maxine palmer, played by dilys laye, is the mother of debbie tyler (nicola duffett), who appears during debbie and nigel (paul bradley)'s courtship. she gets on well with nigel, and he likes her. she returns in 1995 after debbie's death, to help nigel look after debbie's daughter clare (gemma bissix), and to support him in his custody battle against clare's biological father, liam tyler (francis magee).