . In 1965 , Dennis decided he wanted to work somewhere else but a clause in his diploma meant that he couldn ' t practice hairdressing professionally at anywhere other than Gerald ' s . He left the business anyway , and - after a short spell working at the Corner Shop - got a job as a salesman for the Children ' s Novelty Toy Company . In typical Dennis fashion , he started out with a zest for the new challenge but after a few months got bored by it and got himself sacked by skipping work . The following year , Dennis decided to get back into showbusiness . After a short - lived venture running an auction room with borstal friend Jed Stone , Dennis took a job as the Entertainments Manager at a holiday camp in Carlisle , and left Weatherfield to move closer to work . He returned to the Street in June , hotly pursued by two thugs who were after £94 he owed them . Elsie found Dennis a job at the betting shop in Rosamund Street but he gambled away his earnings , and when he found out the thugs were after him , he hid away in No . 11 until a generous Len Fairclough paid the thugs off and offered to let Dennis work at Fairclough and Booth to pay off the debt . 1966 - 2010 : Leaving the Street . With few job prospects , Dennis stayed on at the yard but quit after accidentally setting Len ' s house on fire while decorating it . Dennis accepted a job offer from Emily Nugent to manage the men ' s section at Gamma Garments . He got on well with his co - workers Emily and Lucille Hewitt . In 1967 , Dennis taught English to Swede Inga Olsen and the two started dating . They were caught in Gamma Garments late at night by Emily and the owner Mr Papagopolous . He would have been sacked anyway , but he resigned so Emily wouldn ’ t have the burden of firing him . Keen on Inga , he went to Sweden with her , returning a month later not with Inga , but her sister Karen , who he signed off as his au pair , claiming to be Steve Tanner ( the real Steve Tanner was Elsie ’ s fiancé ) . The affair ended when a Swedish official visited Weatherfield to check on Karen and discovered the deception . Karen was sent elsewhere . Dennis went through a few more jobs but never stayed anywhere for long . When Elsie married Steve , the newlyweds moved and Dennis took in some circus performers as lodgers , which horrified the neighbours . Elsie wasn ’ t shocked that Dennis was up to his usual tricks and was fine with it as long as the bills were paid and the house stayed in one piece . Eventually Dennis got rid of the lodgers but couldn ’ t even manage the cooking on his own , relying on the neighbours to help him out . The Tanners reunited at No . 11 to spend Christmas together before Elsie and Steve emigrated to the United States of America . When Dennis was left alone again , a party at No . 11 went out of hand when the party - goers – hippies – decided to squat there . The neighbours complained to the landlord who wanted everybody out , including Dennis . With his family all gone , Dennis decided there was nothing left in the Street for him and didn ’ t fight the eviction . He took a shine to one of the hippies , Jenny Sutton , and got her a job at the hotel where he worked as a waiter . Jenny was impressed when Dennis blackmailed his boss who had groped her . Hoping for romance , Dennis followed her to London when she left Weatherfield abruptly . Later in 1968 , Elsie separated from Steve and moved back into No . 11 . Dennis returned with Jenny in tow , lying that they were married so that Elsie would let them sleep together . Elsie wasn ' t fooled and tried to make Jenny feel uncomfortable but became more supportive when they announced that they were actually going to get married . Dennis got a job as a salesman again , selling hairdressing toiletries . A crisis arose when Dennis ' s boss asked him to be in Bristol for a work meeting on 29th May , the day of his wedding . Dennis waited until after he and Jenny had married to tell her , but Jenny understood that he ' d been put in a difficult position and his boss was so impressed by his dedication to the firm that he offered him the position of area manager in Bristol . He accepted , and the Tanners moved to Bristol for a new and better life . In 1973 , Dennis was sent to prison for for three years for defrauding pensioners in a double - glazing scam . By this point , Dennis and Jenny ' s marriage had broken down and she left him . Although Elsie continued to live in the Street for over a decade afterwards , Dennis never returned to visit her . Elsie often complained but her affection for her son still stood : when he was sent to prison , Elsie visited him , allowing her neighbours in Weatherfield to think that she was having a secret affair . In 1984 , Elsie left the Street to run a wine bar in Portugal with her old boyfriend Bill Gregory . Dennis reconciled with her not long after she and Bill married , and was a frequent visitor to the Gregory household until the two were killed in a road accident in the mid - 2000s . Dennis gradually found that his " speciality " acts were becoming increasingly unneeded and unwanted in the 21st century . However , around 2009 , he found a lifeline , and meal - ticket , in Norma Fountain . Dennis moved in with Norma and , pretty soon , they made arrangements to marry . Dennis knew he didn ' t love her but found it difficult to tell her face - to - face . On the day of their wedding , he didn ' t turn up , leaving Norma confused and upset . 2010 - 2011 : Back in Weatherfield . By late 2010 , with Elsie no longer around to lean on , Dennis ' luck finally ran out and he ended up homeless . He found himself back in Weatherfield , frequenting a local soup kitchen run by the Roof & Refuge charity . During one of his visits to the kitchen in May 2011 , Dennis ended up chatting to two teenagers who volunteered there , Sophie Webster and Sian Powers , who were charmed by his manner and stories . They invited him to Roy ' s Rolls in Victoria Street for some dinner . Not realising how close in proximity the cafe was to his birthplace , a hesitant Dennis made a quick exit . Under the cover of night , he returned to Coronation Street to examine No . 11 . He was tackled by ex - cabaret singer and one - off girlfriend Rita Sullivan , running off when the two recognised each other . Rita managed to track Dennis down while volunteering at the soup kitchen the next day , and after initially making yet another hasty exit , returned to see her , nearly fifty years after their last encounter . The two talked and reminisced about the old days over tea , with Rita offering Dennis her sofa in her flat above The Kabin . A clean - shaven Dennis made his first visit to the Rovers in four decades , along with Rita who reintroduced him to Ken Barlow and Emily Bishop - and introduced him to a somewhat irate Norris Cole , who warned Rita that Dennis may be up to no good . In spite of this , Rita and Dennis began to grow close and , after months of living together , entered companionship . A chance remark in July 2011 helped to unearth a link between Dennis and the Grimshaws of No . 11 : after Dennis revealed that his mother Elsie ' s maiden name was Grimshaw , Julie Carp convinced herself that Dennis was related to her half - sister Eileen Grimshaw . Researching the family trees of all involved , Julie discovered that Arnley Grimshaw , a cousin of her and Eileen ' s father , was also Elsie ' s cousin - making Julie and Eileen long - lost nieces of Dennis . In November 2011 , it transpired that the Roof & Refuge charity was in fact a money - making scam set up by its managers Rob and Janet White . When the two were tracked down and arrested , a well - meaning Norris contacted the " Weatherfield Gazette " to tell them of Dennis ' personal story and his struggle with homelessness - without informing Dennis himself . The article , which included particular details including the address of The Kabin , was published in the evening edition . Dennis flew off the handle , insulting Norris for wading into his life in such a manner - and his worst fears were confirmed when Norris told him that a woman called Norma Fountain had turned up at The Kabin in search of Dennis . True to form , Dennis disappeared . He was tracked down by Rita and Deirdre Barlow and , with Rita ' s encouragement , faced Norma in the Rovers . He admitted to Norma that he never loved her - but she revealed that she already knew , and that all she wanted was somebody to look after . She left , finally putting the matter to bed . 2012 - 2015 : Later life . In March 2012 , Norris built on Dennis ' insecurities by pointing that he had made no effort to pay Rita for her hospitality . Rita insisted that it was not necessary , but Dennis felt guilty for " taking advantage " . He managed to contact an old friend in Birmingham , who offered him a job in a DIY shop . He accepted , leaving Rita devastated . She revealed to Audrey Roberts that she did not want him to leave - Dennis had filled a gap in her life and she had grown to love him . Nonetheless , both she and Dennis remained unable to convey their true feelings to each other , and the two parted tearfully . However , Dennis - spurred on by the thought of Rita ' s support over the last year - changed his mind and returned . Finally admitting that they both loved each other , Dennis proposed to Rita and she accepted . However in June prior to the wedding , Dennis began seeing Norma again in secret as he was supporting her after her son ended up in a car accident . When Norris spotted Dennis letting Norma into the flat , he informed Rita who thought Dennis was cheating . Despite finding out it was just a misunderstanding , she claimed she couldn ' t trust Dennis , leaving him to wonder if she would go ahead with the wedding . At the register office , Dennis became worried that Rita was late , unaware she had been kidnapped by loan shark Rick Neelan . Dennis believed he had been jilted , and it wasn ' t helped by Norris ' constant jabbing . However , Rita later turned up in the safety of the police , and they went ahead and got married . In late 2012 , Dennis decided he didn ' t want to sponge from Rita anymore , so got himself a job at Bessie Street School as a Lollipop man . He was too ashamed to tell Rita about his new occupation , so made out that he had a better job . However Steve McDonald spotted Dennis as a patrol man and made a joke about him . Dennis then told Rita who turned out to be happy with it . However Dennis entered into a feud with Steve , and began deliberately blocking the road to stop him getting by in his taxi . A fed - up Steve decided to have his own revenge and told headmaster Brian Packham that Dennis was being mean to the children . Brian approached Dennis about the accusation , and Dennis packed in the job feeling he was unfairly accused . Dennis ' mentor and now retired lollipop man Malcolm Lagg decided to help Dennis get his own back at Steve , so gathered up loads of lollipop men and women from across Weatherfield to block Coronation Street , preventing any Street Cars taxis from being able to leave . Malcolm then got Steve to apologise to Dennis and drop the accusation , and Dennis resumed work at Bessie Street . In late 2013 , Dennis began to reminisce about his days as a talent agent , much to the displeasure of Rita . He contacted old client Ritchie de Vries , and with the help of Gloria Price , set up a gig at Nick ' s Bistro with Ritchie ' s band , leaving Rita feeling left out . Dennis became jealous of Richie and Gloria ' s closeness and later tried to impress Gloria by dressing up in fancy gear much to the displeasure of Rita . In amidst a discussion in the Rovers , Dennis let it slip that Gloria was younger than Rita , Angered , she told him to leave her alone . Giving Gloria an opportunity to hone in on Dennis , she invited him to stay over at No . 13 although he returned to The Kabin the next day to reunite with Rita . This reconciliation was short - lived as Gloria let slip that he had slept in the couch the night before and the future of his marriage to Rita looked bleak . When Ritchie informed them that he ' d been poached by an international management outfit , Dennis vowed to retire from the music business and begged Rita for another chance . A few days later however , Dennis discovered that Gloria was planning on leaving Weatherfield for a new life . She invited him to join her , telling him that he would feel trapped with Rita . Deciding he ' d had enough of married life , Dennis left Rita in the Rovers with friends Emily Bishop and Mary Taylor without warning , packed his bag and accompanied Gloria in her new sports car , saying farewell to the stunned Price family and broken Rita in the Street . Dennis and Gloria , regretting nothing , then drove away with the intention of boarding a ferry . The following day - on Rita ' s birthday , Dennis sent her a text message apologising for his actions . However the relationship with Gloria didn ' t last and Dennis returned to the UK only being able to afford a plane ticket back . He was again living rough on the streets , and in April 2014 he was beaten up whilst sleeping in a doorway and admitted to Weatherfield General . He contacted Rita and she came to visit him , although she was still angry about the way he ' d upped and left a couple of months previously . She left the hospital refusing to be drawn in by his charm and wittiness . However when he was discharged later in the day , Rita waited for him at the hospital with the offer of letting him live with her temporarily until he found proper accommodation . Despite his best efforts to impress her , Rita refused to take Dennis back , so he moved in with Julie Carp at No . 12 , determined not to give up on Rita . When Tina McIntyre was viciously assaulted in May , Dennis began offering his support to Rita while she kept a bedside vigil , much to the dismay of Norris . In July , Dennis orchestrated a plan to get back with Rita by getting Julie to throw him out of her flat in a staged argument , knowing that Rita would take him back in as she wouldn ' t want him back on the streets . Despite the plan seemingly working , Norris exposed the scam when Julie let it slip and Rita ended things with Dennis . In the Rovers , Dennis revealed his plans to leave Coronation Street to Julie much to her dismay . The next day Dennis turned up at The Kabin to see Rita with his bag , only to come face to face with Norris who made more snide remarks . Having enough of him , Dennis punched Norris to the ground and attacked him in an attempt to take money from the till but was caught by Rita who then threw a devastated Dennis out . He later stood outside No . 11 with Julie reminiscing about Elsie and his markings " Dennis Tanner - 1951 " under the bay window . After a tearful goodbye to Julie , Dennis departed as a saddened Rita looked on . Rita received a letter from Dennis in November 2015 - fifteen months after he left Weatherfield , stating that he wanted a divorce . Personality . Camp and charismatic , Dennis lived life on the edge , charming his way through his problems , even though things rarely went his way . He lived by his own rules , and was difficult to trust as he would be dishonest if it suited his interests to do so . He was also impulsive and self - assured , an attitude that caused great distress to his mother Elsie , who greeted his latest escapades with trepidation . In later life , many of the attributes that coloured his early years - running away from his problems rather than tackle or resolve them head - on - remained with him unless he was persuaded otherwise . Hobbies and interests . Dennis tried his hand at everything while he lived in the Street , but tended to move quickly onto new interests . He briefly played the guitar , but gave it up in favour of singing - which he also later gave up . Quotes . " Where ' s what ? " ( First line ) " When I die , I want my ashes scattered here ! " ( To Emily Bishop and Rita Tanner when in the Rovers Return Inn ) " I ' m not going away until I see you ' re okay ! " ( To Rita when she isolated herself in The Kabin after Tina ' s death ) " Make sure Eileen never covers that up , see you love . " ( Final line to Julie Carp , with reference to his name marked under the bay window of No . 11 )