mini-cab firm. Early in 2000 Duggie started a relationship with Debs Brownlow (Gabrielle Glaister), sister of The Rovers landlady Natalie Barnes (Denise Welch). Debs came to Weatherfield to be near her sister after many years working on a cruise ship as a hairdresser. Debs helped Duggie overcome his emotional block concerning women and the couple were happy until Duggie started to develop another property and tried to forcibly evict tenants including Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor) and Phil Simmonds (Jack Deam). Both felt that they had been treated badly, especially when Duggie employed Vinny Sorrell (James Gaddas) to evict Phil from his home. Phil went to the press and the adverse report caused Duggie's financial downfall, forcing him to sell the home that he had shared with wife Laura. Dev Alahan (Jimmi Harkishin) bought Duggie's home for a quick sale before putting it back on the market and making a tidy profit. Duggie was forced to move in with Debs, hoping to use it as an office for his business contacts but Debs had a fling with Vinny – Natalie's lover and Duggie's employee. Duggie was furious when Vinny and Debs left town with £400 of rent money. In December 2000, Natalie decided to sell and The Rovers came under threat by a chain who planned to turn it into a "fun pub" named the Boozy Newt. Duggie stepped in to help the Rovers avoid this but could not buy the place alone so Fred and Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs) invested in The Rovers with Duggie. Neither of the trio wanted to run the place so they employed Liz McDonald (Beverley Callard) to run it. Liz moved into The Rovers with resident barmaid Toyah but her reign as manager was short as, after numerous disagreements with the trio, and husband Jim being transferred to a prison in Leicester, she quit and left Weatherfield. Mike's new wife, Linda (Jacqueline Pirie), took the helm of The Rovers, but her heart was not in it and Duggie persuaded his partners to sell their shares to a 'mysterious owner' – Duggie snapped up their shares and became sole owner of the Rovers. At the end of 2001, the social club at Duggie's beloved Weatherfield Rugby League club came up for sale. Looking to raise money quickly, Duggie auctioned The Rovers – to Fred Elliott – for £76,000, only to find he had been gazumped for