Alan Rothwell is a British actor and television presenter

Presenter

A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...

. He was born in Oldham

Oldham

Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...

, Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

. He first came to fame in 1960, playing the character David Barlow in the then new ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 soap opera

Soap opera

A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...

 Coronation Street

Coronation Street

Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...

. He remained in this role in 1968, and the character was killed off two years later. He also featured as a regular character in all 26 episodes of the 1961-1962 British spy series Top Secret

Top Secret (TV series)

Top Secret was a British TV spy series broadcast in two seasons in 1961-1962. It starred William Franklyn as suave secret agent Peter Dallas, over a total of 26 black-and-white episodes, of 60 minutes each...

 in the role of "Mike".

Rothwell then became known as a presenter to a generation of children, appearing on the children's television programmes Picture Box from 1969 to 1990 and Hickory House

Hickory House (TV series)

Hickory House is a British television programme aimed at pre-school children. It was produced by Granada Television from 1973 to 1977 and broadcast on weekday lunchtimes....

from 1973 to 1978.

He returned to soap operas in 1985, this time as the heroin addict Nicholas Black

Nicholas Black

Nicholas Black was a regular character in UK Channel 4 soap opera Brookside between 1985 and 1986, played by Alan Rothwell.He married Heather Huntingdon on 30 June 1986, just months after they met when she crashed into his car...

 in Brookside

Brookside

Brookside is a defunct British soap opera set in Liverpool, England. The series began on the launch night of Channel 4 on 2 November 1982, and ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003...

. In 2002 he appeared in the television drama film Shipman

Shipman (television film)

Shipman is a 2002 ITV television drama film, about the life and crimes of serial killer Harold Shipman. The film was directed by Roger Bamford and written by Michael Eaton.-Cast:*James Bolam as Harold Shipman...

. He also played Gerry Stringer in all six episodes of Dead Man Weds

Dead Man Weds

Dead Man Weds is a 6-part comedy series shown on ITV on British TV in January and early February 2005 .The series was written by Dave Spikey who played the part of Jerry St Clair in Phoenix Nights...

in 2005. Among his many other television credits are parts in Casualty

Casualty (TV series)

Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...

, Emmerdale

Emmerdale

Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...

, Heartbeat, Doctors, Shameless

Shameless

Shameless is a British television drama series set in Manchester on the fictional Chatsworth council estate. Produced by Company Pictures for Channel 4, the first seven-episode series aired weekly on Tuesday nights at 10pm from 13 January 2004...

and Bedlam

Bedlam (TV series)

Bedlam is a British supernatural drama television series created by David Allison, Neil Jones and Chris Parker for Sky Living. It first aired on February 7, 2011. Series regulars include Theo James, Will Young, Charlotte Salt, Ashley Madekwe, and Hugo Speer. The season finale was aired on March...

. In 2004, Rothwell guest-starred in the Doctor Who

Doctor Who

Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...

audio adventure The Twilight Kingdom

The Twilight Kingdom

The Twilight Kingdom is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...

.