Betty Williams (also Preston and Turpin) is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera Coronation Street, portrayed by former music hall star Betty Driver. Driver was cast as Betty in 1969, after first auditioning for the role of Hilda Ogden, which was given to Jean Alexander. The character arrived in Coronation Street to help her sister Maggie Cooke (Irene Sutcliffe) run the corner shop, and since then had a number of storylines which saw her become twice widowed, and mother to an illegitimate son. For most of her tenure in the show, Betty worked as a barmaid in the soap's Rovers Return Inn, where she created a signature dish, known as Betty's hotpot. Driver died in October 2011, and Betty was subsequently written out, with the character dying off-screen from an illness in April 2012. Creation Betty Driver, who had been performing since she was eight years old, retired from acting in her late forties to run hotels in Cheshire and Derbyshire. It was here that she was spotted by one of her customers, Harry Kershaw, producer of Coronation Street, who persuaded her to audition for the role of Hilda Ogden in 1964; she eventually had to turn the role down as she was tied into an advertising contract with Procter & Gamble and they refused to release her. The part of Hilda eventually went to Jean Alexander. Driver has commented, "Harry Kershaw, producer of Coronation Street, persuaded me to audition for Hilda Ogden – just think I could have been wearing curlers for 30 years." In 1969, she was cast as the new character, Betty Turpin. Following her first appearance in 1969, Driver remained in the role of Betty continuously. In a 2006 interview she laughed off the notion of retirement, saying: "From day one on The Street everyone has been very kind to me. In fact, I'm godmother to Bill Roache's son. So as long as they want me, I'm happy to stay. The Street is like home and they really are my family." She confirmed her intention to remain on the show in 2010, when the character celebrated her 90th birthday. In May 2010, the News of the World reported that Driver had decided to retire, just prior to the actress's 90th birthday. Driver was distressed by the rumour, and assured producer Phil Collinson of her intention to remain with the soap, and was told that