In a showbusiness career which lasted almost fifty years his other television credits include Nearest and Dearest and A Family at War. Bill led the rest of the Coronation Street cast when they released a cover of Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life, which reached #35 on the UK Singles Chart in 1995. He had previously released his own record Don't Forget The Old Folks at Christmas in 1986 but this failed to chart. Bill passed away in September 2000 after a long battle with Parkinson's Disease.