Oh dearie me - hot on the heels of dear old Johnny Noakes, two more stalwarts of classic British TV have gone to that great goggle-box in the sky....
Roy Barraclough (who died last week) was a veteran of old-school repertory theatre (in those halcyon days when people had to slog for years before fame beckoned; unlike today when it appears all one needs to do is appear on a reality telly programme). Once he did make the jump to television, he made his name primarily in comic roles - and his spirit of self-deprecating humour made him perfect for the part of Alec Gilroy in Coronation Street, perpetually sparring with his wife Bet (née Lynch) and Rovers Return patrons alike. But it was for his long comedy partnership with "national treasure" Les Dawson for which he is most loved by us aficionados of camp innuendo - not least for his recurring part as "Cissie" to Les's "Ada":
Far more gentle was the comedy of Peter Sallis, whose death was announced today. Having trained at RADA just after the War, he had a lengthy stage career and numerous character roles on telly before (finally) in 1973 he became a household name playing "Clegg" in the BBC's longest-ever running comedy series Last of the Summer Wine. He was the only actor to appear in every single episode, until the series finally ended in 2010. To international audiences, however, he was far better known as the voice of "Wallace" in Wallace and Gromit, from which this is a classic scene:
RIP, both.
Roy Barraclough MBE (12th July 1935 – 1st June 2017)
Peter Sallis OBE (1st February 1921 – 2nd June 2017)