Everton chairman Bill Kenwright's 44-year role in Coronation Street
24.10.2023 - 19:37
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Bill Kenwright, who has died at the age of 78, oversaw Everton football club for more than three decades - but away from his chairmanship he also held a role on Coronation Street.
Liverpool-born Kenwright was a successful theatre and film producer when he was asked to join the Everton board in 1989. But before that he started his career as an actor, with his first big break coming after an audition at Grenada Studios.
Kenwright arrived in Manchester with the intention of starting university - but instead made a late decision to audition for a role on the cobbles. He was cast as Gordon Clegg, the birth son of Betty Williams who was raised by his aunt Maggie and her husband Les.
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His first episode aired in April 1968 but Kenwright spent just one year on the show before quitting the role to pursue a career in producing.
However, he did return to the show on multiple occasions as a guest star throughout the rest of his life. His final appearance on the show came in 2012 when his character return to Weatherfield to announce Betty's death. In one memorable scene, at Betty's wake in The Rovers Return, Gordon read out a letter from his mother thanking all her friends for all the good years before handing another letter to barman Sean, which contained her secret hotpot recipe.
Away from the cameras, Kenwright had a close relationship with actress Betty Driver, who played his on-screen mum, and spoke at her funeral following her death in 2011. Describing her as his "second mother", he told the congregation in Manchester that she was a