Barbara Knox is an English actress, best known for her role as Rita Tanner in the soap opera Coronation Street. She has appeared in the show for more than 50 years, making her one of the longest-serving cast members.
Born in Bury, Lancashire, on 30 September 1933, Knox was the only child of Jack and Nellie Knox. Her father was a carpenter and her mother a housewife. She was educated at Bury Grammar School for Girls and then studied drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
Knox made her television debut in 1955 in an episode of the BBC series The Grove Family. She made her first appearance as Rita Tanner in Coronation Street in 1964. She has appeared in more than 2,000 episodes of the show and is one of its most recognisable stars.
In addition to her work on Coronation Street, Knox has also appeared in a number of other television programmes, including Z-Cars, The Bill and Emmerdale. She has also appeared on stage, most notably in a production of The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium in 1982.
Knox has been married three times. Her first husband was actor David Beckett, with whom she had a son, Christopher. She divorced Beckett in 1968 and married actor Johnny Briggs the following year. The couple had two daughters, Nicola and Lisa, before divorcing in 1976. Knox married her third husband, actor Malcolm Hebden, in 1978. The couple have no children.
Knox has been nominated for numerous awards for her work on Coronation Street, including the British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement (2005) and the Lifetime Achievement Award (2007). In 2010, she was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award at the British Soap Awards.
Knox has an estimated net worth of £4 million.
General Info
Full Name
Barbara Knox
Profession
Actor
Nationality
English
Family
Spouse
John Knox, Denis Mullaney
Children
Maxine Ashcroft
Accomplishments
Awards
The British Soap Award for Best On-Screen Partnership, The British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement
[on being awarded the MBE in June 2010:] It was a wonderful honor.
Facts
#
Fact
1
Mother of Maxine Ashcroft (née Mullaney) (b. 1957).
2
Made a one-episode appearance as Rita in Coronation Street (1960) in 1964, in which she was seen in a friendship with Philip Lowrie's character Dennis Tanner. In 2012, a year after he had returned to the show, the two characters rekindled this bond and got married.
She was awarded the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to drama.
5
When the UK Sun newspaper presented her with a surprise birthday cake to mark the occasion of her 60th birthday, Barbara was finally forced to concede her true age, having previously pretended to be some 5 years younger. [1993]
6
Recipient of the TV Times award for best television actress. [1989]
Movies
Actress
Title
Year
Status
Character
Coronation Street
1964-2016
TV Series
Rita Sullivan
Rita Tanner
Rita Fairclough
...
Coronation Street: A Knight's Tale
2010
Video
Rita Sullivan
Coronation Street: The Feature Length Special
1995
Video
Rita Sullivan
Funny You Should Say That
1972
TV Series
Various characters
A Family at War
1971
TV Series
Nursing Sister
Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width
1971
TV Series
Mrs. Nicholls
ITV Playhouse
1970
TV Series
The ward sister
Comedy Playhouse
1970
TV Series
Ethel
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
1969
Dancer (uncredited)
The Dustbinmen
1969
TV Series
Housewife
Girls About Town
1969
TV Series
Sylvia Liversedge
George and the Dragon
1968
TV Series
Sandra
Mrs Thursday
1967
TV Series
Marie
Mr. Rose
1967
TV Series
Suzanne Marsh
Emergency-Ward 10
1966-1967
TV Series
Nurse Fulton / Night Nurse
The Man in Room 17
1965
TV Series
Martha Ross
Thanks
Title
Year
Status
Character
Rita & Me
2014
TV Movie documentary special thanks
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Hilda Ogden's Last Ta-ra: A Tribute to Jean Alexander
2016
TV Movie
Herself (as Barbara Knox MBE)
National Television Awards
2015
TV Special
Herself
Rita & Me
2014
TV Movie documentary
Herself / Rita Tanner (as Barbara Knox MBE)
Coronation Street: A Moving Story
2014
TV Movie documentary
Herself
The One and Only Cilla Black
2013
TV Movie documentary
Rita Tanner
This Morning
2012-2013
TV Series
Herself
Lorraine
2012-2013
TV Series
Herself
Goodbye Granadaland
2013
TV Movie documentary
Herself
Coronation Street: The Big 50
2010
TV Movie
Herself (as Barbara Knox MBE)
Coronation Street: 50 Years, 50 Moments
2010
TV Movie documentary
Herself (as Barbara Knox MBE)
Paul O'Grady Live
2010
TV Series
Herself - Guest
ITV Evening News
2010
TV Series
Herself
ITV Lunchtime News
2010
TV Series
Herself
Coronation Street: The Webster Family Album
2007
TV Movie documentary
Herself
Happy Birthday BAFTA
2007
TV Movie
The British Soap Awards 2006
2006
TV Special
Herself
The British Soap Awards 2006: The Party
2006
TV Special
Herself
Deirdre & Me
2001
TV Movie documentary
Herself
Stars and Their Lives
2001
TV Series
Herself
This Is Your Life
1976-1996
TV Series documentary
Herself
The Street Party
1995
TV Movie
Performer
An Audience with Shirley Bassey
1995
TV Special
Herself - Audience Member
An Audience with Bob Monkhouse
1994
TV Special documentary
Herself
Classic Coronation Street
1991
TV Movie
Herself
That's Showbusiness
1991
TV Series
Herself
Happy Birthday, Coronation Street!
1990
TV Movie
Herself - Audience Member
Live from Coronation Street
1990
TV Movie documentary
Herself
Sunday, Sunday
1989
TV Series
Herself
The Royal Variety Performance 1989
1989
TV Movie
Herself
BAFTA British Academy Awards
1989
TV Special
Herself
Those Wonderful TV Times
1976
TV Series
Herself
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Corrie Years
2011
TV Series documentary
Rita Sullivan
The Stars of the Street: 50 Years, 50 Classic Characters