Veteran actor Sir Derek Jacobi has laid into Corrie for ditching its best characters.
The 81-year-old still dreams of a return to the soap after once appearing as a non-speaking extra when he was on a tour of the soap’s set.
But Sir Derek, back on TV in Last Tango in Halifax, said: “When it started, Corrie was all about the older generation – lovely Annie Walker behind the bar, Elsie Tanner, all of them.
“There are only token oldies in it now. And it lacks a texture that it had.
The 81-year-old still dreams of a return to the soap (Image: BBC/Lookout Point)
“It’s still good. I still watch it, but it’s not as rich as it was, not as layered as it was, and it’s very plot-driven whereas it used to be character-driven.”
Sir Derek joined a list of notable Corrie extras that includes Prince Charles, 71, Sir Ian McKellen, 80, and Sir Cliff Richard, 79, in 2012.
His pal Antony Cotton, 44, who plays Sean Tully, had invited him for a tour of the studio.
He also talked of the “torture” Phillip Schofield must have gone through by keeping his sexuality a secret for so long.
Sir Derek joined a list of notable Corrie extras in 2012. (Image: PA)
The presenter dropped the bombshell that he is gay last month and Sir Derek, who has been with partner Richard for more than 40 years, revealed he would have struggled to keep the truth hidden.
This Morning star Phillip made the astonishing declaration after 27 years of marriage to wife Stephanie, which produced daughters Molly and Ruby.
Sir Derek said: “My own reaction was, ‘How do you do that for so long?’ If I were to marry, knowing I was gay, produce children, I couldn’t do it.
“In a sense I admire him very much. He must have been tortured by it.”
He also revealed he has fully recovered from prostate cancer.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
