Coronation Street’s Fred Elliott actor John Savident dies aged 86
John Savident, an actor best known for playing Fred Elliott in Coronation Street, has died aged 86, his agent has said.
The ITV soap star quickly became a fan favourite after joining the series in 1994.
“We are sad to announce the death of the actor John Savident who died on Wednesday 21 February,” said his agent in a statement released to PA news agency.
“He was a much-loved husband and father of two and will be sorely missed by all who knew him,” they added.
His storylines involved his disastrous love life, including three marriages and several failed proposals.
A secret son called Ashley Peacock – played by Steven Arnold – arrived on the show and the two developed a close bond as they worked as butchers together.
Savident’s character was killed off in 2006, suffering a stroke on the day he was supposed to marry Bev Unwin, played by Susie Blake.
Elliott’s death also saw Audrey Roberts – Sue Nicholls – confess that she still loved him following her turning down his proposal of marriage years previously.
The butcher’s previous wives also included Maureen Holdsworth, played by Sherrie Hewson, and barmaid Eve Sykes, portrayed by Melanie Kilburn.
Outside Coronation Street, Savident was in political comedy Yes, Minister, Stanley Kubrick’s dystopian thriller A Clockwork Orange, biopic Gandhi, war film Battle Of Britain, science fiction series Doctor Who and period dramas The Remains Of The Day and Middlemarch.
He was in the first staging of the musical Phantom Of The Opera, in October 1986 at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Haymarket, London, as the opera house owner Monsieur Firmin.
He returned to play the character in 2011 at the Royal Albert Hall concert film.
After leaving his soap work, Savident appeared on stage in productions of panto Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs and Harold Brighouse’s Hobson’s Choice.
Savident was married to theatre director Rona Hopkinson and they had two children.
This is a breaking news story and is being updated.
