Geoffrey Hughes

Geoffrey Hughes DL
Geoffrey Hughes as he appeared in TV's Heartbeat.
Born	(1944-02-02)2 February 1944 Wallasey, Cheshire, England
Died	27 July 2012(2012-07-27) (aged 68) Isle of Wight, England
Cause of death	Prostate cancer
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1966–2010
Spouse(s)	Susan Hughes (?–2012; his death)

Geoffrey Hughes DL (2 February 1944 – 27 July 2012) was an English actor.

Hughes rose to fame for portraying much-loved binman Eddie Yeats in the popular long-running British soap opera Coronation Street from 1974 to 1983, making a return to the show in 1987. He went on to appear in two popular British television sitcoms during the 1990s, playing loveable slob Onslow in Roy Clarke's Keeping Up Appearances (1990–1995) followed by Twiggy in Craig Cash and Caroline Aherne's The Royle Family (1998–2000), the latter of which he reprised his role for the specials in 2006 and 2008.

From 2001 to 2005 he played Vernon Scripps, conman and loveable rogue, on the ITV police drama Heartbeat (2001–05), taking over as the show's main loveable rogue from Bill Maynard, and returning to the show briefly in 2007 after the character was thought dead.

In 1996 Hughes was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and in 2010 he suffered a cancer relapse which led him to retire from acting. He died from the illness, aged 68, in 2012.

Hughes attended Ranworth Square Primary School, Liverpool until the age of 11. He then went to Abbotsford Secondary Modern School in Norris Green, Liverpool. He started his career in repertory at the Victoria Theatre in Stoke-on-Trent. This was followed by his first West End production, the Lionel Bart and Alun Owen musical Maggie May. His other West End productions included the stage version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Say Goodnight to Grandma, The Secret Life of Cartoons and several seasons of Run for your Wife. He recently played "Pistol" in an open-air production of Henry V at Barnwell Manor. He also toured extensively in Britain and abroad. He had relatives in Shetland.