Nellie Bailey (née Briggs, previously Fairclough) was the first wife of Len Fairclough and mother of Stanley. Len and Nellie were married on 12th July 1949 and their son was born the following year. Nellie had become increasingly frustrated with Len, as she felt that she had been treated like a drudge by him. Len always meddled in Elsie Tanner's business, especially where her men-friends were involved. This led to Nellie's affair with insurance agent Harry Bailey, and she and son Stanley left Weatherfield to live in Nottingham with Harry. Len divorced Nellie in 1963 and she went on to get married to Harry. Their marriage was cut short however, as Harry returned to Weatherfield to announce Nellie's death from lung cancer in October 1964.