John Branwell appeared on Coronation Street in two roles: firstly intermittently between June 1996 and January 1997 as Ed Malone, father of Anne Malone; and he returned to the programme between March and April 2009 as a private investigator hired by Tony Gordon.
Best known for appearing in the recurring roles of Spelbush in The Return of the Antelope and as DI Tom Keysell in Emmerdale, his other credits include roles in Dear Enemy, Juliet Bravo, In Suspicious Circumstances, Rebecca, Doctors, Shameless and Father Brown, along with the films West Is West, Peterloo and Wasteland.
On stage, he appeared in productions of Cinderella, Welcome to the Playhouse, The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists, Jungle Music, Ten Times Table, Privates On Parade, The Hollow, The Importance of Being Earnest, Taking Steps, Charley's Aunt, Flashpoint, All in Good Time, A View from the Bridge, Romeo and Juliet, Prin, Mr A's Amazing Maze Plays, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Cracked Pot, Call in the Night, Haunting Julia, Comic Potential, The Sea, The Game and Alfie.