Jerry Booth Gerald William " Jerry " Booth was a Coronation Street resident and longstanding partner of Len Fairclough in building firm Fairclough and Booth in the 1960s and 1970s . Jerry arrived in the Street in 1962 and served his apprenticeship with Len , the elder builder taking the naive youngster under his wing . A nervous but kind - hearted man , Jerry hoped to marry his sweetheart Sheila Birtles in 1963 but ended up marrying the imprudent Myra Dickinson in haste instead . The Booths had lived at 13 Coronation Street for six months when debt incurred from Myra ' s compulsive spending on Hire Purchase forced them to give up the house and move in with Myra ' s parents . They separated in 1965 when their daughter was stillborn and Jerry returned to Coronation Street , where he became Len ' s business partner . In 1968 , Jerry ' s divorce came through and he left the Street again . Three years later , he returned to find work and was taken on by Len , who was now in partnership with Ray Langton . Jerry was effectively Len and Ray ' s housekeeper at No . 9 , where he was given lodgings , but in 1973 after he rescued the business he was made a partner again . He died suddenly from a heart attack in 1975 . Biography . 1941 - 1963 : The apprentice . Gerald Booth was born on 23rd August 1941 , the only child of Ernest and Nellie Booth of 62 Viaduct Street , Weatherfield . Jerry ( as he was known ) followed the traditional path , leaving school at fourteen and learning a trade . His aptitude for joinery led Jerry to builder Joe White , who took him on as an apprentice . In July 1962 , before Jerry had finished his apprenticeship , Joe suddenly passed away , and his widow had no choice but to fold the Bessie Street business and lay Jerry off . Luckily , another local builder by the name of Len Fairclough was advertising for an apprentice , having recently gone into business for himself after being sacked from Birtwistle ' s Construction for doing foreigners . Jerry applied for the job in person at the Builder ' s Yard , and was immediately taken on ; Len had once been Joe White ' s apprentice himself , and on that basis he hired Jerry , no questions asked . Shy and naive but with an honest nature , Jerry looked up to Len and under his tutelage , both in the trade and in life , he gained enough confidence to hold his own against the likes of Dennis Tanner and Jed Stone when they tried to take advantage of him . Despite a rocky beginning with Jed , Jerry ended up friends with both men . He also became friends with Sheila Birtles and Doreen Lostock , but only after Jerry laid into Doreen for treating him like a joke and the girls , impressed by his manliness , stopped teasing him ( or at least , did so less than before ) . In October , a smitten Jerry asked Sheila out on a date . Sheila didn ' t see Jerry as a potential romantic partner but , always up for a good time , she accepted . The evening was a washout as the tandem Jerry had borrowed to take Sheila out fell into a ditch and they had to walk ten miles back home . Sheila refused a follow - up date but Jerry continued to carry a torch for her , and the following May , she agreed to go steady with him . Their relationship wasn ' t serious , and Sheila struggled to see hapless Jerry as more than a friend . After two months , she fell for caddish Gamma Garments clothier Neil Crossley and threw herself at him . Jerry found out when he caught the pair together in the street , and Sheila dumped him when he thumped Neil for insulting her . After being badly treated and dumped by Neil , Sheila almost attempted suicide , and subsequently left Weatherfield to return to her parents in Rawtenstall . Jerry completed his apprenticeship in September 1963 and continued working under Len as a labourer , with the understanding that he would eventually become a partner . That same month , Jerry went to see his musician friend Walter Potts ' s debut in concert , and met the secretary George Dickinson ' s daughter Myra , who immediately fell for him . On the day of Sheila ' s departure from the street , Jerry rebounded by going out with Myra . 1963 - 1965 : An unhappy marriage . Myra didn ' t stir the same passion in Jerry as Sheila but she thought the world of him . Assertive and organised , Myra saw a life with Jerry and planned their future accordingly ; a week after their first date , she considered them engaged and suggested they bought 13 Coronation Street when they were married . To please Myra , Jerry put in an offer of £525 for No . 13 , which was accepted by the landlord Alfred Wormold , and fixed the wedding date for 19th October at St . Paul ' s Church . At Myra ' s insistence , Dennis Tanner was his best man , instead of Jerry ' s friend Vincent , who had been his first choice . Under the ever - reliable Dennis ' s watch , Jerry ' s stag night turned rowdy and Jerry ended up falling in a drunken stupor in the Rovers Select , and on the big day , they nearly missed the wedding as , having arrived at the church too early and decided to kill time at the hotel where the reception was taking place , they failed to realise until the last minute that the clock in the bar had stopped , and had to race back to the church . After their honeymoon in Torquay , the Booths lodged with Jerry ' s parents for two weeks until No . 13 was ready for them . Myra didn ' t work , as Jerry felt her place was at home and at one point turned down a job at the Corner Shop when she ' d already agreed to help out Florrie Lindley . Myra would have preferred to work , but she didn ' t fight Jerry on the subject . Having attained her perfect home , Myra filled it with furniture rented from Hire Purchase - despite Jerry planning to make most of it himself in due course . Jerry had left all the finances to Myra , and so was unaware of her compulsive spending until a rep from the HP company told him that she hadn ' t paid the last two months ' installments . In a row with Myra , Jerry discovered that she also hadn ' t paid the mortgage for three months and she was pregnant . Establishing that they owed £85 , Jerry did his best to sort out the mess , asking Jack Walker for a loan of £80 and Len for a rise , but both turned him down , and with no orders coming in Len regrettably sacked Jerry . Myra ' s father George Dickinson bailed out the couple , agreeing to pay their debts if they lived with him . Jerry swallowed his pride and agreed to his father - in - laws conditions , selling No . 13 back to Wormold and leaving the Street on 20th May 1964 . After finishing at the yard , Jerry immediately started work at Roscoe & Pitts . The Booths problems continued , with Myra ' s blunders causing a rift between man and wife , and Jerry hating being indebted to her father . Later in the year , their baby girl was born prematurely and died . Their relationship didn ' t survive it and in February 1965 , an out of work Jerry re - appeared in Coronation Street , returning to work with Len and moving into the Corner Shop flat . Keen to give his friend a clean break , Len gave George Dickinson £30 to pay him off when he came looking for Jerry . 1965 - 1968 : Fairclough and Booth . In April , businessman Willie Piggott tried to interest Len in converting six old houses into flats in Blackburn . When Len turned the job down , Piggott offered it to Jerry , giving him money to repay Len the money he owed him to sweeten the deal . Tempted due to the promise of big money , Jerry accepted , although it meant closing the yard as Len had gone to visit his son Stanley in Nottingham . As it transpired , Len was wise to refuse the work , as the job folded after three months , leaving Jerry with nothing to show for it . Due to his betrayal , Len refused to have him back at the yard and threw him out when Jerry slept rough there . Given time to cool off , Len relented and gave Jerry his job back as well as lodgings at his house , 15 Mawdsley Street . Two weeks later , Len gave Jerry , as a birthday present , a partnership with the firm which was renamed " Fairclough and Booth " . Due to Len often playing fast and loose with the business , Jerry had a legal agreement drawn up . Len had been his mentor in the trade but their working practices differed greatly ; Jerry was conscientious , hardworking , and a builder first , while Len prioritised the business and was often selfish in choosing work . However , the partnership was successful and the firm maintained a good reputation . In May 1966 , Jerry went on a blind date with who turned out to be Sheila Birtles . Thrilled at seeing her again , Jerry was keen to resume their relationship . Sheila made plans to stay in the area , moving in with Elsie Tanner and taking a job at the PVC Factory , but she hesitated over Jerry due to him still being married and , as Jerry discovered when Sheila took him to the home of Mrs Sankey , Sheila had a son , Danny Crossley , who was was in foster care . Jerry immediately resolved to get a divorce , but George Dickinson , handling Myra ' s affairs , told Jerry he would need grounds . Sheila agreed to marry Jerry and on his three - year anniversary in October , he was able to start divorce proceedings . Unfortunately , Sheila bumped into Neil Crossley on a train , and Neil ' s hold on her attentions resurfaced . Sheila resolved to tell Jerry that she was leaving him to marry Neil , but chickened out and left Jerry to realise it himself . Her departure left Jerry depressed and bitter , and he went out on a night out , planning to blow all of his savings . At a club , hostess Margot and a barman took advantage of Jerry and fleeced him of his £25 . The following year , the firm lost £300 when Len - now a councillor - invested the money in a property deal , only for the council to refuse planning permission . By threatening to leave the business , Jerry forced through plans for them to become a limited company , with equal shares . With Jerry ' s divorce going through , Minnie Caldwell and Albert Tatlock tried to bring some excitement into their lives by setting Jerry up with someone . Minnie found the right woman in librarian Sally Frost , and planted a letter to Sally asking her to take pity on lonely Jerry in a book which she asked Jerry to return for her . At first , Minnie ' s instincts seemed to be spot on , as Sally and Jerry hit it off and arranged a cinema date . However , a problem arose when Peter , Sally ' s boyfriend , who turned up to fight Jerry off . Luckily for Jerry , Peter was a pacifist and the men worked out their differences diplomatically , with Jerry pretending to Sally that Peter had hit him . In January 1968 , Jerry went to court and was granted his decree nisi . Curious about how Jerry was getting on , Myra returned to the area and caught up with Jerry and Irma Barlow at the ice rink . Jerry was also keen for a catch up , and met with her platonically , ignoring Len ' s warning that they could be accused of collusion . Lonely , Myra soon revealed her true intentions to Jerry , begging to stay the night and then , staying for the weekend but sleeping apart , trying to get him into bed . Normally able to find her way around Jerry , Myra was given her marching orders when she tried to seduce him . Afterwards , she tried to contest the divorce by claiming that they ' d had sex , citing Jack Walker as a witness as he knew that Myra had stayed the night . Jerry asked Jack to commit perjury , but the guilt caused him to retract his request and change his own statement , being honest about Myra asking for sex . Myra also came clean to the courts , and left Jerry ' s life for the last time . When the factory and mission were demolished and the council unveiled plans to build maisonettes on the site , Jerry submitted a tender of £180 a unit for Fairclough and Booth to plumb the new flats - an amount which wouldn ' t earn the men much profit , but make future council contracts likely . After completing the job , Jerry decided to end the partnership and leave Weatherfield for a job in London , keen to prove himself somewhere fresh . His last public appearance was at Dennis and Jenny Tanner ' s wedding reception , where he surprised everyone with his unsentimental best man speech , urging the bride and bridegroom to work at their marriage and not be selfish . Typically of Jerry , he slipped away from the reception unnoticed just after giving his speech . 1968 - 1972 : Bottoming out . In June 1971 , Jerry was made redundant from a job in Birmingham and , a few months later , returned to Weatherfield to find work there , living temporarily at a working man ' s hospice . Out of embarrassment , Jerry didn ' t look up any of his friends from the old days but in October Lucille Hewitt saw him at the Labour Exchange and spread the word . When Len heard , he immediately telegrammed the Labour to send Jerry for a job at the yard . Unfortunately , Len wasn ' t able to make good on his offer , as between Len , his business partner Ray Langton , and labourer Stan Ogden , there wasn ' t enough work available to take Jerry on , but he was able to offer him lodgings at 9 Coronation Street for £3 a week - an amount which was increased to £4 at Jerry ' s insistence . While Jerry looked for work , his friends helped him out by giving him odd jobs to do and Len and Ray paid him to do all the housekeeping at No . 9 . Worried that Len would sack him to replace him with his old partner , Stan riled Jerry in the Rovers , trying to get a rise out of him by calling him a layabout . Stan ' s drinking buddy Jim Stoker joined in , mocking Jerry for doing " woman ' s work " , causing Jerry to lose his temper and go for Jim , knocking him unconscious . Pleading guilty to assault , Jerry was given a conditional discharge for 12 months . Stan ' s resignation from the yard to return to lorries in April 1972 allowed Len to re - hire Jerry . Jerry was happy to be back but hated not being in the partnership , as he was the hardest worker of the three , and to make his circumstances hurt all the more , he frequently had to correct customers who thought the business was still named Fairclough and Booth . He was often taken for granted by Len and Ray , who would frequently neglect the business to chase women , and through routine he continued to do most of the chores at No . 9 . 1972 - 1975 : A partner again . Also that April , Jerry met shy Mark Brittain Warehouse secretary Mavis Riley at Emily and Ernest Bishop ' s wedding reception at the Community Centre . The couple struck an instant chord and danced with each other . Afterwards , they stayed friends but , despite their obvious suitability , never became an item . In October , he became romantically interested in Corner Shop assistant Norma Ford and joined Ken Barlow ' s English Literature lessons with her . He packed them in after a few weeks when it became obvious that Norma was after Ken . 1973 was a difficult year for Fairclough and Langton . In February , Albert Tatlock was gassed by his new electric cooker which Jerry had installed . Jerry soon learned that Len knew Albert had a meter with gas still in the house but didn ' t tell him , absolving him of any culpability , but he felt responsible anyway and let Albert ' s daughter Beattie Pearson get £5 a week out of him in compensation until a recovered Albert put a stop to it . As Jerry had made no secret of his error ( he ' d guiltily told everything to reporter Clive Shawcross ) , Fairclough and Langton risked being struck off the CORGI list of approved installers of gas appliances , but fortunately they weren ' t . The firm ' s future was put on the line again in October when Weatherfield Plastics went into liquidation , owing the yard £2 , 000 . Out of principle , Len and Ray refused to pay the £204 . 60 in VAT until they were paid , and went to court . Fearing the loss of his livelihood , Jerry paid the outstanding sum behind his friends ' back , using his life savings to meet the amount . Afterwards , both Len and Ray absconded , leaving Jerry and secretary Deirdre Hunt to fire themselves . As Jerry prepared to throw in the towel , Mavis and Deirdre encouraged him to keep going by himself , and he decided to remain . Weeks later , with business booming again , Len and Ray returned , but Jerry refused to let them simply carry on like nothing had happened ; backed by Deirdre , Jerry demanded a partnership with Len , cutting Ray out . Ultimately , the men agreed that the partnership would be Fairclough , Langton and Booth . In the New Year , on a date with Jerry Mavis told him that she was considering moving to Grange - over - Sands with her parents , using it to prise a firm commitment from Jerry . Oblivious to her tactics , Jerry encouraged her to go . Mavis was absent from Weatherfield for three months and by July was back in her former position of Rita Littlewood ' s assistant at the Kabin , the rekindling of their relationship seeming likely , but in September Sheila Birtles returned to the area for a visit , staying with the Bishops . Now married to Neil Crossley , Sheila enjoyed talking over old times with Jerry and threw a party for her old friends . Ruminating over past hurts , Jerry got drunk and gave a speech telling everyone how much Sheila meant to him . His moment of weakness severely upset Mavis , and despite making up they were never as close afterwards . On 10th November 1975 , Jerry had a sudden heart attack and passed away . Len broke the news to the stunned drinkers at the Rovers Return , and two days later Len , Mavis , Emily , Deirdre and Ray attended his funeral , paying tribute to a thoroughly decent chap taken well before his time . Personality . Jerry was a kind , soft - spoken man , shy around people he didn ' t know . When he arrived in Coronation Street , he was a young and naive 20 - year - old , and tended to be led around by others . Eager to please , he let himself be bullied into marriage by Myra Dickinson , as well as buying 13 Coronation Street instead of renting as was his preference . In 1965 , Jerry found the courage to leave Myra , and returned to the Street more assured and willing to speak his mind . In the main , Jerry was one of the lads , enjoying a pint and a laugh at the Rovers with business partners Len Fairclough and Ray Langton . He thought about life more deeply than his friends ( much to their amusement ) , and had a greater sense of responsibility , although he often had trouble putting his thoughts into words and would speak up for others more easily than he would for himself . He also had a stammer which surfaced when angry . To many people , Jerry seemed , as Len put it , a bit backwards in coming forwards . Jerry was by - the - book in his working practices , and committed to his craft . His dedication outstripped that of his co - workers , although they had better heads for business . His code of conduct extended beyond carpentry ; when he and Myra were broke , Jerry refused to do foreigners to supplement their income , and he wouldn ' t let Myra work as he believed her job was to look after her husband and home . Normally a gentle man , Jerry could land a strong blow when pushed . He knocked Jim Stoker unconscious when Jim demeaned him in the Rovers , taunting Jerry by saying that he was only good for skivvying . In 1966 , he started to fight with a colleague when his workmates made digs at him for not drinking while working , with Len joining in . After hitting Stoker , Jerry was plagued with guilt , disappointed in himself for losing his cool . He was also behind an attack on Frank Turner in December 1965 , after learning that Frank had been blackmailing Jack Walker . Len and Stan Ogden had decided to give him a seeing to , and were shocked when Jerry owned up to it , showing no hint of remorse . Traits . Jerry wasn ' t a music buff but enjoyed the occasional orchestral piece . Relationships . Len Fairclough . Len Fairclough was Jerry ' s mentor in the trade , and eventual business partner . They ' d both trained under Joe White , so Len expected a good standard of work from Jerry , and he wasn ' t disappointed . Len also gave his naive young apprentice a nudge in the right direction in life when needed , while never interfering directly . In exchange , Jerry worked behind the scenes to get Len and Elsie Tanner together , getting Len to invite her to the Federation Dance in 1963 and informing Len that Elsie had gone on holiday with Dave Smith in 1967 . Len and Jerry had a good working relationship , with a few notable rough moments , usually caused by Jerry ' s inexperience . In 1965 , he closed the yard to earn money for himself converting some old houses into flats for Willie Piggott - a job Len had previously turned down . Len considered Jerry ' s actions a betrayal , but soon forgave him . That October , Jerry gave a young lad , Alan Platt , secret woodwork lessons after catching him stealing wood from the yard for a bonfire . When Len found out that Alan had dropped Len ' s treasured model plane which Jerry had taken responsibility for , Len rowed with Jerry and called him an idiot . On the other hand , Jerry often felt that Len didn ' t take the work seriously enough , such as in February 1966 when Len drank his way through the job when working on a brewery contract . Len came to his senses when Jerry fell off some scaffolding while Len played cards with some other contractors , although Jerry wasn ' t seriously hurt . On a personal level , Jerry looked up to Len although despite a significant age gap , their relationship was that of friends rather than surrogate father / son . Len helped Jerry out financially during his and Myra ' s marriage troubles and , later , to pay off George Dickinson to free him of Myra . Initially deferring to Len , Jerry grew in confidence over the years ; in 1964 , he threw a walking race with Len so that they would tie , pretending to tear a ligament . Two years later , he had the brass neck to hire a homeless Ena Sharples as their live - in housekeeper and then clear off for a few days , leaving Len to deal with Ena alone . By the 1970s , Jerry didn ' t hesitate to give Len honest advice about his personal life , such as in 1972 when Jerry told him that Rita Littlewood deserved better than the way he treated her . Len found Jerry a nag at times , once calling him an old woman , but respected him and was saddened when he died . Sheila Birtles . Sheila Birtles was the biggest love of Jerry ' s life . They met on Jerry ' s first day in the Street , when Len brought Jerry in for his inaugural drink at the Rovers Return . Sheila and Doreen Lostock had been led to believe that Len had employed someone they knew - a Gregory Peck lookalike who they fancied - and they were decidedly unimpressed when they were introduced to gormless Jerry in his cycling shorts . The girls befriended Jerry and often teased him . When they moved into the Corner Shop flat , they threw a flat - warming party and got Jerry and Emily Nugent drunk . After their disastrous first date on the tandem , Jerry had to settle for being friends with Sheila but hoped for more . In April 1963 , at Dennis Tanner ' s suggestion he tried to make Sheila jealous by going off with Rita Spears , leading to much embarrassment when he discovered that she was 14 and had dressed older to impress her teacher Ken Barlow . When he and Sheila finally went steady with each other , thoughts of marriage soon preoccupied Jerry . Fond of but not in love with Jerry , Sheila started seeing Neil Crossley behind his back . Under Neil ' s spell , Sheila acted out of character , skipping work and getting behind with the rent . When Jerry caught them together in the street , Neil suggested they share Sheila , to which Jerry responded by knocking him unconscious . Neil ' s subsequent rejection of Sheila led her to leave the street , ignoring Jerry and Doreen ' s pleas for her to stay . Whenever Sheila returned to the Street , Jerry ' s previous heartbreaks were always foremost on his mind but immediately forgiven . In 1966 , they got as far as getting engaged , with Sheila prepared to give up her son Danny to give them a fresh start , before Neil Crossley appeared back on the scene and Sheila dumped him again . In 1974 , when a happily married Sheila visited the Street , she and Jerry had a good time visiting their old haunts . Their last meeting ended on a tragic note , with Jerry stopping a party Sheila had thrown for her old friends to drunkenly tell everyone how much she meant to him . The incident was yet another setback in Jerry and Mavis Riley ' s relationship , with Mavis accusing Jerry of living on memories of a woman he couldn ' t have . Ray Langton . In February 1966 , Jerry took on borstal boy Ray Langton to look after the yard while Jerry and Len worked on a brewery contract . Two months later , after Ray threatened Brenda Riley and tried to get Lucille Hewitt into bed , Len sacked him and sent him on his way . In 1968 , Ray returned and went for a plumber ' s job at the yard , and Jerry took him on again . Less forgiving than his business partner , Len tried to see see Ray off with his fists , but Jerry stopped them fighting and made Len see that Ray ' s skills as a plumber were worth giving him a second chance . Where Jerry normally put himself last , Ray was the opposite , with Len occupying the middle ground . Hot - headed , brash , and rude , Ray was in business for himself , whatever the terms of the partnership . He , Jerry and Len were ultimately friends , but Ray often demeaned Jerry for being so eager to please and allowing others to take advantage of his good nature . Jerry struggled to handle Ray ' s digs , often getting himself worked up into a tizzy . They butted heads a few times over the years , such as in December 1973 when Jerry urged Len to cut an absent Ray out of the business , and a year later when Ray conned Jerry ' s friend Mavis Riley into going to meet her Spanish love Pedro Diaz , who had supposedly flown over to see her . Mavis Riley . Mavis Riley was Jerry ' s last love . They met at Emily and Ernest Bishop ' s wedding in April 1972 , where they danced and chatted . Afterwards , they remained friends , and it was Jerry who in June 1973 suggested that she apply to be Rita Littlewood ' s assistant at the Kabin when she complained about her current job at the Mark Brittain Warehouse . At that point , Jerry and Mavis had had tea together a few times , but no formal dates . Mavis was shy and nervous around Jerry but eager to become a proper couple , while Jerry for the most part failed to notice this and - not the most self - assured person himself - was concerned mainly with putting Mavis at ease and not rushing her . In January 1974 , Jerry booked them a table at Mario ' s Italian restaurant , where Mavis asked him for advice over returning to Grange - over - Sands with her parents , attempting to push him into making a move , but Jerry chickened out and advised her to go . After Mavis ' s return to Weatherfield in April , their friendship carried on as before , with no proper relationship ever forming . Jerry cared deeply for Mavis , and often tried to boost her self - confidence ; he volunteered her for a sponsored swim , and in October 1974 when Len reversed Mavis and Rita ' s roles at the Kabin to spite Rita , Jerry refused Mavis ' s request to convince Len to reinstate the status quo , urging her to push herself . However , these gestures of support only infuriated Mavis , and she felt that Jerry did not understand her . Rita wasn ' t altogether fond of Jerry , and especially disliked the way he took Mavis for granted . On Rita ' s advice , Mavis made herself less available to him , and when Mavis started seeing Spaniard Carlos in December 1974 , Rita alleviated her guilt over Jerry , telling her it was nothing to do with him . Jerry was put out when Mavis dropped out of having Christmas lunch at the Claremont Hotel with him , resulting in him spending the day alone . Much to Mavis ' s disappointment , he remained decent about it , even when he thought she was seeing two Spanish men as Ray Langton and Bet Lynch had tricked her into thinking she was meeting her holiday flame Pedro Diaz . While nursing a broken heart , he remained protective of Mavis ; in September 1975 , at Mavis ' s request he warned off Brian Collett , who had scared her with his odd behaviour on a date arranged through a computer dating agency . A month later , Mavis was one of the mourners at Jerry ' s funeral . The following year , Jerry ' s role in her life would be filled by salesman Derek Wilton , whose relationship with Mavis was just as fraught with dithering and deliberation . Others . Jerry had an uncle , Sam Leach , who briefly lodged with Minnie Caldwell in August 1962 . Jerry ' s other friends in Coronation Street were Jed Stone and Dennis Tanner . No stranger to trouble , both men saw Jerry as a soft touch . In November 1962 , Jed fleeced Jerry £25 for 24 washbasins . Not one to hold a grudge , Jerry invited Jed along on a double date with Sheila and Doreen in February 1963 to see the strippers at the Orinoco Club . Jerry and Dennis ran in different circles but they had the occasional dealing . Jerry was landed with disaster - prone Dennis as his best man at his and Myra ' s wedding , when Myra fixed it up behind Jerry ' s back . Jerry returned the favour when Dennis married Jenny Sutton five years later , but had to be persuaded as he had mixed feelings on marriage at that time , having recently divorced . One less happy encounter occurred in January 1966 , when Dennis conducted a secret photography study of Jerry , taking pictures of him half - naked . When Emily Nugent found the pictures , Dennis was forced to apologise . Hobbies and interests . To make up for a quiet love life , Jerry had a multitude of hobbies . He enjoyed cycling , and as a youth was a member of the Weatherfield Harriers . On his first date with Sheila Birtles , he took her out on a tandem , which fell into a ditch resulting in them having to walk ten miles back home . In August 1975 , he arranged for Gail Potter and Tricia Hopkins to borrow the Ogdens ' tandem and went on a picnic with them . With Jerry cramping the girls ' style , Gail and Tricia got bored and Tricia returned home on Jerry ' s bike . Jerry was stranded when Gail went off with a Porsche driver , and returned on a milk float with the wrecked tandem . Jerry also enjoyed hiking , at least until April 1973 when he went walking the Pennine Way with only Albert Tatlock for company . They didn ' t complete the walk as Albert tired Jerry out and they ended up bickering . His swimming pursuit met with greater success ; in March 1967 , he gave Emily Nugent lessons , helping her get over her fear of water . His most ambitious project was the building of an eleven - foot sailing dinghy called " Shangri - La " in March 1972 . Jerry took the endeavour seriously , getting advice about sailing from Freddie Baxter , secretary of the Weatherfield Sailing Club , and going to a sea cadets class at the Community Centre for tips . Baxter was dismissive of Jerry ' s efforts , but the cadets were impressed and went to view the vessel which he ' d made a point of stating had been built by him alone . He was then angered to find that Ray had finished it off . The boat was christened with brown ale , and taken to the Burmer Reservoir for its maiden voyage . Unfortunately , Jerry made the mistake of allowing Stan Ogden aboard , and disaster inevitably befell the craft when Stan leaned over too far and overturned it , resulting in Jerry , Ray and Stan having to stumble ashore . Jerry was shared more common interests with his friends , such as football and bowls . In 1966 , he went with the men to Liverpool to see Brazil play Portugal in a World Cup qualifier . In 1963 , he was part of a large consignment of Coronation Street men who went to New Brighton for a darts picnic , and in 1973 , he took part in a bowls match , and at Ruth Winter ' s invitation , he joined a pub quiz team in 1966 . He also partook in the occasional community stage play , such as " The Importance of Being Earnest " at the Community Centre in 1974 , at which he played Jack . On Christmas Day 1972 , at the Rovers ' 40s night he sang Underneath the Arches with Ray , as Flanagan and Allen , and at the Boxing Day fancy dress party at the Glad Tidings Mission Hall in 1966 , he won best dressed male for his Robin superhero costume ( with Len as Batman ) . Background information . Creation and casting . In April 1962 , " Coronation Street " ' s script editor H . V . Kershaw succeeded Derek Granger as producer . At that point , the programme was running with only thirteen cast members and no extras due to the lengthy Equity actors ' strike , which finally ended after five months on 3rd April . Only then could storylines involving other characters be planned , and throughout June and July , many strikebound actors returned to the programme . With the cast almost at full strength , the first ( and only ) new addition of the year was created in the form of Jerry Booth , shy apprentice of Len Fairclough . Jerry was the first character cast by Kershaw , who recalled Graham Haberfield ' s audition in his autobiography : " I met Graham Haberfield as one of three candidates for the part in my office at Granada . Graham was playing out his last few weeks at Bristol Old Vic Drama School and was seeking his first professional job ; I was looking for an apprentice for Len Fairclough . We chatted for a while . I described the shy , gauche but fanatically conscientious character we were seeking ; he told me what he had been doing at Bristol . I had doubts . Whilst physically he was perfect for the role , his accent was disturbing . In fact he didn ' t seem to have one . I asked him why . ' They tried to knock it out of me at Drama School ' , he explained apologetically . ' Did they succeed ? ' I asked . He shook his head and smiled and when I dug out a couple of copies of the first script in which the character appeared and read ' Len Fairclough ' to his ' Jerry Booth ' the natural Derbyshire accent complemented his physical appearance and it was patently obvious that there was no point in looking further . " " ( The Street Where I Live , Book Club Associates , 1981 ) " Jerry Booth was Graham Haberfield ' s first professional acting role . Shortly after being cast , Haberfield told " TV Times " : " I couldn ' t believe my luck when I heard I had got the part . I didn ' t sleep for several nights after hearing the news . " Development . After two years playing Jerry , Haberfield asked for a break from the programme . Jerry ' s exit was one of the many which occurred under Tim Aspinall - although contrary to some sources , Haberfield wasn ' t axed by the new producer . In Episode 359 ( 20th May 1964 ) , Jerry and wife Myra left the Street in a bid to save their marriage by moving in with Myra ' s father George Dickinson . Kershaw stated in his memoirs that Haberfield returned " weeks later " however Jerry didn ' t re - appear on - screen until Episode 432 on 1st February 1965 . In 1968 , in a bid to combat falling ratings , executive producer Richard Everitt decided to bring more social issues into the programme and , along with writing team consultant Stan Barstow , devised a number of storylines , including a homosexuality story for Jerry . The idea was quickly vetoed . " ( , JR Books , 2010 ) " Haberfield decided to depart the programme again early in 1968 . Jerry was given a low - key exit , slipping away unnoticed from Dennis Tanner and Jenny Sutton ' s wedding after surprising the guests with a brutally honest best man ' s speech . Kershaw : " In the early summer of 1968 however the itch began again and this time it was more serious . It was always difficult for a young actor to be content playing the same character year after year . After all , variety was what it was all about and insecurity was no stranger . He knew that he could never really prove himself as an actor unless he cut loose from ' Jerry Booth ' and when he asked that his contract should not be renewed we could only fall in with his request and wish him well . " Haberfield ' s first post - " Street " role was the Jack Rosenthal - penned comedy " There ' s a Hole in Your Dustbin , Delilah ! " . " ( The Street Where I Live ) " Haberfield returned to the role again in 1971 . A year later , a new comedy - drama spin - off from " Coronation Street " entitled " Rest Assured " was planned , starring Haberfield and Neville Buswell . It got as far as the recording of a pilot programme which , to date , has not been transmitted . On 17th October 1975 , Haberfield suffered a fatal heart attack owing to a liver condition and passed away at 34 . Jerry ' s final two appearances were transmitted posthumously . Granada offered to edit out his scenes , although they were left intact at the insistence of his wife Valerie . Out of respect to his loved ones , Jerry was killed off without fanfare in Episode 1546 . Kershaw : " His premature death was a great shock and a loss not only to his friends and colleagues in television but to a wide audience who were denied his considerable talent . " " ( The Street Where I Live ) " Quotes . " Well yeah I was , missus . " ( First line , to Florrie Lindley ) " Hello , Mr Tatlock . " ( Final line )