Philip Lowrie
Colin Philip Lowrie was an English stage and television actor. He played Dennis Tanner in the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street from its inception in 1960 until 1968 and again from 2011 until 2014.
Life and career
Early life
Born in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire on 20 June 1936, Lowrie was the son of Bertha and Philip Lowrie, who was a foreman in a paper mill. Lowrie had a stammer so attended elocution lessons at Miss Atherton's Elocution. When he left secondary school, his mother managed to save enough money to pay his fees at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, where he studied for three years.Career
Aged 24, Lowrie appeared in the opening episode of the Granada Television soap opera Coronation Street as Dennis Tanner, the son of Elsie Tanner and brother of Linda Cheveski. Lowrie remained with the show as a regular character until 1968. During this period, he recorded a pop single, "I Might Have Known", which was issued by Ember in September 1963. Despite being recorded at the prestigious Abbey Road Studios and produced by John Barry, the record was not a hit.Lowrie worked with Victoria Wood on several occasions, appearing in her programmes Victoria Wood's All Day Breakfast and Victoria Wood, as well as in her television film Pat and Margaret. His other television appearances have included Andy Capp, Crown Court, War and Peace, East Lynne, The Cuckoo Waltz, The Liver Birds, Galloping Galaxies, Rules of Engagement and Doctors.
Lowrie did auditions and voiceover work from 1998 until 2003 for the Channel 4 quiz show Fifteen to One.
In September 2011, Lowrie was presented with a certificate by the Guinness World Records for being the person with the longest gap between television appearances as the same character in the same show, having returned to Coronation Street as Dennis Tanner earlier that year when his previous on-screen appearance as Dennis Tanner had been in June 1968. Lowrie made his final on-screen appearance as the character in July 2014. Lowrie's record of 43 years in between televised appearances as the same character in the same show was beaten in October 2022 by William Russell appearing in Doctor Who after a 57-year gap since his previous appearance as Ian Chesterton in June 1965. He subsequently played Mr Larkin in the ITV series Home Fires in 2016.
In addition to his work on television, Lowrie was also an accomplished theatre actor, starring in many West End and stage lead roles, including performances as Major Metcalf in The Mousetrap, Klever in The Case of The Frightened Lady and Eric in The Lady Vanishes.