Coronation Street's Brian Capron reflects on iconic Richard Hillman role 20 years later
Coronation Street alum Brian Capron has reflected back on his time playing the iconic Corrie serial killer Richard Hillman as we approach 20 years since the character was on our TV screens.
Richard Hillman married Gail Platt, then later murdered his ex-wife to cover up his past. He went on to murder Maxine Peacock before fleeing and eventually returning to kidnap Gail and the kids. This set off a famous car chase that resulted in his death.
Now, in an interview with Radio Times, Capron has opened up about what it was like appearing on the show.
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"I'd already been in the show in 1982. I never thought I was ever going to come back. I had no idea what was going to happen. It was just that bit of luck, that bit of serendipity," Capron said.
"After I started, Coronation Street went back to long-burn storylines. The writers saw something in Richard and moved him to centre stage. I got my first one-hour special when Duggie died. It was a brilliant storyline with so many twists and turns."
The actor said that he "concentrated very hard" on making Richard as "human" as possible and that he wanted him to appear like a friendly, loving man in normal life. He also credits his wife with helping him come up with the character's voice.
"My wife told me that whenever Richard was threatening people and had exclamation marks in his lines, she told me to calm it down and just be quiet," Capron said.
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"And at the end of one scene, when Richard is threatening Norris, I remember a director saying to me, 'Now do your look.' 'What look?' 'You know, your look!' I didn't really know what he meant, but that was how the character grew and grew. It was really exciting."
Capron said that he is grateful to have been on the show and in such an iconic capacity but insists he got lucky.
"I have to thank the writers. I was just in the right place at the right time. I'm very grateful to Richard and Coronation Street because the role gave me a leg up. To get something like Coronation Street in my 50s gave me another 20 years. I'm [over] 70 years old and I'm still working. I’m incredibly lucky."
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
Read more Coronation Street spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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