Brenda Shaw was a waitress at The Vine club and friend of Sharon Duffy. In November 1972, when Jacko Ford was charged with burgling Benny Lewis's luxury apartment and stealing £500, Ken Barlow carried out his own investigation into the crime in the hope of exonerating Jacko, and began to suspect Sharon when he learned about her gaining access to the flat key from Ray Langton. The character was credited with a surname in Episodes 1228 and 1229 but with a first name only in both of her subsequent appearances.