Shirley Armitage Shirley Armitage was a machinist at Baldwin ' s Casuals . From 1988 to 1989 , she lived with Curly Watts in the shop flat but left the area when they split up . Biography . Shirley Armitage started working at denim factory Baldwin ' s Casuals around September 1983 . Shirley came from a big family , with nine living within the same house in Nelson Street . Shirley was the fifth child of seven children , and grew up on a council estate in Weatherfield . At the factory , Shirley was one of the youngest machinists and usually stayed quiet while the louder personalities , chiefly Vera Duckworth and Ida Clough , led the gossip . She occasionally spoke up to back the girls against Mike Baldwin , for example when she favoured a strike when Mike announced that some of the staffs ' jobs would be at risk because of a new computer system at the factory in July 1984 . In 1985 , Shirley chatted to Curly Watts at a dance at the Community Centre and let him walk her home afterwards . Curly had been shy about asking her but they hit it off and Curly later chatted her up at a flatwarming party thrown by Kevin and Sally Webster in August 1987 . They started seeing each other on a casual basis after that . By the following year , Shirley was getting sick of living in such a crowded home and decided to ask Alf Roberts if she could rent the shop flat , the Websters having moved into No . 13 . Alf asked for a reference but in the short time it took her to get one from Emily Bishop , Curly had also made enquiries about the shop and Alf had agreed to let him move in . When Shirley and Curly compared notes , they were puzzled as Curly hadn ' t been asked for a reference . Thinking Alf racist , Curly decided to refuse the flat but Shirley had an idea of her own - they could move in together . Curly agreed and Alf backed down when Emily threatened to tell people about his racism . The unexpected move marked a big change in both Shirley ' s and Curly ' s lives , as well as their relationship , with Shirley becoming the first woman Curly had ever slept with . Their next obstacle was winning over each other ' s families , no easy task as even putting aside the race issue , Shirley ' s parents disapproved of her living in sin . Eventually , Mrs Armitage was convinced of Curly ' s love for Shirley , but Curly ' s parents never accepted Shirley . Mrs Armitage was accepting enough to let Shirley ' s younger sister Lucy stay with the couple for a few weeks in August . Later that year , Curly enrolled in a business studies course at college . Shirley wasn ' t convinced it would be a good move for the couple as only Shirley would be earning while he was studying , but she did admire Curly ' s ability and caused a stir at work by showing them Curly ' s report on Mike making the machinists work in terrible Victorian conditions . Mike got Curly to hand it over to him , threatening to sack Shirley otherwise . Curly ' s new career was to split the couple up . In April 1989 , Shirley threw a surprise party to celebrate the couple ' s first anniversary but Curly spoiled it by throwing everyone out as he had an important exam the next day . Shirley realised that Curly was too serious for her and immediately decided to pack her bags and move back in with her parents . Desperate to keep hold of Shirley , Curly broke down and proposed marriage , promising to change , but Shirley knew that the relationship had run its course and walked out . By July that year , Shirley had left Baldwin ' s Casuals . Her place in the sewing room was taken by Josie Phillips . Shirley moved to Gorton after quitting the factory . Quotes . " It ' s French , innit ? " ( First line , to Ida Clough ) " There ' s nothing else I can say , nothing . Please leave me alone . It ' s over Curly , finished . " ( Final line )