As Dennis Tanner in the original cast of Coronation Street, the actor Philip Lowrie, who has died aged 88, portrayed a character newly released from borstal and seeking to make something of his life – while living in the shadow of his past. “In those streets, there is always a bad ’un, a wrong ’un – and he was the wrong ’un,” said the TV soap’s creator, Tony Warren, of Dennis.
Lowrie was introduced to the serial in episode one, broadcast live on 9 December 1960, alongside Pat Phoenix as his mother, the tempestuous Elsie, who accused him of stealing two shillings (10p) from her purse. “You stooped to goin’ in a lady’s handbag,” she says. “Just listen to it,” he responds. “A lady. Is that what you crack on you are these days?”
