Alexander "Sandy" Hunter was a temporary bar-cellarman at the Rovers, hired by landlady Vera Duckworth to replace recently-departed barmaid Samantha Failsworth. Fed up of husband Jack and partner Alec Gilroy employing dolly birds as barmaids, Vera decided to provide some eye candy for herself for a change. Jack was jealous of gormless Sandy's popularity among the female customers, while Alec recognised his potential and decided to exploit it by secretly offering him work as an escort at his Golden Years Agency. When Vera found out about Sandy's moonlighting when he was supposed to be off sick, she sacked him and he left the Rovers.