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Coronation Street enthusiasts were surprised when a music video by theater legend Patrick Stewart appearing on the soap opera was played on The One Show.
He spoke to animators Alex Jones and Rylan Clark Neal about his illustrious career and his new Life With Music.
Patrick played a firefighter in an episode of the 1967 soap opera, in front of one of Britain’s most esteemed actors.
“We were surprised not to know you had a little bit about Corrie,” Rylan said, as Patrick’s scene played with him dressed in an old-fashioned uniform and adopting a Nordic accent.
“It was the end of my first season with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and at the end of this season, hoping I’d get fired, Peter Hall presented me with a three-year contract, with which I was badly hit and accepted, of course. Patrick explained.
“But they had nothing to do for me, so I broke free, and this little apparition took place on Coronation Street.
“Does it make more sense than that? I don’t think so.
“And more than anything else, it made my parents very happy, they still saw that maybe I just have a career as an actor,” he said.
The film veteran recently turned 80 and joked that the last time he checked, he was 40.
“It’s not easy to be 80, but it’s great to be 80,” he said.
One spectator tweeted, “I can’t, Mr. Patrick was in #Corrie wow.”
“Sir Patrick Stewart in #TheOneShow, I can’t, he’s 80 years old! It’s so fabulous that I might pay attention to it all day,” said another.
“Wow, Sir Patrick is 80 years old Array … looked like Array …”, added a third.
The One Show airs Monday through Friday on BBC1 at 7 p.m.