Chris Garner appeared on Coronation Street in two roles: firstly in February 1999 as Malcolm Fairhurst, a Court Welfare Officer who investigated the circumstances of Kevin and Sally Webster when they both applied for custody of daughters Rosie and Sophie; and he returned to the programme intermittently between June and December 2024 as Gus Deering, father of Joel.
As an actor, he trained at Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre, graduating in 1987 with a Diploma in Theatre Studies, 1st Class Honours with Distinction. As a director, he trained on the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School Attachment Course between 1999 and 2000. He continues working in both fields.
His other acting credits include roles in Made in Heaven, Rich Tea and Sympathy, How We Used to Live, Casualty, The Bill, Afterlife, The Royal, Mistresses, Emmerdale, The A Word, The Hunt for Raoul Moat and Doctors, along with the films Ultraviolet, Purge of Kingdoms: The Unauthorized Game of Thrones and In from the Side.
Directing credits include The Amazing and Preposterous Constance Smedley; When the Lights Went Out; The Higher Ground; Noah's Ark; Bleak House; Little Pictures; A Winter of War; Robert Frost In England; Left Luggage; Adult Child/Dead Child; Anna Karenina; Mother Country; Not, Not, Not, Not, Not Enough Oxygen; Rime of the Ancient Mariner; After the Fair; The Bear and The Proposal.