Corrie's Sue Nicholls heartbreaking tribute to late co-star John Savident
As unlucky-in-love butcher Fred Elliott, known for his booming voice and unique way, we say, unique way with words, he created one of TV’s most iconic characters.
The announcement on Friday that John Savident had died at the age of 86 prompted warm tributes from his former Coronation Street co-stars. Sue Nicholls, who played Audrey Roberts, one of Fred’s many short-lived conquests, said: “I am very sad to hear of John’s passing. My memories of working with you dear John on the street are a joy, and always will be. God bless you and thank you for being in my life.”
Savident joined the Manchester soap in 1994 and soon became a fan favourite thanks to Fred’s big personality and way of repeating himself. More often than not his storylines revolved around Fred’s disastrous love life, with him notching up three marriages and several failed proposals.
Fred also discovered he had a secret son Ashley Peacock, played by Steven Arnold, and the pair bonded working as butchers together. When Savident won best comedy performance at the British Soap Awards in 1999, he dedicated his win to co-star Arnold, saying he “wants to give this also to someone who helps me an awful lot, and without which Fred couldn’t function”.
John died at the age of 86 (PA)
Sue Nicholls paid tribute to the star (ITV)“So Steven, you can have a rub of this, you can have a rub of this in a bit,” he added in Fred’s accent, with a cheeky nod to his quirky way of speaking. Savident announced his intention to leave the soap in 2005 and his character was killed off the following year, suffering a fatal stroke on the day he was supposed to marry Bev Unwin (Susie Blake).
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During his poignant TV death scene, Fred told his would-be bride Bev: “Be happy, I say, be happy”. He admitted of his soap exit: “I was becoming an absentee husband, father and grandfather by spending so many hours working.” Yesterday Corrie boss Iain MacLeod said everyone at the soap was “deeply saddened”.
“John firmly established himself in the pantheon of Coronation Street greats,” he said. “His peerless comic timing, combined with a deep pathos arising from his outstanding dramatic skill, made Fred an unforgettable, iconic character that provided great joy to viewers for many years.” Jane Danson, who plays Leanne Battersby, said: “Corrie legend, I say, Corrie legend.” Samia Longchambon, who plays Maria Connor, wrote: “Rest in peace... I’ll remember you fondly.”
Born in Guernsey in 1938 to a fisherman father and a Swiss mother, John left the Channel Islands, then under German occupation, and moved to Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, when he was three. He started his career as a policeman in Manchester and during six years of service was stabbed in the arm as he tried to break up a gang fight.
Savident quit the force when a producer overheard him talking in a pub and offered him a part as Robin Hood in a London panto. He appeared with Roger Moore in The Saint in 1968 and, in 1982, he played King Richard IV of England in an unaired pilot of Blackadder. Savident also enjoyed roles in TV comedy Yes, Minister and was cast in Doctor Who, Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, biopic Gandhi, war film Battle of Britain, and drama Middlemarch. He also appeared opposite Sir Anthony Hopkins in 1993 Oscar-nominated Remains of the Day.
In the theatre, he was in the first run of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s West End musical Phantom of the Opera in 1986, playing opera house owner Monsieur Firmin. He reprised the role in the 2011 Royal Albert Hall concert film. John worked on in his sixties, taking stage roles in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Harold Brighouse’s Hobson’s Choice.
In 2000, the actor was stabbed twice in the neck in Manchester by a man who was later jailed. John married theatre director Rona Hopkinson in 1961, and they had two children, Romany and Daniel. In a statement, his agent said: “He was a much-loved husband and father of two and will be sorely missed by all who knew him.”
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