Les Dennis found it "bizarre" watching back his alter ego’s funeral scenes in the ‘Coronation Street’ canteen.
The 63-year-old actor bowed out of the long-running soap as criminal Michael Rodwell – a role he played for two years – at the end of last year but didn’t expect that he’d be forced to watch back his character’s emotional send off when he and his wife Claire Nicholson paid a visit to the set shortly after he filmed his final scenes.
Speaking on ‘Lorraine’ on Thursday (30.03.17), he said: "It was bizarre, it was absolutely bizarre. I was looking at all the Platt family and said ‘you’re all dressed up. I asked Ollie, who was playing my son, ‘what are you dressed up for’ and he said ‘your funeral’. I had no idea so then they said the hearse is down in the Street if you want to go and have a look. So then Claire and I went down and stood by my hearse, with a coffin inside, the order of service and everything in the back. it was quiet freaky but fan as well."
Les has admitted he never actually asked bosses to kill him off but he was happy when he was told that producers were plotting a "big exit", which saw his alter ego die in front of his arch-enemy Pat Phelan (Connor McIntyre), for him because he wanted to go out with a bang rather than slip away silently.
Les – whose character was married to busy-body Gail Platt (Helen Worth) – explained: "I didn’t insist but I was really pleased when they said its gonna be a big exit. ‘Lexit’ I call it. I could have died in a chair in Gail’s house but instead it was a big send off with Phelan."
Les Dennis’ weird death watch
