National Television Awards 2013: Corrie's Alan Halsall - I'm sure Bill Tarmey is looking down on me
The award-winner for Best Serial Drama Performance pays tribute backstage to his late friend and colleague
Coronation Street actor Alan Halsall has paid tribute to his late co-star Bill Tarmey, who played Jack Duckworth on the ITV soap. When asked backstage at the National Television Awards whether Tarmey was looking down on him, Halsall replied:
“I’m sure he is. His wife asked me to wear his watch tonight, so this is definitely for him. Bill gave me 15 years’ worth of advice. He was a second dad on screen. He used to say to me ‘Enough of that bloody acting!’ so he’d be laughing his head off that I’ve won this tonight.”
Halsall, whose character Tyrone Dobbs is at the centre of a domestic abuse storyline that has seen him suffer at the hands of partner Kirsty Soames (Natalie Gumede), commented that calls to charity ManKind had seen a sharp increase since the plotline began playing out on screen: “Their calls have gone up 300 per cent since the storyline broke.”
The actor also admitted that after a couple of hard-going years for Tyrone that have included the death of wife Molly, paternity trauma over baby Jack and the current high-profile abuse drama, it was high time for a change of pace: “I’ve had a few hard years. Maybe a bit of light relief is needed. Maybe a bit of comedy!”
