Death of Roy of the Rovers, actor who always returned to comedy

Coronation Street's best-known barmaid led the tributes today to her former screen husband, an actor known as much for comedy as for soap opera.
Bet Lynch (actress Julie Goodyear) getting a kiss from television groom Alec Gilroy (Roy Barraclough)Bet Lynch (actress Julie Goodyear) getting a kiss from television groom Alec Gilroy (Roy Barraclough)
Bet Lynch (actress Julie Goodyear) getting a kiss from television groom Alec Gilroy (Roy Barraclough)

Roy Barraclough appeared as the shifty Alec Gilroy, in fits and starts, for only eight years yet he created one of the most memorable of all its characters, and was eventually handed the keys to the Rovers Return.

Julie Goodyear, who played its barmaid and landlady Bet Lynch, said that despite their volatile on-screen relationship, Barraclough had been her “dearest friend”.

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She said: “We were just like a married couple. Crazy, I know, but true.”

Bet Lynch (actress Julie Goodyear) getting a kiss from television groom Alec Gilroy (Roy Barraclough)Bet Lynch (actress Julie Goodyear) getting a kiss from television groom Alec Gilroy (Roy Barraclough)
Bet Lynch (actress Julie Goodyear) getting a kiss from television groom Alec Gilroy (Roy Barraclough)

Tonight’s episode of the show is dedicated to the memory of Barraclough, who died today at 81, following a short illness. Executive producer Kieran Roberts said: “The fact that the character of Alec Gilroy was at the heart of the show for so many years and was held in such affection by so many fans is a tribute to Roy’s genius, for drama as well as comedy.”

Coronation Street was not Barraclough’s only soap. In 1969 he had been cast as Harry Everitt in Castle Haven, the first serial to be produced by Yorkshire Television - three years before it began work on Emmerdale Farm. His on-screen wife then was Kathy Staff, with whom he appeared again in Last of the Summer Wine.

It was reportedly while having lunch at the YTV canteen in Leeds that he was asked to stand in for another comic on the Les Dawson vehicle, Sez Les. The result was a two-handed sketch in which he and Dawson played a couple of washerwomen, loosely inspired by the old music call act of Norman Evans.

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Cissie and Ada became a staple of the show, and when Dawson eventually left for the BBC, Barraclough went, too.

Bet Lynch (actress Julie Goodyear) getting a kiss from television groom Alec Gilroy (Roy Barraclough)Bet Lynch (actress Julie Goodyear) getting a kiss from television groom Alec Gilroy (Roy Barraclough)
Bet Lynch (actress Julie Goodyear) getting a kiss from television groom Alec Gilroy (Roy Barraclough)

Comedy was in his bones - in the 1970s he was in a raft of popular sitcoms, including Granada’s The Lovers and Rising Damp, back at YTV.

His more recent television roles have included Last Tango In Halifax and as Mr Grainger in the BBC’s revival of Are You Being Served? last year.

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