Alan Rothwell (born 9 February 1937) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

actor and

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a " television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garne ...

. He played David Barlow in the ITV soap opera ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Orig ...

'' as a regular from 1960 to 1961, and again from 1963 to 1968. His other acting credits include playing Mike in ''

Top Secret Classified information is material that a government body deems to be sensitive information that must be protected. Access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of people with the necessary security clearance and need to kn ...

'' (1961–1962), a recurring role in '' Heartbeat'' (1994–1995), and various roles in '' Doctors'' (2004–2016). He also presented the children's television series' ''Picture Box'' and '' Hickory House''.

Career

Rothwell was born in

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, w ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

. He first came to fame playing the character Jimmy Grange in

The Archers ''The Archers'' is a BBC radio drama on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now promoted as "a contemporary drama in a rural set ...

, then David Barlow in the then new ITV

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

'' as a regular from December 1960 until June 1961, then appeared for two episodes in June 1963, before returning as a regular from December 1964 to April 1968. The character was killed off off-screen two years later. He also featured as a regular character in all 26 episodes of the 1961–1962 British spy series ''Top Secret'' in the role of "Mike". He was a guest star in '' Gideon's Way'' 1964 as a young man wrongly accused of killing his girlfriend played by Carol White. He also had roles in the lost 1960 film '' Linda'', also starring Carol White, and the 1971 film ''

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...

'', starring

Michael York Michael York OBE (born Michael Hugh Johnson; 27 March 1942) is an English film, television and stage actor. After performing on-stage with the Royal National Theatre, he had a breakthrough in films by playing Tybalt in Franco Zeffirelli's ''Ro ...

and

Elke Sommer Elke Sommer (; born Elke Baronin von Schletz, 5 November 1940) is a German actress. She appeared in numerous films in her heyday throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including roles in '' The Pink Panther'' sequel '' A Shot in the Dark'' (1964), th ...

. Rothwell then became known as a presenter to a generation of children, appearing on the children's television programmes ''Picture Box'' from 1969 to 1990 and '' Hickory House'' from 1973 to 1978. He returned to soap operas in 1985, this time as the heroin addict

Nicholas Black This is a comprehensive list of characters from the Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 Novembe ...

in '' Brookside''. In 2002, he appeared in the television drama film '' Shipman''. He also played Gerry Stringer in all six episodes of ''

Dead Man Weds ''Dead Man Weds'' is a six-part comedy series shown on ITV in Britain in January and early February 2005, and repeated on ITV2. The series was written by Dave Spikey, who played the part of Jerry St Clair in ''Phoenix Nights''. It was produc ...

'' in 2005. Among his many other television credits are parts in '' Casualty'', ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, ...

'', '' Heartbeat'', '' Doctors'', '' Shameless'' and ''

Bedlam Bedlam, a word for an environment of insanity, is a term that may refer to: Places * Bedlam, North Yorkshire, a village in England * Bedlam, Shropshire, a small hamlet in England * Bethlem Royal Hospital, a London psychiatric institution and the ...

'', ''A Song For Jenny, (BBC 2015)'', '' Rovers, (Jellylegs, 2016)''. In 2004, Rothwell guest-starred in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

'' audio adventure ''

The Twilight Kingdom ''The Twilight Kingdom'' is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It is part of the "Divergent Universe" saga which continued until '' The Next Life''. Plot The ...

''. In 2015, he appeared as a villager in the BBC TV series '' The Musketeers'' episode 2.5 "The Return". In 2018, he appeared as Douglas in 20th Century-Fox's British comedy, ''

Walk Like A Panther Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults o ...

'', released in cinemas 9 March.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rothwell, Alan English male soap opera actors English male stage actors 1937 births Living people Male actors from Oldham 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors British children's television presenters English television presenters