Kevin Reardon Lloyd (born 28th March 1949 in Derby, died 2nd May 1998 in Burton-on-Trent) appeared on Coronation Street in two roles: firstly in November 1980 as Wally, a security guard at Slater's Hill Rubbish Tip who stopped Fred Gee from dropping off refuse during the Rovers' bin strike; and he returned to the programme intermittently between August 1983 and January 1984 as Don Watkins, manager of the Graffiti Club.
As a child, Lloyd suffered from Perthes' disease - a painful and debilitating condition which left him with a withered right leg but did little to curb an early enthusiasm for sport of all kinds. Educated locally, he trained to be a solicitor after leaving grammar school, but abandoned his legal studies in favour of the stage.
He attended the East 15 drama school in London from 1970 to 1973, making his stage debut on graduation in The Importance of Being Earnest. His West End debut shortly afterwards was in Joe Orton's What the Butler Saw. This was followed by work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and Bristol Old Vic. One of the biggest disappointments of Lloyd's career was the death of Laurence Olivier two weeks before they were due to start rehearsing together for a production of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard in Los Angeles.
His other television credits included roles in Horse in the House, Sounding Brass, Misfits, The Borgias, Starting Out, The Winning Streak, Constant Hot Water, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, The Honey Siege, Dear John, All in Good Faith, Andy Capp and Young Charlie Chaplin. Film credits included Trial By Combat, Britannia Hospital, Don't Open Till Christmas, Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire and Link.
He will be best remembered for his role as Detective Constable Alfred "Tosh" Lines in the popular ITV police series The Bill from 1988 to 1998. Overweight and scruffy, with an undisciplined moustache, Tosh was a policeman content to plod. But he was affable, honest and dependable in a crisis. Lloyd turned him into a stalwart of Sun Hill police station, and made him one of the best-liked characters in the show. In 1996, when The Bill was named "Best TV Drama" at the National Television Awards, it seemed entirely fitting that it was Lloyd who collected the honour on behalf of the rest of the cast.
Even at the height of his success, Lloyd was determined to remain close to his Derbyshire roots. Not only was he a lifelong Derby County supporter, but for years he commuted daily from his home at Duffield, north of Derby, to London's Notting Hill where The Bill was filmed - a round trip of six hours and some 270 miles, accomplished at an annual cost of £17,000. The gruelling regimen took its toll on his marriage and on his health. He and his wife separated with great acrimony amid much publicity in 1995, and were subsequently divorced. Another relationship was short-lived, and early in 1998, Lloyd sought treatment for drink problems in a private Staffordshire clinic. The attempted cure was unsuccessful. After several ultimatums, and nine years as Tosh, Lloyd was sacked with immediate effect by the producers of The Bill in late April 1998, having reportedly turned up drunk for his first full day back on the set. He returned to the clinic, but following a drinking binge six days later he was admitted to hospital in Burton-on-Trent where he died.
He left four sons and three daughters, one of them an adopted Romanian orphan. Another daughter died in infancy.
He was the special guest on the edition of This Is Your Life, transmitted on 26th February 1992.
