Malcolm Hebden
Hebden (left) with playwright Alan Plater in 1972
Born (1939-12-21) 21 December 1939 (age 84)
Chester, Cheshire, England
Alma materRose Bruford College
OccupationActor (retired)
Years active1972–2020
Known forRole of Norris Cole in Coronation Street

Malcolm Hebden (born 21 December 1939) is an English retired actor. He is known for portraying the role of Norris Cole in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street on and off between 1994 and 1997, regularly from 1999 to 2017, and intermittently between 2019 and 2020. Aged 81, he announced his retirement from acting due to ill health.

Early life

Hebden was born on 21 December 1939 in Chester before his family moved to Burnley, Lancashire, three weeks later.[1] He was educated at West Gate High School and began his career as a window dresser in Burnley.[1] He found school difficult due to "severe dyslexia".[2] He was involved in amateur dramatics groups, one of which included Richard Moore, called The Highcliffe Players.[3] When aged 28, he attended the Rose Bruford Drama School in London[1] before beginning a career in theatre.

Career

Hebden first appeared in Coronation Street from 1974 to 1975, as Mavis Riley's (Thelma Barlow) Spanish boyfriend Carlos.[4] He first appeared as Norris Cole in 1994; he left in 1997, before returning to the role in December 1999. He also appeared in the first episode of the first series of Heartbeat and also the sixteenth episode of the ninth series. His other roles include model toy salesman Oliver Shawcross in Albion Market.

In 1999, Hebden made a brief, but energetic appearance as a pharmacist in the television film Lost for Words, alongside Pete Postlethwaite, Anne Reid and Thora Hird.[5] He also made an appearance in Last of the Summer Wine and also in Children's Ward.

Along with his on-screen business partner Barbara Knox (Rita Sullivan), Hebden won the Best Onscreen Partnership award at the British Soap Awards in May 2006. Additionally, he won the Funniest Character award for two consecutive years at the 2001 and 2002 Inside Soap Awards.

Hebden had a near-fatal heart attack in December 2017, and was absent from Coronation Street from December 2017 to April 2019.[6] However, in March 2019, it was announced that Hebden would return briefly in May 2019.[7][8] He made his final appearance in June 2020. In January 2021, he announced his retirement from acting, at the age of 81.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c I see Pendle and I'm home Archived 6 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Lancashire Evening Telegraph, 4 March 1998
  2. ^ "Interview: Coronation Street's Norris Cole, Malcolm Hebden". Lancashire Telegraph. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  3. ^ "Preview: Comedians in Bolton". Lancashire Telegraph. 13 April 2010. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  4. ^ "Malcolm Hebden". www.corrie.net. Archived from the original on 16 December 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2007.
  5. ^ "Lost for Words (1999)". www.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  6. ^ "Corrie fan favourite recovering from heart attack". Digital Spy. 5 July 2018. Archived from the original on 29 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  7. ^ Lee, Jess (26 November 2018). "Corrie confirms return for Malcolm Hebden as Norris". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  8. ^ Street, Coronation (28 February 2019). "Norris Cole - back where he belongs Welcome home Malcolm Hebden - see him on screen in April! #Corrie #Norris #BehindTheScenes #Exclusivepic.twitter.com/uDivXP3pKx". @itvcorrie. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  9. ^ "No more Norris! Coronation Street actor Malcolm Hebden retires from screen". Lancashire Telegraph. 22 January 2021. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.

External links

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