Graeme Hawley: 'John’s the nicest killer on TV!'

Graeme Hawley: 'John’s the nicest killer on TV!' (Image credit: Eamonn and James Clarke/EMPICS E)

Coronation Street's Graeme Hawley tells TV Times magazine about John Stape’s killing spree, and having one of the most recognisable faces on telly... We’re really sad to see John’s time on Coronation Street come to an end this week, Graeme... “I’ve been very lucky that we’ve been able to get so much mileage out of this character. You knew John was a wrong ‘un from week two, really. Ultimately, those kind of characters have to get their comeupance, and I don’t mean it in a boastful way, but to keep going for four and a half years must be something of a record.” Can you give anything away about John’s exit? “I won’t say whether he dies or not, but there’s more of a full stop.” Intriguing! What do you make of John, though? “He’s got to be one of the nicest serial killers in the history of television. On the one side, you’ve got this villain - a murderer, adulterer, kidnapper - and on the other side, you’ve got this really nice, boring guy, who only wanted to teach and have a family. And look where it got him!” It’s been quite a rollercoaster for you, too. You’re now one of the most recognisable faces on telly! “Stepping out of those gates at Granada studios when I finish, the world is a very different place for me than when I walked in, four and a half years ago. But it’s strange how you come to accept that recognition as part of life, and there are some wonderful things about it. I write a column for Coventry City’s programme, now. I’ve supported them since I was 10, and never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be doing that.”

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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.