Chaz Ferguson was an old acquaintance of Alec Gilroy. In August 1988, Alec called on Chaz to help him get rid of an unwanted German shepherd, Rover, in such a way that his dog-loving wife Bet would agree to. Chaz sent his son Tommy to the Rovers to spin a story about losing his "Prince" in a wood at Heaton Park. As Rover was picked up as a stray by the RSPCA, Bet believed the tale and let Tommy take Rover when he identified the dog as his own. Catching up with Chaz and Tommy as they were putting Rover in Chaz's car in a nearby street, Alec asked Chaz if he'd ever considerered putting Tommy in drama school! Chaz pointedly told Alec that he'd only agreed to the scheme as he'd wanted a dog anyway, and he didn't want him phoning him up like he used to, reminding him of the time he had two danc