He’s been a familiar face on the cobbled streets of Weatherfield since 2003, but the passing of the years has been compared by actor Antony Cotton to something far less pleasurable than a freshly-pulled pint of Newton and Ridley.
Greeting crowds in Stourbridge, West Midlands, to turn on the Christmas lights this weekend, Antony quipped ‘Fifteen years, you get less for murder’ when asked how long he had been on the show.
(We have to question his maths though, as by OUR reckoning his first appearance was on July 13, 2003, as a one-off. He then became a regular from April, 2004. Still, time off for good behaviour and all that).
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But it wasn’t just Antony’s maths which were a bit awry during his much anticipated visit to Stourbridge. His big light up didn’t quite go to plan, either…
As hundreds of locals lined the streets to see the Coronation Street actor, Antony took to the podium and flicked the switch – unfortunately, according to the town’s local paper, he did it 10 seconds AFTER the lights had actually come on…
The blunder didn’t seem to come as much of a surprise to Antony though, who had already told the crowd that there could be a problem with the light switch.
“I’ve been told I mustn’t press this big switch yet or the lights will come on, but if you believe that you’ll believe anything,” he said.
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It’s not clear if someone accidentally turned the illuminations on while the countdown was still happening, or if indeed Antony did press the switch early.
It was only when the master of ceremonies invited him to turn them on, that the confused crowd looked around to discover they already were.
Baffled faces aside, Sean Tully’s alter ego was obviously having a good time at the festivities, joking with the throng: “Alright Stourbridge. Can someone put the kettle on it’s freezing,” before adding: “I come from the Lancashire Riviera and it’s nothing but sunshine and palm trees.”
Antony later stopped to pose for selfies with chuffed locals, before heading back to warmer climes.