John Woodvine (born 21st July 1929 in South Shields) played two roles on Coronation Street: a lorry driver in November 1965; and he returned to the programme some forty-five years later in December 2010 as Alan Hoyle, father of Charlotte Hoyle (the role was then recast with actor Michael McStay appearing in the character's 2011 appearances).
He also appeared as Mick and a policeman in separate episodes of the Street spin-off Pardon the Expression in 1966 and as Stefan in an episode of the spin-off Turn out the Lights during the following year.
Initially employed in a variety of jobs, he completed his National Service in the RAF and then went on to work in a wool merchants for three years where he was a keen amateur actor. After the merchants went bankrupt, he was awarded a grant and trained at RADA, graduating in 1953.
With an acting CV spanning over six decades, his other television credits include Champion Road, Danger Man, Z Cars, The Further Adventures of the Musketeers, New Scotland Yard, An Unofficial Rose, Doctor Who, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, The Prisoner of Zenda, The Tripods, Edge of Darkness, Knights of God, Runaway Bay, Finney, Peak Practice, Bob & Rose, The Bill, Distant Shores, Emmerdale, Hebburn and The Crown.
File roles include Darling, The Walking Stick, The Devils, Young Winston, Assault on Agathon, An American Werewolf in London, Spaghetti House, Wuthering Heights, Dragonworld, Miss Potter and Enys Men.
On stage, he has appeared in several productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company including Romeo and Juliet, The Winter's Tale, Macbeth, King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing, The Comedy of Errors, The Alchemist, The Way of the World, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, The Hostage, Don Carlos and Hamlet. Other works include The Iron Harp, A Midsummer Night's Dream, New Clothes for the Emperor, Sodom and Gomorrah, Ariel, Rocket to the Moon, Ghetto, Anna Christie and Life After Life.
