Peter James Armitage (23 October 1939 – 30 November 2018) was an English

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

and

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

actor best known for his role as

Bill Webster Bill Webster is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, ''Coronation Street'', played by Peter Armitage. The character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 6 February 1984 and remained in the show until 1985 when ...

on long-running

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

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. Origi ...

''. He was a regular on British screens from the 1970s onwards.

Early life

Armitage was born

out of wedlock Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...

Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Air ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, where he was brought up primarily by his aunt until the age of 10, when his mother married. He did not meet his father, who was German, until he was 28, and the two did not form a long-term relationship. Armitage attended

Glusburn Glusburn is a village and electoral ward in Craven in North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the village is situated on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, sits on the A6068 Kildwick to Hapton road, and is ...

secondary modern school, then was apprenticed to a firm building diesel engines for five years. He subsequently spent a further four years in the Merchant Navy before settling in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where he worked as a

banksman In Irish and British civil engineering, a banksman is the person who directs the operation of a crane or larger vehicle from the point near where loads are attached and detached. The term 'dogman' may be used in Australia and New Zealand, while 's ...

on the construction of the

Victoria line The Victoria line is a London Underground line that runs between in south London and in the north-east, via the West End. It is printed in light blue on the Tube map and is one of the only two lines on the network to run completely undergr ...

. He then trained as an actor at the

East 15 Acting School East 15 Acting School (East 15) is a British drama school in Loughton, Essex.Its degrees are awarded by the University of Essex, with which it merged on 1 September 2000. As of 2020, Essex University, where East 15 is located, has been ranked No. ...

Loughton Loughton () is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. Part of the metropolitan and urban area of London, the town borders Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill, and is northeast of Chari ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

Career

Armitage had three spells as the character

on ''

'', appearing in the role in 1984–1985 (for six months), then from 1995 to 1997 and again from 2006 to 2011. He had previously appeared as a different character playing a painter and decorator in two episodes in 1977. In 2014 Armitage stated in an interview that he hoped to return to the series after successfully battling bowel cancer. In the hard-hitting British police drama ''

The Sweeney ''The Sweeney'' is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective Ins ...

,'' Armitage appeared as Herbert ''"Jacko"'' Jackson in the episode ''Big Spender.'' His character was that of a crooked ticket attendant of a car park company who becomes involved with an organized crime family in and attempt to defraud his employers. His other TV credits include ''

The Befrienders ''The Befrienders'' is a British television series produced by the BBC in 1972. The series dealt with the work of the Samaritans organisation, and the individual cases its staff came across. The leading cast members were Megs Jenkins and Micha ...

'', ''Couples'', ''

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer wa ...

'' and '' Hearts and Minds''. He also appeared in ''

Lucky Feller ''Lucky Feller'' is a British television sitcom written by Terence Frisby and produced by Humphrey Barclay. It was broadcast on ITV in 1976. The series stars David Jason and ran for one series of 13 episodes. The series is about two plumber br ...

'', a short-lived sitcom starring

David Jason Sir David John White (born 2 February 1940), known professionally by his stage name David Jason, is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the BBC sitcom '' Only Fools and Horses'', Detective Inspector ...

. In 1998, played Danny Ormondroyd in a stage adaptation of the film ''

Brassed Off ''Brassed Off'' is a 1996 British comedy-drama film written and directed by Mark Herman and starring Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald and Ewan McGregor. The film is about the troubles faced by a colliery brass band, following the closure of ...

'' at the

Sheffield Crucible The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's ...

and London’s

Olivier Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. In ...

Personal life

Armitage married actress Annabel Scase in 1970; the couple had two children, Daniel and Sally, and later divorced. Armitage lived in

Cross Hills Cross Hills is a village in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England that is situated halfway between Skipton and Keighley. The village is at the centre of a built-up area that includes the adjoining settlements of Glusburn, Kildwick, ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

and subsequently in

Cononley Cononley ( or ) is a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Cononley is in the Aire Valley south of Skipton and with an estimated population of 1,080 (20 ...

near

. He was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours for services to amateur theatre in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. Armitage died of a heart attack on 30 November 2018, aged 79. He was survived by his children.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Armitage, Peter 1939 births 2018 deaths Alumni of East 15 Acting School English male soap opera actors English male stage actors English people of German descent 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors People from Skipton Male actors from Yorkshire Members of the Order of the British Empire