abstract
| - Wayne Farrell was Weatherfield County FC's star striker who met Raquel Wolstenhulme when she was helping club publicist Gordon Blinkhorn prepare food for the players before a match. Raquel was instantly besotted with Wayne and abandoned her duties to chat him up, making a point of telling him (twice) that she was a model and single. Wayne dated Raquel for a while but they barely saw each other because of Wayne's training and away games. On the few times they did meet, it was obvious to all except Raquel that Wayne wasn't the faithful type; once, when about to take Raquel out, Wayne enthused to Bet Gilroy about the talents of his physiotherapist Debbie, saying that she knew what she was doing with men's bodies. From behind the Rovers bar, Raquel regaled the customers with tales of how wonderful Wayne was, boasting to Angie Freeman that he always called her and that the service in one of his hotels was so good that the maid picked up the phone in his bedroom. Raquel also bragged about Wayne's football prowess, once telling Jim McDonald that Wayne had scored an OG which - according to Des Barnes - was a special goal that Wayne did all by himself (when Des knew very well what an OG was). Raquel's congratulations to Wayne on the own goal were no so graciously received, as he put the phone down on her. In fact, Wayne fell some way short of his reputation on the pitch; when Wayne was signing autographs for Nicky Platt and Mark Redman and showing off his football skills, Martin Platt tackled him and he went down instantly, tearing a knee ligament. During one game when he was playing badly, the crowd chanted "Wayne Wayne go away." After going out with Wayne for nearly a year, Raquel decided to find out where she stood with him and surprised him when he was giving a lesson at Weatherfield Comprehensive. Arriving at the school with Gordon Blinkhorn, Raquel saw Wayne being escorted by Serena Black, who worked for the club, and decided not to approach him. Later, her romantic evening with Wayne was scuppered when Serena reminded Wayne about an interview he'd forgotten. When Wayne forgot about Raquel's birthday, Raquel went to his flat in tears, catching him with Serena in their dressing gowns. Wayne showed no remorse, telling Raquel that it was the name of the game, but Raquel had the last laugh as she pushed him into the canal, telling him he was as bad in bed as he was at football. In February 1994, Wayne and Raquel encountered each other at a photoshoot where Raquel was posing with racer Erik Mikaelson. Wayne tried to demean Raquel but Erik fought her corner.
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