Kenneth Farrington | |
---|---|
Born | Kenneth William Farrington 18 April 1936 |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1960–2006, 2020 |
Spouse | Patricia Heneghan (m. 1961;div. 1981) |
Children | 2 |
Kenneth William Farrington (born 18 April 1936) is a retired English actor. He first came to fame playing the role of Billy Walker, wayward son of publican Annie, in ITV's longest-running soap opera, Coronation Street . Following a brief period as a film actor, Farrington secured the role of power-hungry Tom King in Emmerdale . After the character's high-profile death in December 2006, Farrington largely retired from acting, although he has appeared in occasional TV roles since then.
Farrington was born in Dulwich, South London, and attended Alleyn's School. [1] [2] He was married to actress Patricia Heneghan from 1961 to 1981; they have two children. He was taught by Michael Croft, who advised him not to take up acting as a professional. [3]
Farrington's first major role was as Jack Marvel in the 1960 series, The Splendid Spur, [3] but he came to prominence playing the role of Billy Walker, wayward son of publican Annie, in ITV's long-running soap opera, Coronation Street , having previously been considered for the role of Jed Stone. [4] He joined the series in 1961, continuing in the role on and off until leaving the show for good in 1984.
Farrington played long-suffering Chief Inspector Teal's right-hand man in the TV series The Saint , and also appeared in episodes of The Avengers , Redcap and Z-Cars . [5] [6] He appeared in films such as Submarine X-1 (1968) and Party Party (1983). [1] Farrington worked with the Manchester Drama Group, with whom cast members of Coronation Street often performed in the 1970s.
In 1974, he directed Anne Kirkbride in a lunchtime production of David Halliwell's Muck from Three Angles at the Grapes Hotel in Quay Street. [7] Kirkbride's character in the soap, Deirdre, was a love interest of Billy Walker around this time. [8] In 1990 he played the role of joiner Mr.Edwards in an episode of All Creatures Great And Small titled "Knowin' How To Do It". In 1993 he appeared in an episode of Heartbeat , playing Vic Kennis (as Ken Farrington). [9]
Beginning in 1997 he played the continuing role of Jack Gates, father of Hart family matriarch Annie Hart (played by Liz Crowther), in the soap opera Family Affairs . [1] His character was killed off in late 1998 (several weeks prior to the entire Hart family being killed off) as part of a drastic revamp of that series.
In 2004, Farrington joined the ITV soap opera Emmerdale , playing the character Tom King. [10] After three years in the role, he announced his departure on 8 August 2006. Speaking about his decision to quit the show, Farrington said: "I originally came to Emmerdale for just six months and I have ended up staying for three years. Even during my 25 years at Coronation Street, two years at a time was my longest stint. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Emmerdale but feel it is time to move on."
Emmerdale series producer Kathleen Beedles said: "Ken has been an asset to the show and will be greatly missed but his exit storyline is going to be extremely dramatic and memorable for viewers, which we're very excited about."
Farrington was written out in dramatic fashion in an episode which aired on Christmas Day 2006 which saw his character being pushed to his death from a bedroom window by Carl King.
Coronation Street is a British television soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced street in the fictional town of Weatherfield in Greater Manchester. The location was itself based on Salford, the hometown of the show's first screenwriter and creator.
Kenneth "Ken" Barlow is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by William Roache. He was created by Tony Warren as one of Coronation Street's original characters and December 2020 marked Ken's 60th anniversary onscreen. He debuted in the soap's first episode on 9 December 1960. Having appeared in the role continuously since that date, Roache is the longest-serving actor in a televised soap opera, and was honoured at the 2010 Guinness World Records ceremony for the achievement, having surpassed actor Don Hastings from the American soap opera As the World Turns, who previously held this title. Roache stated in 2010 that he had no plans to leave the role and would remain in Coronation Street for as long as the producers would have him. In November 2020, Roache was again presented with the Guinness World Record for the longest-serving TV soap star in the world for his six decades in Coronation Street.
Anne Kirkbride was an English actress, best known for her long-running role as Deirdre Barlow in the ITV soap Coronation Street, which she played for 42 years from 1972 to 2014. For this role, she posthumously received the Outstanding Achievement Award at the 2015 British Soap Awards.
Deirdre Barlow is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Anne Kirkbride. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 November 1972. Her final appearance was on 8 October 2014.
Frederick Feast was a British television actor, best remembered for playing the role of Fred Gee in Coronation Street.
Kenneth William Morley is an English actor and comedian, best known for portraying the role of Reg Holdsworth in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street from 1989 to 1995. He also played General Leopold von Flockenstuffen in the BBC sitcom 'Allo 'Allo! from 1988 to 1991.
Blanche Hunt is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. She was originally played by Patricia Cutts; however, the actress died by suicide after appearing in just two episodes in August 1974. Maggie Jones took over the role, playing Blanche in over 840 episodes from 1974 to her death in December 2009. The character subsequently died off screen in May 2010. Blanche was the mother of Deirdre Barlow, grandmother of Tracy Barlow and great-grandmother of Amy Barlow. Her storylines have revolved around her family life, various romances and her "acerbic tongue". The character's "gallows humour" has been well received by critics, and saw Jones win The British Soap Award for "Best Comedy Performance" in 2005 and 2008. Blanche has been described as "a true Coronation Street icon".
Amy Barlow is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, portrayed by Elle Mulvaney. She was born on screen during the episode broadcast on 9 February 2004. To date, the character has been portrayed by eight child actors; Holly Bowyer, Rebecca Pike, Louisa Morris, Rachel and Sarah Corker, Madison Hampson, Amber Chadwick and Elle Mulvaney, making her the most recast character in Coronation Street. Although Amy's surname has stayed Barlow, Chadwick was credited as Amy McDonald for three episodes from 2009 to 2010.
Annie Walker is a long-standing fictional character in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street. She was played by actress Doris Speed from the series' first episode in 1960 until Speed retired from the role 23 years and 1,726 episodes later in 1983. Speed appeared as a guest of honour at the 30th birthday celebration of Coronation Street in 1990 which was hosted by Cilla Black.
Adam Barlow is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by actor Sam Robertson. He made his first appearance on-screen on 14 January 2001. Adam was played by Iain De Caestecker from the character's first appearance in 2001 until 21 July 2003 with Robertson taking over the role from 31 December 2004 until 20 April 2007. Robertson reprised the role in 2016 and made his return on screen on 16 November 2016. Adam is the son of Mike Baldwin and Susan Barlow, and the grandson of Ken Barlow.
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The British Soap Awards (BSAs) are an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom which honours the best moments in British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV. The trophies given to the winners are made from metal and glass and have been manufactured by British firm Creative Awards since their inception. The majority of the awards are voted for by a panel of industry professionals, while certain awards including Best British Soap and Best Leading Performer are voted for by the general public.
Susan Barlow is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. She made her debut screen appearance on 5 April 1965. Susan has been portrayed by four actresses since her introduction. Katie Heanue was the first actress to play the character, appearing sporadically in the 1960s uncredited. Wendy Jane Walker took over the role for 26 episodes between 1970 and 1971 and between 1973 and 1974. When the character returned, Suzy Paterson was recast in the role. She appeared in eight episodes from December 1979 until July 1981. Walker reprised the role on a permanent basis from October 1985 until November 1987. The fourth actress to play the role was Joanna Foster, who appeared in eight episodes in 2001 until the character was killed off. The character's final appearance was on 11 February 2001.
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Kate Oates is a British television producer, who was born in Nottingham and graduated from Warwick University. She began her career working as a researcher and editorial assistant for Germaine Greer, before becoming a script editor for the soap opera Crossroads. In 2003, she joined the radio soap The Archers as a producer, a position which Oates credits as the majority of her training. After resigning from this job, Oates began working on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale as a script editor, during which time she assisted with the soap's fortieth anniversary celebrations and worked on British Soap Award-winning storylines. She remained in the position until 2012 when she joined Coronation Street as the assistant producer.
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