John Dewhurst was the son of butcher Harold Dewhurst, a former bowling colleague of Jack Walker who came to the Rovers in March 1971 to pay his respects to Jack’s widow Annie. Harold was a widower, the two became friends and it looked as if Annie would enjoy her first romance after Jack’s death. He invited her on a Mediterranean cruise and, prompted by son Billy, Annie accepted. When she returned though she was reticent to discuss the holiday and word soon started to spread that Harold had been seen with another woman. When, after a few weeks absence he turned up in the Rovers with a younger woman, a furious Billy threw them out. The next day Harold turned up with his son John and the latter angrily told Billy that the younger woman was his wife, not his dad’s girlfriend. Billy apologised