Alan Halsall and Lucy-Jo Hudson
Alan Halsall is devastated his late co-star Bill Tarmey will never get to meet his daughter.
The 30-year-old star - who portrays Tyrone Dobbs in 'Coronation Street' - and wife Lucy-Jo Hudson are expecting their first child together, and the actor insists Bill, who played his on-screen surrogate father Jack Duckworth in the ITV soap, would be delighted about the couple's big news and eager to meet their little one.
He said: "I know he would be thrilled.
"He'd be buzzing, I know he would. It's a shame he'll never get to meet our little girl.
"I was lucky to have him in my life for so long. And his family. They're lucky to have known him too.
"You'll never find anyone with a bad word to say about Bill."
In a similar way to his alter-ego on the show, Alan - who picked up the Serial Drama Performance prize at the National Television Awards in January while wearing Bill's watch - saw his late co-star as a father figure and admits the pair became best friends during their time on the programme.
He added to OK! magazine: "He was like a dad to me. You do form these strong relationships.
"I was a lot younger but we were best buddies. But he was also someone I looked up to.
"And he told me he respected me so much too. He was a very easy-going man.
"But he wouldn't give you advice if he didn't think you could take it on board.
"He was constantly giving me advice and that was our relationship, really. I used to get his lunch most days because he used to have problems breathing.
"He told me everything he knew. We were very close."
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