Grandma Connolly

Grandma Connolly was Rita Connolly's mother, who lived with Rita and her husband, Eddie, and their son, Tommy in a home that she owned.

She was excited at the prospect of seeing the Queen's Coronation on television, and was present when the TV set was delivered from Magpie Electricals. However, it was playing up and the Wire appeared and stole her face. (TS: Tardisode 7)

Eddie Connolly, unbeknownst to his family, then reported Grandma to the police, who took her faceless body away and stored it in a lock-up with all the other locals who suffered a similar fate. When the Wire was defeated, Grandma's face returned and she went home. (DW: The Idiot's Lantern)

Behind the scenes

 * This character is never referred to as a "Connolly" in the dialogue of the episode, but it is how she was credited at the end of the episode. Nevertheless, she is positively identified as Rita Connolly's mother at least three times within the episode.  How she could be a Connolly — when logic would dictate her surname to be Rita's unspoken maiden name  — is not explored by the script.  However, the production team's allowance of the name "Connolly" on her Character Options figure does suggest that the credits were correct and that they intended her name to be "Connolly".