Roy Barraclough
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| Roy Barraclough MBE | |
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| Born | Roy Barraclough July 12, 1935 Preston, Lancashire, England |
| Occupation | Television actor |
Roy Barraclough MBE is a comic actor. He is best known for his role as the shifty, lugubrious landlord of the Rovers Return, Alec Gilroy in the long running British TV soap Coronation Street (1972, 1986 - 1992; Summer 1995; 10 April 1996 - 30 December 1998) where he formed an on-screen partnership with Bet Lynch (Julie Goodyear).
Throughout the 1970s he formed a partnership with comedian Les Dawson. They played two grotesque old ladies '...of a certain age...', Dawson playing Ada Shufflebotham, Roy playing Cissy, the more 'refined' of the two.
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[edit] Sample Dialogue
(ADA AND CISSY ARE ON HOLIDAY IN GREECE)
ADA: I hate it here, it's all foreign. Foreign, foreign, foreign!
CISSY: But you must try and soak up the ambiance, love. Have you had the shish kebabs?
ADA: (GRIMACES) Ever since we got here.
CISSY: Well, have you ever been to the Acropolis?
ADA: (GRIMACES EVEN MORE) I've never been off it!
[edit] Coronation Street
Roy had made occasional appearances in Coronation Street in the 1970s, playing the rather sleazy Alec Gilroy, theatrical agent to night club singer Rita Littlewood. He returned on a permanent basis in 1986, as manager of The Grafitti Club, a night club on Coronation St. On the 9th of September 1987, he married Bet Lynch, former manageress of the Rovers Return. Although Bet's main motive in marrying him was to regain control of the pub, a genuine bond developed between the two, despite the opinions of their closest friends who were convinced the union was doomed to failure.
It was almost like a sea-side post card - big buxom woman with a small, over-weight husband - but there was genuine love and affection between the two. Shortly after their marriage, 48-year-old Bet learned she was pregnant, but then suffered a miscarriage. The scenes between the middle-aged pair, as they grieved for their last chance of having children, were very moving.
Alec Gilroy could have been a very unpleasant character, but Roy brought genuine warmth and humour to the part. His comic timing was utterly brilliant; when Hilda Ogden told Alec that her employee, Dr. Lowther, had proposed to her, Alec muttered - almost as an aside - "'As he gone senile?" - comic timing that Stan Laurel or Tony Hancock would be proud of.
The problem the producers of Coronation Street had was in getting Roy to sign a long-term contract - he always had itchy feet to get back to the theatre, his first love. A debacle in a 1988 episode of This Is Your Life didn't help, when Roy was called back from a holiday in Torremolinos in order to appear on the show. He was told he was needed back in Britain to urgently re-film scenes. He was furious, and appears uncomfortable and ill at ease throughout the episode.
After several departures and comebacks, Barraclough finally left Coronation Street at the end of 1998 and has never returned.
[edit] Later career
Roy was to later appear in a sitcom, Mother's Ruin, in which he played a bachelor dominated by his belligerent mother (Dora Bryan). Despite the fact that it was well written and well produced; the format of a parent who selfishly wanted to retain control of her child had more of a touch of Steptoe and Son about it — the show was not a success. Roy had concentrated mostly on his beloved stage work, and his stage shows are often sell-outs.
He made a guest appearance in the 2005 Last of the Summer Wine episode 'Has Anyone Seen A Peruvian Wart?' playing opposite his close friend Kathy Staff, and has appeared in a variety of TV shows including Casualty, Peak Practice, Funland, and has just recorded a guest role in BBC1's Billy Goat , to be aired this autumn. On stage he has appeared in everything from musicals (The Boy Friend and Gypsy) to high drama (Death of a Salesman and A Different Way Home) and Christmas shows and pantomimes. He created the role of Santa in the lavish stage musical Santa Claus, which he has appeared in for the past two Christmases. He will be in the show at Birmingham in 2007. He is the recipient of three Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards including the Reader's Award, a Liverpool Echo Theatre Award and a Royal Television Society Award.
In the 2006 New Year's Honours List, Roy was awarded the MBE for charity work - he is a tireless worker for charity - and his acting career.
