Coronation Street and The Crown legend James Laurenson has died aged 84 after a 50-year career.
He first appeared on the long-running Manchester-based soap opera in 1968 as Reverend Peter Hope.
Most recently he played Scottish doctor and homeopath Sir John Weir in the hit Netflix series The Crown.
Laurenson also performed the first gay kiss with Sir Ian McKellen in an adaptation of Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II in 1970, just three years after homosexuality was decriminalized in the United Kingdom.
Coronation Street and the Crown star James Laurenson has died aged 84
Laurenson as Richard Crossdyke in The Cry opposite Sarah Lancashire
He appeared as Scottish physician and homeopath Doctor Weir in the Netflix series The Crown.
He famously performed the first gay kiss with Ian McKellen in Edward II in 1970, just three years after homosexuality was decriminalized.
Laurenson in the play After The Fall at the National Theater in London in 1990
He is survived by his second wife, Cari Haysom, and his son Jamie, from his previous marriage to actress Carol Macready.
Born in New Zealand, Laurenson studied at what was then the University of Canterbury in Christchurch before moving to the United Kingdom.
Her film debut was a supporting role in Women in Love in 1969. She then appeared in numerous Shakespeare productions, including Richard II and Hamlet.
He also played the lead role in the West End production of 42nd Street at the Theater Royal, Drury Lane in 1984, his only performance in a musical.
Laurenson starred in All for Love at London’s Almeida Theater alongside Diana Rigg.
The Olivier Award-nominated actor first appeared in Coronation Street in 1968.
James Laurenson as Harry McDonald in the television show Crown Court
Laurenson as Professor George Amory in the ITV series Endeavor, a spin-off of Inspector Morse
He also starred in Waiting for Godot at the Theater Royal, Bath. She moved to Somerset in the 1990s.
His other credits include Midsomer Murders, Bergerac, Lovejoy, Taggart and Prime Suspect.
He starred in the BBC version of Henry IV in The Hollow Crown as the Earl of Westmoreland and as Professor George Amory in ITV’s Endeavor.
The actor moved to Frome, Somerset in the 1990s, where he enjoyed time “away from the limelight” walking his dog Maisie.
