Philip Stephen Hancock (24 November 1925 – 1 November 2015) was a British television and stage actor, musical director and pianist. He was born in

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland () is a market town and civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, northern England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham. Much of the town's early history surro ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

and attended the

Chorister School, Durham The Chorister School was a co-educational independent school for the 3 to 13 age range. It consisted of a Pre-School (opened in September 2008), a pre-preparatory and preparatory day and boarding school in Durham, England. It was set in an envia ...

and the

Darlington Grammar School Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underw ...

before reading music at

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

as a mature student. He served as a radio engineer in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was best known for his role as

Ernest Bishop ''Coronation Street'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in 1967, by order of first appearance. Steve Tanner Stephen Edward "Steve" Tanner, played by Paul Maxwe ...

in ''

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 ...

''. Introduced as wedding photographer Gordon Bishop in a 1967 episode dedicated to one of

Elsie Tanner Elsie Gregory (also Grimshaw, Howard and Tanner) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Pat Phoenix from the series' inception in 1960 to 1973, and again from 1976 until 1984. Elsie Tanner was ...

's marriages, he later re-emerged as the regular character Ernie and played the character from 1969 until being written out in a fatal shooting during a burglary at Mike Baldwin's factory in 1978. Late minor TV roles included appearances in ''

Victoria Wood as Seen on TV ''Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV'' is a British comedy sketch series written by and starring comedian Victoria Wood, with appearances from Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Duncan Preston, Susie Blake and Patricia Routledge. The show was televised on B ...

'' in 1985/1986. He appeared as Mr Lillie in the ''

Tales of the Unexpected (TV series) ''Tales of the Unexpected (Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected)'' is a British television series that aired between 1979 and 1988. Each episode told a story, often with sinister and wryly comedic undertones, with an unexpected twist ending. ...

'' episode (9/6) "Wink Three Times" (1988). He was also musical director of many stage productions and composed music for radio. His brother was the late

Christopher Hancock Christopher Anthony Arthur Hancock (5 June 1928 – 29 September 2004) was a British television and theatre actor. He was born in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England. His brother was actor Stephen Hancock. He and his brother trained a ...

who played Charlie Cotton in ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

''. In 2011 he appeared in a Coronation Street tribute programme.

References

External links

* 1925 births 2015 deaths English male soap opera actors Actors from County Durham People educated at the Chorister School, Durham Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Alumni of the College of St Hild and St Bede, Durham {{UK-tv-actor-stub