Peter Armitage (born 23rd October 1939 in Skipton, died 30th November 2018 in Cononley, North Yorkshire) first appeared in Coronation Street in 1977 playing corrupt decorator Maurice Allen. He has since played Bill Webster for three extended runs in the 1980s, the 1990s and the 2000s. Away from the programme he has appeared in episodes of Strangers, Medics, and Heartbeat. He was a regular actor in the short lived Sam Saturday.
In the early 1980s he appeared in a memorable Yellow Pages commercial as a father who tried to dissuade his son from having a racing bike for his birthday, the advert ending with the line "I was right about that saddle though!". It was this which brought him to the attention of Granada Television and an audition as Bill Webster.
Previous to his acting career he worked as an engineering apprentice, from 1960 served in the Merchant Navy and from 1964 onwards worked on digging the London Underground Victoria Line from where he got an interest in acting after talking to the producer of amateur plays in a folk club. He enrolled at the East 15 Drama School in Loughton, Essex and worked steadily after graduating in theatre and on television in series such as Lucky Fellar, The Professionals and The Sweeney. In 1980 after a season at the Royal National Theatre, he went on a 13,000 mile tour of Australia on a motorbike, busking for a living with his guitar. In 1970 he married actress Annabel Scase (who herself appeared in Coronation Street in 1966) though they were later divorced.
In February 2014 it was reported that Peter had beaten bowel cancer. He has expressed interest in returning as Bill Webster, especially after Michael Le Vell was cleared of abuse charges and due to return as Kevin Webster. He passed away from a heart attack in November 2018 without making another return.