Bill Waddington

William Joseph Waddington (10 June 1916 – 9 September 2000) was an English actor, comedian and co-author who was born in Oldham, Lancashire. In later life he achieved stardom as the pompous ex-serviceman Percy Sugden in Granada Television's long-running soap opera Coronation Street.

Biography Bill Waddington was born on 10 June 1916 in Oldham, Lancashire. His parents William and Epsie ran the Clarence Hotel, a public house in Oldham. He was the couple's fourth child, having lost twins the year before. Waddington, and his sister Connie, were brought up by family friends as their father fought in the First World War, and their mother worked all hours to keep the children fed. The family moved house frequently and Waddington attended many different schools in Oldham. It was at school he took to the stage, and during one performance he was spotted by the choirmaster of the Oldham parish church, and persuaded to join.

Away from the stage, he developed a career as a butcher, and worked delivering meat for a chain of shops before being promoted to manager of the local branch. At the age of eighteen, he began travelling to Blackpool to see his favourite stars on stage, and started to have thoughts of becoming a performer. His mother was less supportive, and Waddington had a series of jobs as a manager of a butchers in Blackpool, a door-to-door salesman, and a car salesman.

Inspired by George Formby, Waddington played the ukulele and his talent as a comedian was spotted when he was an NCO cook in the army during the Second World War. He became a member of a group called the Blue Pencils, recruited to entertain forces during the War. He won the Normandy medal and Liberation of France medal.

He was the subject of This Is Your Life in September 1986 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews and Joe Loss with his orchestra at London's Euston station. In 1989, along with the rest of the Coronation Street cast, Waddington made a second Royal Variety Performance appearance. He also wrote two books, an autobiography, 'The Importance of Being Percy' in 1992, and a tie in with the 50th anniversary of the D-Day landings, 'Percy's War' in 1994.

After leaving Coronation Street in 1997, Waddington retired from full-time acting, with his last television appearance in a Little Chef TV advert.

Music In 1995, he released a cover of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" along with the rest of the Coronation Street cast, the single reaching No. 35 on the UK Singles Chart. He had previously released his own single "Don't Forget the Old Folks at Christmas" in 1986 but this failed to chart.

Personal life and death

In 1940, Waddington married Evelyn Gladys Case. They had a son but divorced in 1947. Waddington's second marriage was in 1947 to Lilian Day. They had two daughters, Denise and Barbara, remaining together until her death from cancer in 1980.

In 1982, Waddington married Irene Beaumont. However, the marriage ended in divorce after only 9 months. Waddington married Sheila Torr, sister of comic duos The Chuckle Brothers and The Patton Brothers and almost 20 years his junior, in 1995, and the couple lived in a 17th Century farmhouse high on the Pennine Moors, in the nearby village of Micklebring, near Rotherham. He had over 2000 pigs, turkeys and several race horses.

Waddington became increasingly frail, and spent his final months at a nursing home in Maltby, South Yorkshire, where his wife visited him daily. Bill Waddington died at Rotherham General Hospital on the morning of 9 September 2000 at the age of 84 after a fifty-year acting career. He had been suffering from Parkinson's disease and was buried at St. Peter's graveyard at Minshull Vernon, near Crewe.

TV credits A Family at War (1970) - Ted Fiddler Talent (1979) - George Findley Coronation Street (1967–1997) - Percy Sugden / George Turner / Eric Summers / Jack / Man with Pipe