Coronation Street star Geoffrey Hughes dies

Coronation Street star Geoffrey Hughes dies
Coronation Street star Geoffrey Hughes dies (Image credit: PA Archive/Press Association Ima)

Former Coronation Street actor Geoffrey Hughes has died aged 68 after a long battle with prostate cancer, his agent has confirmed. The actor's family said that he passed away "peacefully in his sleep" on Friday night, and described his fight against the disease as "courageous". Hughes began his small screen career in the 1960s in such shows as Z Cars and The Likely Lads, but found fame as binman Eddie Yeats in Corrie during the 70s and 80s, eventually leaving the soap in 1984. He went on to star in the BBC1 sitcom Keeping Up Appearances as the slobbish Onslow, and later played Twiggy in another BBC hit, The Royle Family. Hughes also appeared in Heartbeat and Skins, as well as making guest appearances in the likes of Doctor Who and Casualty - and was the voice of Paul McCartney in the animated Beatles movie Yellow Submarine. The actor - who was also Deputy Lord Lieutenant for the Isle of Wight where he lived - initially thought he had beaten prostate cancer in 2009, but he and his wife Sue discovered the disease had returned after collapsing at his home the following year. Tributes poured in for the actor as news of his death became public, with William Roache - aka Corrie's Ken Barlow - among the first to express his sorrow. "I am so sorry to hear about Geoffrey," he said. "He was a warm, lovable actor, with great comedy timing. He will be greatly missed, one of the Street's memorable characters." A Coronation Street spokeswoman added, "We are very sad to hear of the death of Geoffrey Hughes. He created a legendary and iconic character in Eddie Yeats who will always be part of Coronation Street. Everyone connected with the programme send our sincerest condolences to his family."

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.