Coronation Street icon died penniless as a taxi driver after mounting debt
The Corrie veteran died last month at the age of 89.
Coronation Street star Alan Rothwell, who is best known for playing David Barlow, died in May aged 89 after a short illness. The late actor was part of the original cast of the long-running soap, having secured his role as Ken Barlow's (played by William Roache) brother from the very first episode in 1960 until 1969. Following his exit, Alan took on roles in Brookside as Nicholas Black in the mid-eighties, as Mike in the ITV spy drama Top Secret in the early Sixties, and held various parts in the Noughties BBC One soap Doctors.
Despite this, it was after his 57 episodes on Corrie that the actor was left with mountains of debt and resorted to driving his Honda across Stockport and the Greater Manchester area throughout the 1990s. The financial arrears accrued following his divorce from Maureen Hayden, a former model whom he had met while she was an extra on Corrie and as a result, passengers often recognised him.
At the time, The Sun ran a story with the headline: "What is Ken Barlow’s brother doing driving a cab?"
Addressing the desperate career change, Alan previously admitted: "At first it took a bit of guts to do it, but I haven’t any regrets over it. "About 80% of the passengers recognise me immediately. It always comes as a bit of a shock for them."
Despite this, the star continued to pursue his passion and appeared as a villager in the BBC TV series The Musketeers.
In 2018, Alan also starred as Douglas in 20th Century-Fox's British comedy Walk Like A Panther, which was released in cinemas on March 9 of that year.
Just last month, the actor's death was announced on Corrie's official Instagram page. It read: "We're very sorry to hear of Alan Rothwell's passing and extend our sincerest condolences to his family at this very sad time.
"He created an iconic and memorable character in David Barlow and will forever be remembered as one of the original cast members of Coronation Street."
Alan's family also confirmed the actor "died peacefully in hospital" and added: "Beyond his professional achievements, he was a loving husband, father, grandfather and uncle. He will be fondly remembered and deeply missed."
His on-screen brother, Roache, was also among those to remember the actor. He wrote: "I am very sorry to hear of Alan's passing.
"He and I worked together on the very first episodes of Coronation Street, which was such a wonderful time, I got to know him well over the years, he was a very good actor and a delightful man. I send my thoughts and condolences to his family."
