He then appeared in The Road to Coronation Street, playing a younger version of his father William Roache during the time Coronation Street creator Tony Warren was attempting to bring the soap to television.
In 2008 he was given an honorary degree from Manchester Metropolitan University "in recognition for his contribution to ground-breaking television and creative writing which has helped put Manchester and Salford on the cultural map".
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During this period he performed with many of the people who were later to become household names through Coronation Street, most notably Violet Carson and Doris Speed, who played Ena Sharples and Annie Walker respectively.
Tony Blair | Tony Bennett | Tony Award | Tony Curtis | Warren G. Harding | Tony Scott | Warren | Warren Buffett | Tony Conrad | Tony Cragg | Warren Beatty | Tony Hawk | Earl Warren | Diane Warren | Warren Zevon | Tony | Tony Benn | Tony Kushner | Tony Danza | Tony Blackburn | Warren G | Warren County | Tony Rice | Tony Allen | Tony Robinson | Lesley Ann Warren | Warren E. Burger | Tony Visconti | Tony Stewart | Tony Soprano |
Salford-born 21 year-old Christine Hargreaves was one of the very first actors to read for creator Tony Warren's new script 'Florizel Street' (later renamed Coronation Street), and even played the part of Christine in the dry runs, before the show was commissioned for broadcast, alongside, among others, Patricia Phoenix and Doris Speed.
In 1959 a young Tony Warren got an idea of a drama set on the streets of Ordsall, which ended up into the longest running soap opera in UK history Coronation Street, the whole area since then has been demolished and the only picture of it has been the photo in the background of the original credits.
Set predominately at Granada Studios, Manchester in 1960, the 75-minute long programme follows the true story of Tony Warren, a struggling scriptwriter who creates a vision of a television programme depicting normal life in a Salford street of terraced houses.