Coronation Street and The Crown actor James Laurenson has died at the age of 84

Coronation Street actor James Laurenson has died at the age of 84. The actor had a five-decade career in TV and film and also appeared in hit netflix royal series The Crown.

He made his film debut in 1969 with a small part in Ken Russell’s Women In Love. Laurenson also made history for performing the first gay kiss on television with Ian McKellen. The groundbreaking moment came in a 1970 TV adaptation of Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II. The scene came three years after the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

He also appeared in Coronation Street in 1968 as the Reverend Peter Hope of St Mary’s Church. Theatre producer Peter Hall said he was “a great actor, because he had that Everyman quality. All great actors carry with them this quality: when they walk on the stage they do it for us.”

In 2011 he was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his appearance as the Ghost and the Player King in Nicholas Hytner’s production of Hamlet. James was born at Marton on New Zealand's North Island on February 17, 1940.

When James first arrived in London, after attending Canterbury University College in Christchurch, James said "the first thing I learnt is that it is really hard to find work and be offered scripts".