ICONIC CORONATION ST VILLAIN

He was a mad psychopath but he had a heart

- BY CHARLOTTE TUTTON

As Coronation Street reaches its 65th year, viewers have seen many soap villains cause destruction on the cobbles.

But one stands out as the most iconic of them all, and 22 years after Richard Hillman's demise at the bottom of a canal, the actor who played him still gets remembered for his killer character's brutal actions and classic one-liners.

Brian Capron admits it's nice to have made a mark as the hapless yet horrifying villain dubbed "Norman Bates with a briefcase" by screen wife Gail Platt, played by Helen Worth.

From slamming his ex-wife Patricia over the head with a spade to smacking poor old Emily Bishop's head with a crowbar - then there was Maxine Peacock's grim death - it's hard to forget such a sinister villain.

But Brian, 78, confessed that he faced the chop as Gail's "boring" new man, until a new producer changed plans.

Speaking on the eve of the big anniversary, Brian said: "He [Richard] was a bit cheesy for six months and then our producer got sacked. The new exec decided to home in on my character.

"They saw something in it, they saw the threatening nature of it."