Andrew Sachs wanted for Coronation Street role

Coronation Street bosses are planning a role for veteran Fawlty Towers star Andrew Sachs. The 78-year-old actor is apparently a fan of the ITV soap and according to The Daily Mirror his agent wrote to show executives to ask if he could appear in it. Andrew - famous for playing Spanish waiter Manuel in Fawlty Towers - is rumoured to be written into the soap as the brother of shop assistant Norris Cole, played by Malcolm Hebden. A spokesperson for the soap said: "We first started working on a possible character for Andrew Sachs six months ago after learning that he was interested in joining the show. This was brought to our attention by Malcolm Hebden, who plays Norris. "We have been in discussions with Andrew about the proposed storyline which would be seen on screen some time next year. "There is no connection whatsoever between the Russell Brand and Jonathon Ross saga and our interest in Andrew as this storyline was first discussed in April." Andrew accidentally became the centre of a phone prank scandal involving Brand and Ross/strong>. They broadcast an answerphone message on Brand's BBC Radio 2 show they made to Andrew in which Ross claimed Brand had had sex with Andrew's granddaughter Georgina Baillie. The BBC issued an apology, Brand resigned and Ross has been suspended for three months without pay.