Patrick Stewart: Coronation Street cameo helped convince parents about acting

Sir Patrick Stewart believes his \'Coronation Street\' cameo helped to convince his parents he could make money from acting.

The 80-year-old movie legend - best known for playing Star Trek\'s Captain Jean-Luc Picard - made his TV debut as a fireman on the cobbles in 1967, and he is still grateful for the appearance.

He said: "More than anything else it made my parents very happy.

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"At last they saw that I might possibly have a career being an actor."

Shortly before he landed a \'Corrie\' cameo, Patrick had been offered a three-year deal with the Royal Shakespeare Company, but he was free for a short cobbles stint before he set about treading the boards.

Speaking on \'The One Show\', he added: "It was the end of my first season with the Royal Shakespeare Company and at the end of that season, expecting that I would be let go, [RSC founder] Peter Hall offered me a three-year contract.

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"I was so overwhelmed and I accepted, of course, but they had nothing for me to do so I was free and up came this little appearance in \'Coronation Street\'.

"Well, I mean does it get any more significant than that? I think not."

In \'Corrie\', Patrick\'s fire officer character was called to 15 Mawdsley Street to put out a blaze caused by Dennis Tanner (Philip Lowrie) when he was decorating the house for Len Fairclough (Peter Adamson).

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As well as Patrick, other big film stars to have appeared in Weatherfield include Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Ben Kingsley.