| rdfs:comment | - Eric Babbage was the rich fiancé of Gloria Price until his death in February 2013. Eric was a businessman and carpet salesman. Before meeting Gloria, he had a wife named Doris, but they had separated, although never divorced. Gloria met Eric in Istanbul and they got engaged. Because of Eric's wealth, Gloria always wanted something and had no second thoughts about spending his money. Eric Babbage was the third character to die in the Rovers Return, the first being Martha Longhurst in 1964, and then Ray Langton in 2005.
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| abstract | - Eric Babbage was the rich fiancé of Gloria Price until his death in February 2013. Eric was a businessman and carpet salesman. Before meeting Gloria, he had a wife named Doris, but they had separated, although never divorced. Gloria met Eric in Istanbul and they got engaged. Because of Eric's wealth, Gloria always wanted something and had no second thoughts about spending his money. She brought Eric back to Weatherfield to meet her family, daughter Stella and granddaughter Eva, who lived and worked at the Rovers Return Inn. On his first day there, he witnessed Gloria starting an argument with her other granddaughter Leanne's ex-husband Peter Barlow while having a family night out at Nick's Bistro (which was owned by Leanne's husband Nick Tilsley). Eric began to see Gloria's true colours with her behaviour against some of the other residents, and also found out she had faked an illness a few months prior. He found himself drawn to Eva, and realised that he didn't love Gloria - planning to call off the engagement and use his money to travel. He asked Eva to accompany him, which she took into consideration after she lost her job at Underworld following an argument with boss and ex-boyfriend Rob Donovan. She also got fed up with her mum's sniping and Gloria's overbearing ways and revealed that she planned to accept Eric's offer. However, Stella tried to talk her out of going with him and advised she should stay in Weatherfield. When Eric sat in the bar, he began to feel unwell. He was later discovered to be dead, shocking the pub. Gloria planned a lavish funeral as she hoped to get his inheritance, but his wife Doris turned up and gladly revealed to Gloria that she would be entitled to all his money. Doris refused to pay for the funeral, so Eva shamed Gloria and convinced her to sell her engagement ring. Eva sold the necklace that Eric gave her to pay for the funeral, and gave him a proper send-off. Eric Babbage was the third character to die in the Rovers Return, the first being Martha Longhurst in 1964, and then Ray Langton in 2005.
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