Douglas Austin played two parts on Coronation Street: firstly van driver (and thief of Gamma Garments stock) Alf in April 1963 and then the longer role of Len Fairclough's apprentice Eddie Thomas between February and May 1964.
Born in 1943, the actor started his acting career with the Michael Croft Youth Theatre and was an assistant stage manager at Oldham Repertory Theatre after two years training at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. As well as being an actor he was a writer of poetry and collector of first editions. He was not born into the acting profession as his parents ran a nursing home in Manchester. Prior to the Street he appeared in the Granada series Knight Errant. He appeared in rep theatre in Oldham, Huddersfield, Sidmouth, Crewe, Southport and summer seasons in Plymouth, Lowestoft and Felixstowe. He is now a teacher at the Merseyside Academy of Drama.