Barbara Knox – 87, Oldham
If steady wins the race, Barbara Knox will be the indisputable champion. Knox, best known for her performance of Rita Tanner in Coronation Street, is an Oldham-born British soap opera legend who created one of the country’s most famous fictional characters. She played Tanner in a whopping 3,175 Coronation Street episodes (and counting). Knox’s soap opera adventure began in 1964 and continues to this day. She did leave the series after only one episode, but she never left again after returning in 1972. She’s also appeared in the TV show Funny You Should Say That, where she played a variety of characters.
Barbara Knox – 87, Oldham
Charles Dance – 74, Redditch
Is there a more versatile actor than Charles Dance? He’s narrated the documentary series Rise of Empires: Ottoman, as Lord Mountbatten in The Crown, and will appear in the upcoming action/adventure series The Sandman. Not bad for a young man from Redditch, Worcestershire, who lost his father when he was three years old! Dance’s amazing career is littered with triumphs. Nonetheless, he is likely most recognized for his depiction of the unyielding Tywin Lannister in Game of Thrones, possibly the most popular television series of the previous two decades. He’s also appeared in a number of memorable films, including Gosford Park and The Imitation Game.
Charles Dance – 74, Redditch