Dave Smith David " Dave " Smith was the owner of the Betting Shop on Rosamund Street in the late 1960s and early 1970s . The shop was one of several Weatherfield businesses owned by Dave when he lived in the town , including florist The Pink Posy , Alan Howard ' s Salon , and Weatherfield County FC . Biography . 1923 - 1970 : Foray into Weatherfield . Dave was born in London . He went on to become a businessman and owner of several bookmaking properties . By the 1960s , he had a shop in Weatherfield and was well known in the town for his Cockney charm and his womanising . In the 1950s , he was friendly with Blanche Hunt , and a romance blossomed , although they parted ways in 1956 after a date in Blackpool . Dave later married Lillian , who kept house in London while Dave kept a close eye on his shops in the north . With his wife away , Dave was open to the occasional affair . In 1962 , he set his sights on divorcee Elsie Tanner , who had a win on the horses . In an attempt to charm her he delivered her winnings in person but offered a night out with him as an alternative . In the Rovers Return pub , Dave tried to warn off a jealous Len Fairclough but was knocked to the floor by Len . Dave at first refused to give up on Elsie but when she turned down the chance to go on holiday with him he backed off . In 1966 , Smith was keen to expand his business empire . He tried to buy the Coronation Street Corner Shop from Lionel Petty but Petty refused to sell . When Dennis Tanner started working at Smith ' s betting shop in Rosamund Street , Dave saw it as an opportunity to pursue Elsie again . As Dennis was in trouble with some heavies , Dave offered to pay off his £94 debt , on the condition that Elsie became his mistress . Elsie ' s friend Len paid the money , thwarting Dave ' s plan . Later in the year , Elsie ' s grandson Paul Cheveski went missing , and Dave pulled him out of the water , although he remained anonymous until the following year when Percy Bridge took the credit for the heroic deed in an attempt to con Elsie . When the truth came out , Elsie finally succumbed to Dave ' s charms . The relationship didn ' t last however as a few months later Elsie was reunited with her wartime sweetheart , Steve Tanner . Smith was accused of assault when Steve was attacked outside the betting shop . Ironically , Len Fairclough was the one to confirm that Dave couldn ' t have done it as he was in a gaming club at the time . Local moral spokesperson Ena Sharples was never a fan of Dave , so when he applied to have his betting licence renewed , Ena started a petition to have his shop closed down . Smith was in conflict with Len , who had signed the petition despite a conflict of interest as he had long carried a torch for Elsie . Dave convinced Len to persuade Ena to drop the petition . In 1968 , by which time Elsie had married Steve and been widowed , Dave bought drapers shop Gamma Garments and turned it into a florists - " The Pink Posy " - and offered Elsie the position of manager . Elsie took on the position and the pair eventually rekindled their romance . The following year , Smith came into conflict with Ena again when she got back the money Ray Langton owed him before he could deal with Ray himself . Dave warned Ena that her timid friend Minnie Caldwell owed him £12 in gambling debts . He was going to wipe the slate clean as a favour to Elsie , but when Ena gave him a telling off , accusing him of making children starve , he changed his mind and decided the debt still stood . Ena managed to reverse his decision when she found out that he hadn ' t told the tax man about the money stolen by Ray , and threatened to blackmail him . Dave paid Ena to keep quiet . However , shortly afterwards Ena discovered Minnie had disappeared due to her debts . Although Minnie soon turned up , everyone blamed Dave for her disappearance . When Dave ' s wife Lilian travelled to Weatherfield from London asking for a divorce , citing Elsie . Dave persuaded her to stay married to him in exchange for more money a week that he was paying her . However , his relationship with Elsie was over for good . 1970 - 1976 : Other business interests . In 1970 Dave added a further property to his empire when he bought a Salon from Alan Howard , although he quickly came into conflict with the staff for sacking Bernard Butler , resulting in most of his staff walking out . They only returned when he reinstated Bernard . Later in the year , Dave lent Stan Ogden £600 so that Hilda Ogden could travel to Australia to comfort her daughter Irma after the death of Irma ' s husband and son . The Street residents gave Stan enough money to pay Dave back but Stan presented him to the deeds to his house instead , and used the money to invest in the Corner Shop in Irma ' s name to provide her with a job . Dave briefly dated the much younger Irma Barlow , taking advantage of the fact that the Ogdens had to approve of the liaison due to his power to evict them . Stan paid Dave back later in the year when the Ogdens won £500 on Premium Bonds . The following year , Lucille Hewitt , an employee at the betting shop , was mugged and two thugs took the shop ' s takings . Lucille recognised one of them as Frank Bradley , who was dating Bet Lynch , and told Dave , who set upon Frank with a pair of heavies . After his shop was demolished , Dave chose not to renew his licence and stayed when from Weatherfield for several years . Dave showed up again in 1976 with plans to open a cash and carry in the old Mark Brittain Warehouse . The residents protested against his plans , and he decided not to pursue the idea . He was however delighted to meet up with his old friend Blanche Hunt in the Street . After reminiscing , Dave asked Blanche to manage his country club in Kenilworth for him . Blanche left the Street with Dave , and returned a year later without him , telling the residents that they were no longer an item . Quotes . " Come on , darlin ' will you ? Alf , I ' ll be in touch . " ( Final line ) .