Coronation Street icon Johnny Briggs cut his drug-addicted daughter from his will. The soap legend passed away in February 2021, aged 85, leaving a will worth £550,000.
This fortune was divided among five of his six offspring - daughters Jennifer and Stephanie, and sons Michael, Anthony and Mark. However, after a fallout with Karen Briggs over her behaviour and struggles with heroin addiction, he chose to leave her nothing.
According to The Sun, the Corrie actor's relationship with Karen never recovered to the point where he left her nothing upon his death. Karen and her daughter Emma Beach are thieves who have been jailed multiple times for various offences including shoplifting and bike theft.
Johnny reportedly severed ties with Karen after discovering she had supplied her daughter with class A drugs from the age of 14. Karen previously attributed her parents' split as the catalyst for her addiction woes.
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PA)In 2015, Karen and Emma were barred from every shop in Surrey due to their persistent thieving - which once included a £10,000 haul of Yankee Candles from a Clinton's Cards in Walton-On-Thames. While Emma has made attempts to sober up and straighten out, Karen continues to have brushes with the law, earning anti-social behaviour orders for her continued stealing.
At the time, a court heard that Karen also admitted taking a parcel meant for a neighbour, had "unresolved issues" with her parents and wanted to "rebuild her relationship", with her father. Guildford Crown Court heard the two women were seen by a candle display in the high street store.
Prosecutor Gino Connor said when the shop assistant next looked, the women had gone and "the display looked empty, with only three candles remaining". Police found the candles in a car driven by Beach a month later. They also found the parcel intended for a neighbour of the pair in Cobham, Surrey.
Di Middleton, mitigating for Briggs, said: "She's extremely ashamed." In 2022, Karen and her daughter appeared in court again having "attacked" two women to steal £20. The mum-and-daughter duo were accused of assaulting Sophia Walton and Amanda Gaye on October 25.
Guildford Crown Court heard that the pair, both of Cherry Orchard, Stains-upon-Thames, Surrey allegedly also stole £20 from Ms Gaye during the attack. They both appeared in the dock where they denied charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault and theft.
Johnny was a familiar face on Coronation Street, having portrayed the charming businessman Mike Baldwin from 1976 to 2006. His character was known for his roving eye, his love for Alma (played by Amanda Barrie), and his tumultuous love triangle with Deidre (the late Anne Kirkbride) and Ken Barlow (Bill Roache).
In a tragic storyline, Mike developed Alzheimer's disease and passed away in 2006. Johnny's real life somewhat mirrored his character's, as he was revealed to have had multiple affairs. He had been married twice - first to Caroline Sinclair from 1961 to 1975, then to Christine Allsopp from 1975 to 2006. Karen is Johnny's only daughter from his marriage to Caroline, and they also have a son named Mark.
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