2. Lewis Archer (Nigel Havers)
Speaking of villains... Not as despised as Terry Duckworth (and certainly not as ugly), the swathe ladies man Lewis Archer appeared on the street between 2009-10 and again from 2012-13. Played by Nigel Havers (Chariots of Fire), Lewis appeared in scenes that saw him work as an escort, fall in love with Audrey Roberts, but later ditch the salon owner before stealing a large sum of money from Peter Barlow's (Chris Gascoyne) betting shop. Upon his return to the set in 2012, the smooth-talking manipulator is again involved in a romance with Audrey, but once more breaks her heart in scenes that
pulled in audiences of 9.7 million. After being duped by Gloria Price into thinking she was dying, and later propositioned by the pub worker, Lewis fumes when he finds out it was a ploy set up by Audrey's daughter, Gail, to test his commitment to her mum. After this leads to the dissolution of his relationship with Audrey, and in an act of revenge, Lewis pretends to fall in love with Gail before stealing all her money and leaving her homeless in scenes that will go down as Coronation Street's best ever. The door has always been left ajar by Corrie bosses for Havers to reprise his role, and a third stint on the soap wouldn't come as a surprise.