Coronation Street's Andy Whyment leads tributes after legendary co-star dies
Coronation Street’s Andy Whyment – better known as Kirk Sutherland in the hit ITV soap – has paid tribute to his former co-star Bernard Hill, following the acclaimed actor’s death on Sunday 5 May. Andy shared a photo of the pair on Instagram and wrote: “My first major speaking part was on a show called Once Upon a Time in the North. It was a 6 part series and Bernard Hill played my dad, sad to hear of his passing today RIP Bernard.”
Fans and friends commented on Andy’s post, with one writing: “Gosh you look so young there. Very sad to learn that Bernard Hill has died loved in boys from the blackstuff as yosser hughes and then shirley valentine.”
Andy replied to the comment, saying: “I was 11 when we filmed it, it was nice to work with such a great actor with me being very young, very sad he’s passed away.” Andy’s mum also added to his post: “RIP Bernard so sad,” to which Andy replied: “It’s very sad isn’t it mum.”
Bernard died just days before his latest acting role in The Responder launched on BBC One. He had also been expected to attend Comic Con in Liverpool the day before he died, along with other cast members from The Lord of the Rings, including Orlando Bloom, Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan. Bernard had played Theoden, King of Rohan, in Peter Jackson’s film trilogy. Following the news of his death, organisers of Comic Con wrote: “We’re heartbroken to hear the news of Bernard Hill’s passing. A great loss. Thinking of his family at this very sad time, and wishing them a lot of strength.”
The Manchester-born actor, who was 79 when he died, had a varied career following his rise to fame as Yosser in Alan Bleasdale’s 1982 BBC drama Boys from the Blackstuff, who was best known for his phrase “Gizza job” in the series.
He starred as Pauline Collins’ disapproving husband in comedy classic Shirley Valentine, whom she leaves for a fling in Greece, and was recognised by many fans as Edward J Smith, the captain of the ill-fated ship in 1997’s epic Titanic. More recent roles included the Duke of Norfolk in 2015’s Wolf Hall, Father Robert Graves in Unforgotten and his final role as Tom Carson, the father of Chris (Martin Freeman) in the second season of The Responder.
