Gordon Fairclough appeared on Coronation Street in August 1962 as Sergeant Swann, scouring the area for Rovers' cellarman Sam Leach - a former Blyth resident who had been reported for desertion by his wife May.
He graduated from RADA in 1958 and went on to appear in Z Cars, Compact, The Elusive Pimpernel and the Granada Television drama It's A Woman's World.
Stage roles include productions of Henry VIII and Angels in Love.
