Sitcom legend joins Coronation Street

Ram John Holder has joined the cast of 'Coronation Street'.

The 89-year-old actor - who is best known for his portrayal of Porkpie in Channel 4 sitcom 'Desmond's', which ran from 1989 to 1994 - is currently filming scenes as Ed Bailey's (Trevor Michael Georges) dad, Sarge, but he won't be seen on screen for some time.

A source told The Sun newspaper's Bizarre TV column: “Ram has already been filming his scenes though viewers won’t get to see them for some months.

“It’s a substantial role, but he’s a seasoned star of multiple dramas.”

Ram has previously appeared in 'EastEnders', 'Casualty', 'Holby City' and 'Doctors', and most recently featured in 'Death In Paradise'.

The veteran actor previously spoke of how much he loved working on 'Desmond's' and was happy he'd given up the chance of a BBC TV series of his own to play Porkpie.

He told The Guardian newspaper: "The BBC had offered me the lead part in a six-episode series, but I chose Desmond’s instead, because I loved the character of Porkpie. I just got him. It was also very attractive to me that Norman Beaton [who played Desmond] was going to be in the show.

"I'd known him for years and had worked with him before – I knew it would be good if he was involved.

"On set, it was such a marvellous, happy ensemble. The way we collaborated with each other and the camaraderie was great. We knew the neighbourhood, we knew those characters. We loved how it had been written.

"Norman and myself used to say: how can Trix, this young guy, get all these nuances of these West Indian characters? He was 30 years younger than us. He was a young boy. And he had somehow managed to create this incredible thing."