Former Coronation Street actor Stephen Hancock has died at the age of 89.
It is understood that the star, who is most famous for playing Emily Bishop’s husband Ernest in the soap, passed away on November 1, leaving behind two daughters Gemma and Phyllida.
Stephen’s wife, actress Jocelyne Page, died in 2012 and his brother, Christopher, who found fame as Charlie Cotton Snr in EastEnders, passed away in 2004.
Stephen played Ernest for eight years in the late 60s and early 70s and departed the show in a storyline particularly shocking for the era. Due to a pay dispute with show bosses, Stephen’s alter-ego was killed off as part of an armed robbery storyline, leaving poor Emily widowed.