Eric Gartside was a drayman who arrived at the Rovers Return Inn in January 2004 for a date with Shelley Unwin. He immediately reclaimed £10 that Jack Duckworth had borrowed four years earlier. Eric took Shelley to the upmarket Glass Restaurant and the pair went back to Eric's house for a cup of tea. Eric's overbearing mother, Dolly, greeted them in her dressing gown and Shelley beat a hasty retreat, refusing Eric's offer of another date. She advised him to cut the apron strings before asking another girl out.