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| Ray Langton | |||||||||||||||
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| Coronation Street character | |||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Neville Buswell | ||||||||||||||
| Duration |
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| First appearance | 21 February 1966 | ||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 10 April 2005 | ||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||
| Introduced by |
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| Spin-off appearances | Viva Las Vegas! (1997) | ||||||||||||||
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Ray Langton is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street , played by Neville Buswell.
Ray Langton was born at Number 2 Gas Street. Throughout his childhood, he was in trouble with the police most of the time. An ex-borstal boy, Ray built up a reputation as a troublemaker. He first appeared in the Street in 1966 but was sent away by Len Fairclough (Peter Adamson) after he threatened Lucille Hewitt (Jennifer Moss). Nevertheless, Ray returned two years later and Len gave him a job at his building firm and invited him to move into his bachelor pad at No.9. Ray hoped to start his own business but settled for a partnership with Len and Jerry Booth (Graham Haberfield). Ray's younger sister, Janice (Paula Wilcox), visited briefly in 1969.
Ray was a womaniser and was involved with many women while living in the Street, including Sandra Butler (Patricia Fuller), Audrey Fleming (Gillian McCann), Vicki Bright (Clare Sutcliffe) and Sue Silcock (Angela Scoular).
In 1975, he married the yard's secretary, Deirdre Hunt (Anne Kirkbride), and they moved into No.5; their daughter, Tracy (Christabel Finch), was born in 1977. His roving eye led him into an affair with waitress Janice Stubbs (Angela Bruce). Deirdre found out so he ended the affair and made plans to move to the Netherlands for a new life and wanted Deirdre and Tracy to come with him. She initially agreed but changed her mind at the last minute so Ray left the street alone. Ray kept in touch and sent Tracy presents, but this dwindled over the years. Eventually, he contacted Deirdre, asking for a divorce as his new partner was pregnant with his child. Ray divorced his second wife sometime around 2000.
When he discovered he had stomach cancer in 2005, he returned to Weatherfield to look for Tracy so he could make amends, arriving on Ken and Deirdre's wedding day and hit baby Amy Barlow (Rebecca Pike)'s pram. He met Deirdre, Blanche Hunt (Maggie Jones) and Ken Barlow (William Roache) at the hospital and realised that Amy is his granddaughter and Tracy was her mother. Ray told them that he had terminal stomach cancer and that he had divorced his Dutch wife a few years before. He stayed with Emily Bishop (Eileen Derbyshire) and Tracy softened towards her birth father Ray. He attended Ken and Deirdre's wedding and wished the couple well. During the reception in the Rovers Return, Ray had died of his illness, much to Tracy's distress.
Ray Langton's departure in 1978 came due to Neville Buswell quitting acting and later leaving to work in Las Vegas. However, he returned in 2005 for a brief stint, 27 years since he portrayed the character. [1]
Neville Buswell is the fourth cast member to have the longest break in Coronation Street, which is a 27-year absence from 1978 to 2005. As of 2011, Philip Lowrie, who played Dennis Tanner, has the record for the longest break between appearances in Coronation Street, having been absent for 43 years. [2]
The premise of the series was to follow the comic misfortunes of Street characters Ray Langton and Jerry Booth in the role of insurance salesmen and premium collectors. Part of their customer round is in Norville House, a block of flats in Weatherfield. [3]
However the series only got as far as the recording of a half-hour pilot episode under the title Lift Off. [3]
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.
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.
Neville Alfred Morris Buswell was a British actor, best known for his role as Ray Langton in Coronation Street.
Albert Tatlock is a fictional character on the British ITV television soap opera Coronation Street. Actor Jack Howarth played Albert from 1960 to 1984.
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".
Tracy McDonald is a fictional character and a main antagonist from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. She was born on-screen during the episode broadcast on 24 January 1977. She was played by Christabel Finch until 21 November 1983. Holly Chamarette played the role from 8 July 1985 until 23 March 1988. Dawn Acton played the role from 12 December 1988 to 10 July 1995. Acton reprised the role for two short stints in November 1996 and December 1997. She reprised the role once again on 14 March 1999 and made her final appearance as Tracy on 10 October 1999. Kate Ford took over the role from 25 December 2002 to 8 April 2007. Ford reprised the role for a brief stint from late May to early June 2010, returning full-time from 24 December 2010. In April 2024, Ford took a break from the show and returned on 16 August 2024.
The Rovers Return Inn is a fictional public house in the long-running British soap opera Coronation Street.
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.
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.