Jim McDonald

Jim McDonald was an anti-hero in the British Soap Opera Coronation Street, appearing originally as a regular character from 1989 to 2000 (before ending up in prison), and followed by guest stints in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 to 2008, 2009, 2010 to 2011 and then 2014. Jim was the tertiary antagonist in the 2014 series and enemy to Peter Barlow. Despite doing some bad deeds (which goes for any other character in Coronation Street) he can still be protective towards his family, mostly his son Steve McDonald.

He was played by Charles Lawson.

Biography
Jim and his wife Liz first arrived in Coronation Street in October 1989 in interest of buying a house from Alf and Audrey Roberts. They moved in with their two twin sons Steve and Andy and the McDonalds settled into Coronation Street.

Sometime in the mid-90s when Jim discovered Liz had an affair with his best friend whilst he was in the army, he hit her and chucked her out the car and left Liz at an abandoned petrol station. When she arrived home she locked him out of the house and Jim tried to break in and was arrested and Liz put a court order out against Jim. She left the street eventually in 1998 and the pair were divorced.

In 2000 when Steve was beaten up by a gang led by drug dealer Jez Quigley, Jim beat the thug up and hospitalised him. Jez died from a ruptured spleen and Jim was arrested for manslaughter. Liz returned and reunited with Jim and they remarried a second time. Jim was sentenced to 8 years for manslaughter and was imprisoned.

In 2003 Jim believed Liz was having an affair and broke out of prison and headed to Blackpool. This was a misunderstanding and the pair planned to flee the country but Jim gave himself up when the police caught up and decided not to take the risk. In 2005 Liz divorced Jim a second time after he was denied parole for beating up a fellow cellmate.

In November 2007 Jim was released early for good behaviour and reunited with Steve and also met his granddaughter Amy. Jim wasn't pleased that Liz was marrying a man named Vernon and attempted to win her back on her wedding day to him. When Vernon intervened in Jim's attempts, Jim beat Vernon up badly. Steve banished Jim from his pub the Rovers Return and Jim left again shortly after Liz married Vernon after all.

Jim returned in August 2009 for Steve's wedding to Becky McDonald. By this point Liz was divorced from Vernon and it was clear there was still strong feelings between them, but Jim departed along with his son Andy. A year later Jim resurfaced to celebrate his birthday. He took an interest in Liz again much to the annoyance of her builder boyfriend Owen Armstrong, who then hired a gang of builders to beat Jim up as a warning. Jim warned Steve about Owen before leaving.

Three-months later Jim and Liz reunited. When Steve and Becky planned to flee for Spain with Amy and Becky's nephew Max from Tracy Barlow Jim and Liz offered to buy the pub from them. Jim however didn't have the money, so out of desperation and not wanting to let down Liz attempted to rob a building society. It turned into a hostage situation and Jim planned to commit suicide by shooting himself. Liz however talked him out of killing himself, and Jim surrendered himself to the police. He was sentenced to seven-years in prison, and he cut off contact with his family.

Three-years later resident Peter Barlow was falsely imprisoned for the murder of Tina McIntyre. Craving for booze, he was told about a smuggler nicknamed "The Landlord" who turned out to be Jim.