UNBELIEVABLE: Alan rothwell obituary | History Defined

The actor Alan Rothwell, who has died aged 89, found fame playing Ken Barlow’s younger brother, David, in Coronation Street. He was seen in the TV soap’s first episode, on 9 December 1960, as the cheerful, likable engineering firm apprentice, mending his bicycle in the Barlows’ living room, just as Ken’s new girlfriend arrived.

While his university educated brother would fail to fulfil his highbrow ambitions, David quickly achieved his. He became an amateur footballer with the fictional Weatherfield County, scoring on his debut, then moved to the bright lights of London when a League team signed him in mid-1961.