Kenneth Farrington
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Kenneth William Farrington (born 18 April 1936) is a retired English actor. He first came to fame playing the role of Billy Walker, wayward son of publican Annie, in ITV's longest-running soap opera, ''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
''. Following a brief period as a film actor, Farrington secured the role of power-hungry Tom King in ''
Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...
''. After the character's high-profile death in December 2006, Farrington largely retired from acting, although he has appeared in occasional TV roles since then.


Personal life

Farrington was born in
Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of H ...
, South London, and attended
Alleyn's School Alleyn's School is a 4–18 Mixed-sex education, co-educational, independent, day school and sixth form in Dulwich, London, England. It is a registered charity and was originally part of Edward Alleyn's College of God's Gift charitable foundatio ...
. He was married to actress Patricia Heneghan from 1961 to 1981; they have three children. He was taught by Michael Croft, who advised him not to take up acting as a professional.


Career (1960–2000)

Farrington's first major role was as Jack Marvel in the 1960 series, ''The Splendid Spur'', but he came to prominence playing the role of Billy Walker, wayward son of publican Annie, in ITV's long-running
soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
, ''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
'', having previously been considered for the role of Jed Stone. He joined the series in 1961, continuing in the role on and off until leaving the show for good in 1984. Farrington played long-suffering Chief Inspector Teal's right-hand man in the TV series '' The Saint'', and also appeared in episodes of '' The Avengers'', ''
Redcap REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) is a browser-based, metadata-driven EDC software and workflow methodology for designing clinical and translational research databases. It is widely used in the academic research community: the REDCap ...
'' and ''
Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police and CID detectives in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by ...
''. He appeared in films such as '' Submarine X-1'' (1968) and '' Party Party'' (1983). Farrington worked with the Manchester Drama Group, with whom cast members of ''Coronation Street'' often performed in the 1970s. In 1974, he directed
Anne Kirkbride Anne Kirkbride (21 June 1954 – 19 January 2015) was an English actress, best known for her long-running role as Deirdre Barlow in the ITV soap ''Coronation Street'', which she played for 42 years from 1972 to 2014. For this role, she posthu ...
in a lunchtime production of David Halliwell's ''Muck from Three Angles'' at the Grapes Hotel in Quay Street. Kirkbride's character in the soap,
Deirdre Deirdre ( , ; ) is a tragic heroine in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. She is also known by the epithet "Deirdre of the Sorrows" (). Deirdre is a prominent figure in Irish legend. American scholar James MacKillop (author), James MacKil ...
, was a love interest of Billy Walker around this time. In 1990 he played the role of joiner Mr.Edwards in an episode of '' All Creatures Great And Small'' titled "Knowin' How To Do It". In 1993 he appeared in an episode of '' Heartbeat'', playing Vic Kennis (as Ken Farrington). Beginning in 1997 he played the continuing role of Jack Gates, father of Hart family matriarch Annie Hart (played by Liz Crowther), in the soap opera ''
Family Affairs ''Family Affairs'' is a British soap opera that aired on Channel 5. It debuted on 30 March 1997, the day of the launch of said channel and was the first programme broadcast on the channel. It was screened as five thirty-minute episodes per w ...
''. His character was killed off in late 1998 (several weeks prior to the entire Hart family being killed off) as part of a drastic revamp of that series.


''Emmerdale'' (2004–2006)

In 2004, Farrington joined the ITV soap opera ''
Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...
'', playing the character Tom King. After three years in the role, he announced his departure on 8 August 2006. Speaking about his decision to quit the show, Farrington said: "I originally came to ''Emmerdale'' for just six months and I have ended up staying for three years. Even during my 25 years at ''Coronation Street'', two years at a time was my longest stint. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at ''Emmerdale'' but feel it is time to move on." ''Emmerdale'' series producer Kathleen Beedles said: "Ken has been an asset to the show and will be greatly missed but his exit storyline is going to be extremely dramatic and memorable for viewers, which we're very excited about." Farrington was written out in dramatic fashion in an episode which aired on
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
Day 2006 which saw his character being pushed to his death from a bedroom window by Carl King.


Filmography

*'' One Way Pendulum'' (1965) – Stan *'' The Knack ...and How to Get It'' (1965) – Guardsman (uncredited) *''
Robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person o ...
'' (1967) – Seventh Robber *'' Submarine X-1'' (1969) – C.P.O. Boker Knowles *'' Party Party'' (1983) – Dad *''Dinosaur'' (2020) (short) – Walter


References


External links

*
Ken Farrington
(Aveleyman) {{DEFAULTSORT:Farrington, Ken 1936 births Living people English male soap opera actors Actors from the London Borough of Southwark Actors educated at Alleyn's School Male actors from London People from Dulwich