Doreen Lostock was a worker at Elliston's Raincoat Factory in the early 1960s. A friend of Sheila Birtles, Doreen lodged with Sheila in the Corner Shop flat in Coronation Street from 1962 to 1963. During her time in the Street, Doreen tried her hand at various jobs, including an assistant at Sylvia Snape's cafe and a barmaid at the Rovers Return Inn before settling down to a shop assistant's position at Gamma Garments, where she worked with Emily Nugent under pompous Leonard Swindley. Chatty Doreen was always on the lookout for attractive men and spent most of her free time gossiping with Sheila. In 1963, Doreen left the Street to join the Women's Royal Army Corp.