Leonard Swindley is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...

from the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

ITV

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''. One of the original characters created by

Tony Warren Anthony McVay Simpson (8 July 1936 – 1 March 2016) publishing under pen name Tony Warren, was an English television screenwriter and actor, best known for creating the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. He created other television dramas ...

, he was played by actor Arthur Lowe between 1960 and 1965. The character of Mr. Swindley also appeared as the central figure in two spin-off series following his departure from the Street - '' Pardon the Expression'' and '' Turn Out the Lights'', making him a unique character in British soap opera.

Creation

Casting

At the time filming commenced of the pilot episode of ''Coronation Street'', the character of Leonard Swindley had not even been cast. Because he was not supposed to appear until episode three, auditions were still taking place until Arthur Lowe walked in and read for the producers. Lowe, later Captain Mainwaring in ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and originally broadcast on BBC1 from 31 July 1968 to 13 November 1977. It ran fo ...

'', was an established actor by the time of his ''Coronation Street'' casting, but it was his turn as pompous Mr. Swindley that made him a household name in the early 60s. In December 1961, only a year after the launch of the show, a strike of the actors' union Equity meant that Lowe, who was not under contract with the show at that point, was forced to leave the series along with several other stars of the ''Street''. The strike lasted until April 1962, and Lowe agreed to reprise his role once again, returning in June along with

Eileen Derbyshire Eileen Derbyshire, MBE (born 6 October 1931) is an English retired actress, best known for her role as Emily Bishop in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. She played the character for 55 years from January 1961 to January 2 ...

. Upon hearing of Lowe's decision to quit the series in 1965, ITV bosses offered him the chance to continue in the role as the star of a new sitcom based on his character. The result, '' Pardon The Expression'', debuted two months on from his final appearance in ''Coronation Street'' and ran for two series until 1966. It in turn produced its own spin-off ''Turn Out The Lights'', again based on Swindley, which lasted only six episodes.

Background

Leonard Swindley, known simply as 'Mr Swindley' to most people, was a lay preacher for the Glad Tidings Mission Hall, a local missionary church on Coronation Street, and chairman of the committee. Swindley came from a family of

draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period, ...

s, and had inherited his shop 'Swindley's Emporium' from his father. The clothes store, situated on Victoria Street (now home to Roy's Rolls), originally employed Emily Nugent.

Storylines

Swindley, in his role as lay preacher, was a central figure in the local community. The Mission Hall would regularly play host charity ventures and plays among other uses. Swindley and his assistant Emily Nugent (

) also organised several trips out for the locals. In 1962, Swindley's clothes store was failing and piling debts forced him to sell up. The buyer, Niklos Papagopoulos, was the owner of a successful chain of clothes shops in Manchester called 'Gamma Garments'. Papagopoulos re-opened the store as Gamma weeks later, deciding to keep Swindley on as manager and Emily and

Doreen Lostock ''Coronation Street'' is a British soap opera, initially produced by Granada Television. Created by writer Tony Warren, ''Coronation Street'' first broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters intro ...

(

Angela Crow Angela Rosemary Crow (13 December 1935 – 3 March 2022) was an English television actress, best known for her appearance in the early days of British soap opera '' Coronation Street'', as factory worker Doreen Lostock, between 1961 and 1963. ...

) as his assistants. After working closely for over three years, Swindley's relationship with his colleague Emily grew and in 1964 she proposed. Swindley hesitated before accepting and a date was set for only a few weeks later. When the wedding day came however, Emily realised that neither of them truly loved each other and decided to call off the marriage. He assured her that he felt the same way and the pair managed to salvage their friendship to continue working together. The next year, following Arthur Lowe's decision to quit, Swindley was offered a promotion at Gamma Garments and duly accepted, leaving the Mission, and Weatherfield behind. The character later moved on to work as manager for Dobson and Hawkes, the clothes store seen in the spin-off ''Pardon The Expression''. In 1980, he sends a telegram to Emily congratulating her on her second wedding to Arnold Swain ( George Waring).

References

{{Coronation Street characters, past Swindley, Leonard Swindley, Leonard Swindley, Leonard