Pauline Lofthouse was a friend of Gail Tilsley's who in November 1986 arranged a firework display with her children and Gail and Nicky. Pauline occasionally babysat Sarah Louise and in 1988 helped Gail organise Sarah's first birthday party. Pauline was also privy to the fact that Brian Tilsley had proposed to Gail and thought Gail was fooling herself for thinking she could turn the proposal down and keep things as they were, warning her that it would turn him sour eventually. Pauline was credited as "Pauline Loftus" in her first three appearances and "Pauline Lofthouse" thereafter.