Andrew Lancel

Andrew Lancel (born Andrew Watkinson on 3 August 1970) is an award-winningEnglish television and theatre actor, producer and director. He is best known for his appearance as Frank Foster in the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street, and in his role as DI Neil Manson in The Bill as well as his acclaimed portrayal of Brian Epstein in the stage play Epstein - The Man Who Made The Beatles.

Biography

Andrew Lancel was born on 3 August 1970 in Rufford, Lancashire. He started his acting career in local theatre and as a cabaret singer. In 1993 he appeared in the film Wide-Eyed and Legless with Julie Walters and Jim Broadbent. He gained fame as the lead role in the ground breaking medical series Cardiac Arrest with Helen Baxendale. Since then he has become a well established theatre and television actor with a reputation for seeking controversial roles and projects. He was described as the most realistic doctor on TV and sporadically was TV's most hated man, after roles in City Central, Bad Girls and Queer as Folk.

The British Soap Awards

The British Soap Awards is an annual awards ceremony to honour the best of British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV and currently presented by Phillip Schofield. The trophies given to the winners are made from metal and glass and have been manufactured by British firm Creative Awards since their inception.

The first event took place in 1999 and the event takes place in May each year. Although it is an ITV production, the events were held at the BBC Television Centre, in London until 2010. The 2011 awards relocated to the Granada Studios in Manchester, then to The London Studios for the 2012 awards. The 2014 awards took place at the Hackney Empire. The 2015 awards were held at Palace Theatre, Manchester.

The soap operas nominated for awards are Coronation Street, Doctors, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks. Now-defunct soaps that were formerly nominated for awards were Brookside, Crossroads, Family Affairs and Night and Day.

Coronation Street and EastEnders had been the only two soaps to win the "Best British Soap" award since the ceremony's inception, until Hollyoaks won it in 2014.

Coronation Street

Coronation Street (informally known as Corrie) is a British soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on Coronation Street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on Salford, its terraced houses, café, corner shop, newsagents, textile factory and The Rovers Return pub. The fictional street was built in the early 1900s and named in honour of the coronation of King Edward VII.

The programme was conceived in 1960 by scriptwriter Tony Warren at Granada Television in Manchester. Warren's initial kitchen sink drama proposal was rejected by the station's founder Sidney Bernstein, but he was persuaded by producer Harry Elton to produce the programme for thirteen pilot episodes. Within six months of the show's first broadcast, it had become the most-watched programme on British television, and is now a significant part of British culture. This show has been one of the most financially lucrative programmes on British commercial television, underpinning the success of Granada Television and ITV.

Andrew

Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s it was among the top ten most popular names for boys in English-speaking countries. In Italian, the equivalent to "Andrew" is "Andrea", though "Andrea" is feminine in most other languages. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived from the Greek: Ανδρέας, Andreas, itself related to Ancient Greek: ἀνήρ/ἀνδρός aner/andros, "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "strong", "courageous", and "warrior". In the King James Bible, the Greek "Ἀνδρέας" is translated as Andrew.

Popularity

Australia

In 2000, the name Andrew was the second most popular name in Australia. In 1999, it was the 19th most common name, while in 1940, it was the 31st most common name. Andrew was the first most popular boys name in the Northern Territory in 2003 to 2015 and continuing. In Victoria, Andrew was the first most popular name for a boy in the 1970s.

Canada

Andrew was the 20th most popular name chosen for male infants in 2005. Andrew was the 16th most popular name for infants in British Columbia in 2004, the 17th most popular name in 2003, and the 19th most popular name in 2002. In 2001, it was the 18th most common name. From 1999 – 2003, Andrew was the sixth most often chosen name for a boy.