Alec Gilroy
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26 June 1972
30 December 1998
| Alec Gilroy | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Coronation Street character | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Roy Barraclough | ||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1972, 1975, 1986–1992, 1995–1998 | ||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | Episode 1194 26 June 1972 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | Episode 4534 30 December 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Eric Prytherch (1972) Susi Hush (1975) Bill Podmore (1986) Sue Pritchard (1995) Brian Park (1996) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Book appearances | Coronation Street: The Complete Saga | ||||||||||||||||||
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Alec Gilroy is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Roy Barraclough. The character made several appearances in the show as a small-time talent agent, the first in 1972, and later as a series regular from 1986 to 1992. He reappeared briefly in July 1995, and returned for a longer stint between April 1996 and December 1998. Alec is best known for his tempestuous marriage to long-running character Bet Lynch (Julie Goodyear).
Departure (1992)
In 1988, with his contract due to expire, Barraclough decided to quit the programme, citing typecasting as a reason for his departure. His exit storyline was in early planning stages when he had a surprise change of heart, as Bill Podmore recalls: "He insisted on leaving before he became better known as Alec Gilroy than Roy Barraclough, and all my efforts to dissuade him failed. Suddenly, out of the blue, he had a change of heart and the scriptwriters were spared the task of inventing a plausible exit for Alec. Barraclough references this in a 1990 interview: "For the foreseeable future, I will continue playing Alec because I'm enjoying it, but two years ago I thought I was going to pack it all in. The actor's instinct is to do it, move on and tackle another challenge. With soap, once you have established the character, it's just a case of learning a different situation each week. There's nothing else to explore. But Granada outlined all sorts of interesting ideas they had to develop the character and it sounded smashing."
Barraclough remained non-committal about his future with Coronation Street, a situation not helped by the addition of a third weekly episode in October 1989. Barraclough said: "It's damned hard work. If you're featured prominently in a storyline for five or six weeks, the pressure begins to get to you and the strain really starts to tell. It's very much bed and work. At the moment it's OK, but one could foresee a time when it could all get too much. I spent my life permanently tense."[citation needed] In 1992, Barraclough quit the Street, and this time he did not change his mind. Although he expressed a desire for Alec to be killed off, writers instead chose to send him away to Southampton to resume his entertainment career, believing that Bet's new status as a separated woman had dramatic potential.
Reintroduction and final departure
When Julie Goodyear decided to leave her role as Bet Lynch after 25 years in 1995, Roy Barraclough was persuaded to return as Alec for a storyline which saw the Gilroys reunite to stop Vicky marrying Steve McDonald. The story saw Bet and Alec pick up where they left off, entertaining viewers with their bickering one last time. Alec next appeared in direct-to-video Coronation Street - The Feature Length Special, also in 1995, before returning to the regular programme full-time from April 1996 onwards. In September 1998, tabloids carried the story of Barraclough's resignation from the Street, with the Daily Mirror carrying a quote from the actor: "It's true I've told them I want to go at the end of my six-month contract. It's hard work these days and I've just completed a 19-week stint at the studios."[citation needed] His final episode aired in December 1998. Barraclough ruled out a return to the soap in 2012 stating: "You can't go back and recreate it, because it was a special time on the Street, it was heavily focused on comedy back then and all that has changed. You could be a bit of a caricature if you went back now."[1] He later stated in 2014: "I don't watch the show, it has changed so much now from what it was, it doesn't have a hold on me like it used to. The characters have changed and it has drifted away from what it used to be, there was a lot of comedy then."[2]