Geoffrey Hunter was a public relations manager employed by the Mark Brittain Warehouse in March 1971 to try and win over the aggrieved residents of Coronation Street who did not want the large, looming warehouse built on the site of the demolished maisonettes. Just about the only person who wasn't taken in by his smooth chat was Ken Barlow when Geoffrey offered his hand and sympathies for the death of Val that he claimed he had noticed in the papers. Ken refused the handshake and treated his attempts at false empathy with coldness.