Street star kicks off for the deaf
Coronation Street star Bill Tarmey has told the Manchester Evening News how his singing career cost him his hearing.
Now Bill, 68, who made his living as a nightclub crooner before switching to acting, is never without his hearing aids. And he has persuaded scriptwriters to include them in a forthcoming storyline about Jack Duckworth's love affair.
Bill spoke for the first time about his deafness after agreeing to manage the Corrie Allstars football team for a charity match against the Co-op at Rochdale FC's Spotland Ground on Bank Holiday Monday. The £10,000-plus raised will go to the RNID - the charity of the year for the Co-op.
Bill said: "My wife was always going on about the television being too loud. For years, I have been putting off going to have my ears checked. Deafness sort of creeps up on you. I turned pro as a singer at 26 and have performed in front of the Halle, the London Philharmonic, rock and jazz bands. I've been in pubs, clubs - anywhere they would pay for me to sing.
"But for 40-odd years, my hearing was slowly going, so you don't really notice. I was on stage sometimes every night and it has taken its toll.
"Jack is five years older than me and there will be nothing at all unusual about a character of 73 having hearing aids - that's why I have asked the scriptwriters to get a storyline included.
"Now my grandchildren Curtis, Callum and Naomi can't make fun of me any more - because I can hear everything."
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