Bryan Mosley
Bryan Mosley
Played: Alf Roberts OBE (16 February 1961 - 1 January 1999)
At the age of 12 Bryan met his future wife Norma whilst they both attended a local Youth club. During the war Bryan served with the air traffic control unit for the RAF and in his spare time he joined the Byre Theatre in St. Andrews, Scotland. Later, Bryan joined the Northern Theatre School and suited under Esme Church.
After graduation, Bryan toured with the New Pilgrim Players and performed in pubs, churches and prisons. He then worked in various repertories theatres including York, Perth, Derby and Harrogate. He appeared in several films; in 1962 he starred alongside Thora Herd in the northern drama A Kind of Loving, the following year he joined Rachel Roberts and Richard Harris in This Sporting Life, in 1964 he joined Thora Herd and Harry H Corbett in Rattle of A Simple Man and in 1968 he joined Albert Finney and Liza Minnelli in Charlie Bubbles. His other films were Billy Liar, Up Jumped A Swagman, Where The Bullets Fly, Far From the Madding Crowd, Privilege, Diamonds for Breakfast, Death of Angels and Get Carter.
He has worked extensively on television. He played Denis Routledge in Crossroads, a sleuth in The Saint, Malpha in Dr.Who, George in Out of The Unknown as well as roles in The Avengers, Arthur Hains Show, Bent, No Hiding Place, It's A Square World and Queenie's Castle. He is an expert fencer and fight arranger and was one of the founder members of the British Fight Directors Association. He also fenced in the Anglia Television series The High Gain and with Michael Caine and Terence Stamp in Get Carter and Far From The Madding Crowd.
On 16 February 1961 he joined the cast of Coronation Street as Post Office worker Alfred Roberts. Soon after making a one off appearance in the show he was forced to leave because of an Actors Equity strike but in 1968 he returned and became a regular character. He continued playing Alf for 38 years through the characters' two terms as Mayor and long-standing position within Weatherfield Council - even representing the borough abroad and receiving an OBE from HM The Queen and holding the title of Weatherfield's Mr Millenium. Alf's life was never easy, his first wife Phyllis died of cancer and second wife Reene was killed in a car crash, however his best partnership was with third wife Audrey Potter and the extended family of the Tilsley's and the Platts. Bryan filmed his character's final scenes on 4 December 1998.
Bryan married childhood sweetheart Norma in 1956. They have six children: Jaquline, Simone, Helen, Jonathan, Bernard and Leonard, four of which work in the theatre. Bryan was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1997 and the full cast turned out to salute the man they knew as Alfie. He also holds an honorary doctorate at Bradford University. Bryan was told to leave the show by producers after suffering several health scares between 1992 and 1997. He spent time in Bradford Royal Infirmary and shed 4 stone in weight following a second heart attack. Bryan also wrote a weekly column in The Weekly News.
He collapsed in the street in Shipley, Yorkshire on 9 February 1999 with a massive heart attack and was dead on arrival at Bradford Royal Infirmary.
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