Gordon Lewis was sent by Newton & Ridley to manage the Rovers while Annie Walker was on a Mediterranean cruise in February 1981. Tall, stern and humourless, Gordon saw the Rovers as a sinking ship and started laying down the law, giving Bet Lynch and Betty Turpin extra responsibilities for no extra pay, barring Bet from smoking behind the bar and changing the way things were arranged in the cellar, much to Fred Gee's annoyance.