Who's Going to Look at You?

Book excerpt: As the evil Alan Bradley in ITV’s long-running soap Coronation Street, Mark Eden was the most hated man in Britain. Almost 27 million viewers switched on to watch him get his just deserts under the wheels of a Blackpool tram; making it the third highest viewing figure ever recorded in the UK.Now, as our senior soap opera celebrates its remarkable 50th anniversary, three-times married actor Mark Eden is publishing his enthralling autobiography. And although Alan Bradley was voted ‘Britain’s Biggest Rat’ by The Sun newspaper, Mark’s book is about much more than just his memorable time in Coronation Street.Born in 1928 – the same year as Mickey Mouse! – Mark’s extraordinary life tells of the trauma of evacuation from London at the beginning of the war, the terror of the Blitz, and his early career as a seaside fairground photographer (complete with a monkey!) before becoming an actor. He reveals how he lost his virginity at the age of 19 with an amorous night nurse while recovering from TB in hospital; and how his good looks brought success with women and early stardom on stage and screen.He worked at the Royal Court with the English Stage Company, and with the Royal Shakespeare Company and appeared in many fine films including: Seance on a wet Afternoon, Heavens Above, Attack on the Iron Coast and The L-shaped Room; and in classic TV series such as Dr Who, The Prisoner and The Saint. Mark is frank and funny about every detail of his fascinating life: his tempestuous affair with Dorothy Squires, his failed attempts to seduce Judi Dench, and being carried upstairs, dead drunk, by Peter O’Toole.Still on good terms with his two ex wives, Mark is now very happily married to the popular Coronation Street star Sue Nicholls. “She is the best thing that ever happened to me,” says Mark. “I’m a very fortunate man. At the age of 56, with two failed marriages behind me, I meet the love of my life. How lucky is that?”‘Who’s Going To Look At You?’ was Mark’s mother’s reaction when he told her he was going to become an actor. She lived to be 100 years old; long enough to learn that the answer to her question was perhaps, world wide, a billion people! Enjoy.