Albert Tatlock
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| Coronation Street character | |
 |
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| Albert Tatlock | |
|---|---|
| Played by | Jack Howarth |
| Duration | 1960-1984 |
| Date of Birth | 10 August 1895 |
| Date of Death | 13 May 1984 |
| Marital Status | Widowed |
| Occupation | Pensioner |
| Family | Bessie, Beattie, Valerie, Ken, Peter, Susan, Deirdre |
Albert Tatlock was a fictional character on the British soap opera Coronation Street. Albert was played by actor Jack Howarth from 1960 to 1984. The character became something of an institution, so much so that grumpy old men were sometimes nicknamed "Albert Tatlock".
Albert Tatlock originally lived alone in No. 1 Coronation Street; his wife Bessie had died some years before. Albert had a daughter, Beattie, but she was sent away to Blackpool during the War and she resented having to come back to Manchester, so she was never close to Albert or Bessie again.
In 1961, his niece Valerie came to town to live with him. Val fell in love with Ken Barlow and they later married. Ken and Val lived in a separate house on the Street until her death from plugging in a faulty hairdryer in 1971. It was at this time that he bought No. 1 from Albert, paid off all his outstanding debts, and had Albert live with him.
At one time, Albert considered marriage to local pensioner Minnie Caldwell, but after a while they both realised the relationship would not work, as they were both too set in their ways.
Ken was very protective of Albert and eventually started calling him "Uncle Albert," as Val had. Albert continued to live with Ken while he courted and eventually married Janet Reid, even though Janet didn't care for Albert and wished he would live somewhere else. All round, Janet made Albert unhappy most of the time and Ken's decision to kick Janet out was partly based on Albert's unhappiness.
In the early 1980s, Ken married Deirdre Langton, whom he had courted for some time. Albert approved of Deirdre and was glad that Ken had finally chosen a woman as worthy of his hand in marriage as his niece was. Albert lived with Ken and Deirdre until his death of a heart attack while reading the newspaper in 1984, at the age of 88. By this time, he was one of only five surviving members of the original cast.
