William Simons (born 17th November 1940 in Mumbles, South Wales) played Rita Littlewood's common-law husband Harry Bates on Coronation Street in 1972, and the role of Jim Cawley in October 1987. He started as a child actor, but became most famous in his 50s when he began playing PC Alf Ventress in Heartbeat, a role he kept for the show's entire 17-year run.