Harold Chapman Alderman Harold Chapman was Mayor of Weatherfield before Alf Roberts . He was in office from 1972 to 1973 . A stern , somber man who had had a poverty - stricken upbringing , Chapman was elected to the council as a Conservative candidate . His Mayoress was Ethel Bostock . In November 1972 , discussions about Chapman ' s replacement had began and were causing controversy due to it being the last appointment of a Mayor before the end of the borough . With Chapman coming under pressure to break the party agreement , he summoned Labour group leader Alderman Charlie Rogers to a secret meeting at Heaton Park , where Chapman proposed that they take the easy option of selecting an independent , instead of Rogers ' preferred choice of George Clarkson , a fellow Labour man , or Chapman ' s choice from the Conservative side , Whitehouse . The most suitable independents were Len Fairclough , favoured by Chapman due to him being a successful businessman , and Alf Roberts , a union official who was Rogers ' preferred choice . Together the men agreed to observe the candidates for the next few months and made a joint decision based upon those observations . Len ' s chances were diminished two weeks later when his girlfriend Rita Littlewood made a spectacle of herself at the opening of the Gatsby Club and fell on Chapman ' s lap during a struggle with a tipsy woman . Len had later dumped Rita , hoping that Chapman would choose to ignore the incident , but Len ' s subsequent absence in the run - up to the election due to carrying out plumbing work in Scarborough also counted against him , particularly when stacked up against Alf ' s comparatively stainless record . Chapman attended the ceremony at which Alf succeeded him in the role of Mayor in May 1973 and the party in the Rovers afterwards . After stepping down as Mayor , Chapman continued his work with the council and served as chairman of the Community Centre committee . In November 1975 , Chapman ( and others ) interviewed Ken Barlow for the open position of Community Development Officer . Chapman was alone in his disdain for Ken , preferring that his own nephew be given the job , but Ken impressed the rest of the committee and won the position . Chapman battled Ken again the following year , although this time his concerns were shared by others in the committee . After receiving complaints about Ken living in sin with his lover Wendy Nightingale , Chapman told him that either he gave up Wendy or he would lose his job , believing that it would reflect badly on the public image of the committee if they appeared to sanction it . Ken ' s domestic situation with Wendy was quickly resolved as Wendy returned to her husband Roger , and Chapman later denied that he had issued an ultimatum to Ken , producing a vote of full confidence from the rest of the committee in him continuing in his role . However , Ken took a dim view of employers who would try to control his private life and decided to resign - it was only the burden of having to care for Albert Tatlock which made Ken change his mind and stay . In March 1978 , Chapman delivered the news to Len Fairclough that his party , the Ratepayers Association , was demanding his resignation following his arrest for being drunk and disorderly . He later appeared in August 1980 at Alf ' s wife Renee ' s funeral where Annie Walker advised the others to keep him away from the brandy at the tea afterwards as he had a habit of monopolising it .