Coronation Street star Michael Byrne, known for playing Gail Platt’s long-lost father Ted Page, has died aged 82. The actor, who appeared on the ITV soap between 2008 and 2010, also starred in movies Tomorrow Never Dies, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and Braveheart.
While the new of his death was only shared publicly today (30 June), Byrne was said to have died on 20 June.
A prolific theatre actor, he appeared in numerous 1960s productions, including George Farquhar’s The Recruiting Officer, Peter Shaffer’s The Royal Hunt of the Sun and Arthur Wing Pinero’s Trelawny of the Wells, sharing the stage with Laurence Olivier, Downton Abbey icon Maggie Smith and Robert Stephens.
On the big screen, Byrne had acting roles on films such as horror classic The Omen and war drama The Eagle Has Landed, as well as Mike Newell’s The Good Father, alongside Anthony Hopkins, Jim Broadbent and Harriet Walter, and Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York, led by Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz and Daniel Day-Lewis.
On TV, Byrne played Peter Guillam in the BBC’s 1982 six-part spy drama Smiley’s People, based on the 1979 novel of the same name by John le Carré and acting as a sequel to series adaptation Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. The series also starred Alec Guinness as protagonist George Smiley, as well as The Crown star Eileen Atkins as Madame Ostrakova, Bernard Hepton as Toby Esterhase, and Anthony Bate as Sir Oliver Lacon.
In 2008, Byrne joined the cast of Coronation Street as Ted Page, the absent father of Gail Platt, the character played by Helen Worth. The ex-lover of Audrey Roberts, portrayed by Sue Nicholls, Ted only finds out he has a daughter once he reconnects with Audrey.
After his arrival in Weatherfield, Ted reveals he is gay and has just lost his partner of twenty years.
The most recent mention of Ted in Corrie is in 2021, when the character is killed off-screen. It’s his new partner Andrew who breaks the sad news to Gail on the phone.
