Billy Nelson was an acquaintance of Eddie Yeats who met during their incarceration at Walton Jail. In September 1982, he turned up in Weatherfield and taken in by his tales of woe, Hilda Ogden allowed him to sleep on the settee at 13 Coronation Street for a few nights. Unbeknown to Hilda, he'd escaped from custody and had the police looking for him. Billy was further panicked when, during a night in the Rovers, he saw a CID officer and hid up the corner.