Peter Adamson (16 February 1930 - 17 January 2002) was a British actor born in Liverpool. He is best known for playing 'rough diamond' Len Fairclough in Coronation Street from 1961 to 1983.

He died from stomach cancer in Lincoln County Hospital in 2002.

Allegation

In April 1983, a Sunday newspaper reported that Adamson had been arrested for indecently assaulting two eight-year old girls in Haslingden swimming pool. The police complaint was that Adamson's hands had strayed while giving the girls swimming lessons.

A Crown Court jury found him not guilty.

Sacking

Adamson was sacked from Coronation Street for breach of contract. He had previosly been warned for writing unauthorized newspaper articles criticising the show and cast, but Granada Television decided to financially support him through his legal problems. However, producer Bill Podmore sacked him once it was revealed he had sold his memoirs after the previous warning.

Len Fairclough was killed off-screen in a motorway crash in December 1983. To demonise the character, it was revealed that he had been returning home from an affair, cheating on wife Rita (Barbara Knox).

Adamson celebrated the character's death by delivering an obituary on TV-am dressed as an undertaker.

Reference

• Podmore, Bill (with Peter Reece) (1990) Coronation Street: The Inside Story London: Macdonald. ISBN 0356179710