Coronation Street actors in other roles

(This post was originally posted by Graeme N on the Coronation Street Blog in January 2013.)

These days actors coming into Coronation Street tend to fall into two categories. They are either brand new, straight out of nowhere because they are perfect for the role being cast or they are already very famous, therefore being cast for who they are as much as who they are going to play.

However, with the benefit of multi channel television it is often possible to catch current or former Coronation Street faces in other roles, in many cases before they became household names. I don't know about you, but I love spotting famous faces in classic television series and old films as it shows you how far some actors have come! 

Actors like Sue Nicholls and John Savident often cropped up in many of the most popular television series of the day, long before Weatherfield came calling. Who can forget Sue in Rentaghost or The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin? I was, however, surprised to see her pop up in an episode of The Professionals, playing a frightfully posh lady giving Martin Shaw the glad eye! John Savident also appeared in The Professionals amongst countless other shows as well as several episodes of the superb Yes, Minister. 

Of course we know that Johnny Briggs and Amanda Barrie both acted alongside the terrific Carry On team in the 1960s, but Sherrie Hewson also appeared in one of the films before signing up as Maureen Naylor (thankfully no relation)! Johnny Briggs appeared in countless old British films before spending 30 years as Michael Vernon Baldwin. Ms Barrie was wonderfully dippy in Carry On Cleo - I often think it was a shame they didn't include the odd sly reference to this during her time in Corrie!

Another good spot is Lynne Perrie (Ivy Tilsley) playing the mother of the lead character in Ken Loach's classic film, Kes. Lynne also co-starred in a 1970s comedy called Queenie's Castle opposite Diana Dors, but the less said about that the better! And who can forget Bryan Mosley (Alf Roberts) meeting an untimely end in the Michael Caine film Get Carter. 

Victoria Wood has also employed many actors with Corrie connections - I can name Anne Reid, Thelma Barlow, Philip Lowrie, Sue Cleaver and Shobna Gulati just off the top of my head.

So these are some of my favourites performances from our much-loved Coronation Street performers. What are yours?


Follow the Bluenose CorrieBlog on Twitter and Facebook