George Shuttleworth has become a firm favourite among Coronation Street viewers since he made his Weatherfield debut in 2020. The funeral director, played by Tony Maudsley was introduced as the son of Archie Shuttleworth.
He arrived on the street when he began doing business with Preston's Petals after taking over Shuttleworth's Independent Funeral Directors after his father died. Then in January 2021, George and Gail Platt discovered that they shared great-great grandparents, Augustus and Fanny Page.
Since then Corrie fans have seen George strike up a relationship with Eileen Grimshaw and is even now working with her son, Todd, at the undertakers after he gave him a chance to change his scheming ways. But recently George has been hiding a secret and it all came to light during Monday night's trip to the cobbles.
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George had been refusing to stay the night at Eileen's or letting her visit him at his home. After accusing him of an affair, the pair almost split until Todd found out the truth and got him to confess. It turns out that Geroge is a huge snorer and has seen many of his relationships fail because of it. But while some fans didn't believe him, others think it could be leading to a much bigger storyline on sleep apnea.
Earlier this month Tony delighted fans when he confirmed his character will be staying on the soap after renewing his contract. Excitedly sharing the news, the Kirkby-born TV star, 54, shared a selfie in George's usual outfit with the Rovers Return dazzling beneath the blue Greater Manchester sky in the background. He said: "That's me (and George) all signed up to Corrie till at least July 2023 and I couldn't be happier!"
While many will likely start recognising Tony for the role of George, many still can't shake off his past acting credits, particularly that of hairdresser Kenneth Du Beke in the hit ITV sitcom Benidorm, a role he played from 2011 to 2018. However, Tony's acting career started in film when he landed a role in, A Life for a Life, in 1998 where he played the part of Stefan Kiszko.
But fans may not know that he also bagged a major role when he appeared in Harry Potter’s fifth blockbuster installment, The Order of the Phoenix. Tony played Hagrid’s giant half-brother, Grawp, that he brings back from his travels. And Tony says it was one of the toughest roles of his career.
He told Female First: "I was weighed down with these huge monster feet that were so heavy, that I could never get into the canteen and back in time."
Not only that, Tony has a small link to Johnny Depp after they both appeared in the film Sleepy Hollow. "Very early on in my career, I worked with Johnny Depp on the film Sleepy Hollow," he revealed to Inside Soap. "At the time, I'd stopped smoking for three years – but Johnny invited me for a roll-up round the back of the set, and I couldn't say no!
"So, there I was trying to look cool with Johnny, while choking on a cigarette. I appeared in Vanity Fair with Reese Witherspoon too. It's been a pretty lovely career!"
Tony's list of acting credits when it comes to TV is also a long one having appeared as Martin in the BBC One sitcom Eyes Down and Graham ITV2's sitcom The Job Lot. He's also appeared in The Royal, Ordinary Lies, and even had a brief stint in Emmerdale.
The five-episode stint saw Tony play Aaron Livesy's defence barrister Gerald Lawson at his trial for the murder of his boyfriend Jackson Walsh. But fans may also not know that Tony appeared in Corrie way before landing the role of George.
Tony made his soap debut in his first TV role since leaving drama school with him credited as having played a drinker in the pub twice. He also starred in a scene with Alec Gilroy, played by actor Roy Barraclough. Speaking about the past scenes, he previously told Lorraine Kelly on her self-titled ITV show that she had "come full circle".
He said: "Corrie was my very first job out of drama school, so I've kind of come full circle 30 years later. I did a scene with Roy Barraclough, so here I am back 30 years later."
Away from work and his life on-screen, not much is known about Tony's private life.
