Death of a TV legend: Coronation Street creator Tony Warren, 79

Coronation Street creator and writer Tony Warren has died aged 79

Mr Warren, 79, was a scriptwriter at Granada in his home city of Manchester, penning scripts for early evening series such as The Adventures of Biggles, when in 1960 he created and wrote the first 13 episodes of what would become the world’s most popular serial. He was just 24 at the time.

He had also been an actor, particularly in BBC Radio Children’s Hour programmes of the 1950s, where he met some of the actors he would later cast on Coronation Street.

Ken Barlow actor William Roache, who had worked with Warren since the Street’s first episode on December 9 1960, said he was the “father” of the soap.

“When I first met Tony I couldn’t quite believe he’d created and written Coronation Street because he was no more than a young boy,” he said.

“It was his boyish energy even recently when I saw him again that I’ll remember. I loved Tony’s energy. He was the father of Coronation Street and he gave us all so much.

“He will be so desperately missed because of who he was and what he did. We owe him so much.”

Helen Worth, who plays Gail McIntyre and had worked with Mr Warren for 42 years, said: “Tony was a genius of our time, the dearest, funniest and most inspirational man of his generation.

Tony Warren with actress Julie Goodyear outside Buckingham Palace after he received his MBE

“He brought real life into our homes for us all to relate to and enjoy. He will, of course, live on forever through Coronation Street.”

Mr Warren, whose life was dramatised in the 2010 BBC4 film The Road To Coronation Street, cut an unusual figure at Granada’s Manchester studios. He was openly gay at a time when homosexuality between consenting males was illegal, and he later battled drug and alcohol addiction.

Coronation Street executive producer Kieran Roberts said: “Tony Warren the writer was a pioneer, a revolutionary, a true genius, a giant of British television.

“He will rightly be remembered around the world as the creator of Coronation Street but those of us lucky enough to have worked on his wonderful show and to have known him will also remember the man: the razor-sharp intelligence, the brilliant, often mischievous sense of humour, the courage and conviction, the passion for people, the immense generosity of spirit and capacity for love.

Ken Barlow [William Roache] makes his Coronation Street debut alongside his father Frank Barlow [Frank Pemberton].

“We all deeply mourn his passing but celebrate his work and his life, both of which have made the world an infinitely richer place.”

John Whiston, creative director, soaps for ITV Studios, said: “Amid the many and much deserved tributes to Tony Warren, surely there can be no greater tribute than that the show he created 56 years ago is still the number one show on British TV.

“Tony infused Coronation Street with his own spirit, one that was at the same time dramatic and credible, exciting and grounded, funny and humane.

“It is Tony’s spirit that has kept the show fresh and relevant all these years and will do for years to come. All who are lucky enough to work on the show owe Tony a huge amount of gratitude, as do all the millions who tune into Coronation Street week after week.”

ITV director of television Kevin Lygo said: “Tony Warren was a charming man who gave ITV and the nation the greatest gift imaginable when he created Coronation Street, an idea that continues to entertain millions on a regular basis. We all owe him an enormous debt of thanks.”

An ITV statement said: “All who worked with Tony throughout his illustrious career had the utmost respect for his achievements and he remained a consultant on the Manchester-based soap until the day he died.

“He was considered one of the television industry’s greatest minds as he devised the idea for the Weatherfield soap at the age of 24, at the very beginning of his acclaimed writing career.”

Born Anthony McVay Simpson in Eccles, Manchester, Mr Warren was a regular visitor to the soap’s set in Trafford, Greater Manchester.

He loved catching up with the cast and crew during breaks in filming. He also offered the actors insightful feedback about their characters and storylines.

Credited with creating one of the most successful programmes in British television history, the Coronation Street creator adopted the stage surname of Warren during his early acting career as a successful child star.

He trained at the Elliott Clarke Theatre School in Liverpool and became a regular on Children’s Hour on BBC Radio.

He also acted in many radio plays and performed with the actors who were later to become household names in Coronation Street, most notably Violet Carson, who played battleaxe Ena Sharples, and Doris Speed, who became famous as Annie Walker.

In 1960, Mr Warren’s initial scripts for Coronation Street were commissioned by Granada Television for the ITV network.

He went on to write the first 13 episodes of the long-running soap.

Almost overnight, Coronation Street became an instant success.

Mr Warren wrote scripts for Granada Television on a full-time basis until 1968.

He then worked on other television dramas and went on to craft several critically acclaimed novels in the 1990s, although his association with Coronation Street continued.

He wrote episodes for the soap until the late 1970s.

Mr Warren is survived by his cousin Roy, his loving and devoted friends and his colleagues at Coronation Street who in later years became like family to him.