Maureen Webster Maureen Elizabeth Webster ( née Grimes , previously Naylor , Holdsworth and Elliott ) was played by the actress Sherrie Hewson between March 1993 and October 1997 , with a brief return in December 2006 . Biography . 1945 - 1993 : Reunited . In March 1993 , Maureen Naylor was employed by Curly Watts at Bettabuy supermarket , unaware that her first love Reg Holdsworth was the store manager . The pair had been engaged to be married when they were young , but Maureen ' s mother Maud disapproved of the match and made it her business to ruin the relationship . Maureen went on to marry Frank Naylor but eventually divorced him after he treated her badly . Delighted to be reunited , Maureen and Reg began courting , although Maureen ' s cautious behaviour led Reg to suspect she was seeing another man . Maureen eventually confessed that she was actually living with her mother and did not want her to frighten Reg away as she had done years before . Despite Maud ' s best efforts to sabotage their courtship with feigned illnesses and injuries , Reg and Maureen prepared to consummate their love in Reg ' s water bed , only for Derek Wilton to drill through the ceiling below into the bed , flooding the flat and humiliating Maureen . The couple got engaged again , but Maureen called off the wedding when she caught Reg entertaining Debi Scott and accused him of being unfaithful - just as her mother had warned he would . Devastated , Maureen got drunk and spent the night with Curly but was reconciled with Reg when he explained that he had been trying to secure a cheap deal for the Corner Shop from Debi . 1994 - 1996 : Marriage and Divorce . Maureen and Reg finally married in January 1994 and began to run the Corner Shop together . Reg , however , soon tired of his small environment and went to work for Firman ' s Freezers , leaving Maureen to run the business with Maud . Maureen ' s world was rocked when , during a visit to France , Maud admitted that her daughter had been the result of an affair with an American soldier , Leonard Kennedy , and that Wilfred Grimes was not Maureen ' s real father . The Holdsworths attempted to sell the shop unsuccessfully , and things got worse when Reg took a job in Lowestoft . Maureen became unhappy at having to drive long distances to see him only at weekends . In 1996 , Maureen was left distraught when she discovered that Reg had impregnated his mistress in Lowestoft and agreed to divorce him . She threw herself into work at the shop and eventually embarked upon a romance with Bill Webster , of whom Maud wholeheartedly approved . Unfortunately , another drunken night of passion with Curly Watts left Bill unable to continue the relationship and Maureen was alone once again . 1997 - 2006 : Third Time Lucky ? A while later , butcher Fred Elliott expressed an interest in Maureen and began to take her out . She enjoyed his company and being treated like a lady but turned down his proposal of marriage , reluctant to wed for a third time . Maud disliked Fred , thinking him too loud and overbearing , just as Reg had been . Maureen relented , however , and the couple married in September 1997 . Less than a week into the union , Maureen realised that her mother had been right as she found Fred ' s constant attention and his plans for their future suffocating . Desperately unhappy , she found sympathy in Bill , who was planning to emigrate to Germany . He invited her to start a new life with him , and - with Maud ' s blessing - she left Weatherfield without so much as a word to Fred . 2006 onwards : Heartbreak . While in Germany , Maureen divorced Fred and married Bill . The couple did not return to Coronation Street until Bill visited his family in 2006 and began an affair with Audrey Roberts . On Christmas Day , Maureen surprised him by turning up at the Platts ' house , where Audrey and the Websters were eating Christmas dinner . Troublemaker David Platt revealed Bill and Audrey ' s affair and Maureen was heartbroken , changing her plans and returning to Germany immediately . Bill followed her to beg forgiveness but returned to Weatherfield a few weeks later , claiming the marriage was over . Maureen now lives in Germany . Background Information . Maureen was axed by new producer Brian Park in 1997 as part of a shake - up of the show . However , nine years later in December 2006 , the character was brought back for two episodes by Steve Frost .