Byline: BILLY SLOAN EXCLUSIVE
ROVERS Return pot-man Harry Flagg is the pub know-it-all who firmly believes all women are trouble.
But even if female Corrie fans don't agree with his opinionated views, they've got to admit, the Street's boozer has never looked more spick and span.
Harry is played by Iain Rogerson, who has finally achieved success after 20 years as a jobbing actor. He was cast as pot- man and cleaner Harry eight months ago, and has become a firm favourite with viewers.
When the Sunday Mail visited Iain on set at Granada TV in Manchester, he couldn't quite believe it. Despite previous roles in hit TV dramas such as Peak Practice, Emmerdale and The Bill, he's never been interviewed before.
"You're the first," joked half-Scots Iain, 42, who has a string of relatives in Fife. "When you asked to talk to me I thought, `They must have the wrong bloke'."
Harry's forceful views have swept through the Rovers like detergent surging round a U- bend. His gems about the opposite sex include: "There's no point in dwelling on their mysteries... women are unfathomable."
Iain lives in the countryside near York with doctor wife Mari. He's having a ball playing the well- meaning pub bore who has a heart of gold.
"We all know somebody like Harry Flagg," said Iain. "There's one in just about every pub. He's the kind of bloke who wouldn't do you a bad turn if he could do you a good 'un."
Harry arrived in the Rovers - after a spell keeping Manchester Airport clean - and volunteered his services to landlord Fred Elliott (John Savident).
But don't call Harry a cleaner. "He is a top professional cleansing operative and very proud of it," said Iain. "He attends the International Cleaning Conference each year and knows his stuff."
If Iain was nervous about joining Coronation Street, it certainly didn't show. "My first scene was with Fred Elliott and I had to fit in. Nobody can quite remember when Harry began working in the Rovers.
"After a few episodes, it was as if he'd been around for years. I was paid a great compliment on my first day by Julie Hesmondhalgh (Hayley Cropper) who said, `Hey, that was very good Corrie acting'.
"Corrie acting is a quality of performance unique to the show but I seem to have pulled it off.
"I was so chuffed. I wrote to the casting director thanking her for letting me walk in the footsteps of such giants at Jean Alexander, who as Hilda Ogden was the most famous cleaner ever to dust the Rovers.
"Being a jobbing actor can be like playing in the reserves on a wet Saturday afternoon. But when you get the call from Corrie it's like joining the first team."
Harry likes nothing better than to slip on his maroon nylon dustcoat and begin pontificating about life.
Iain said: "Harry is a fount of useless information. One of his favourite lines is, `I've studied people, me. I've seen them at the airport'.
"He reckons he's seen everything that life can throw up at you passing through Manchester Airport."
Harry's past is a mystery. Iain guesses that his character has a bitter ex- wife waiting in the wings ready to cause havoc.
Or Harry might have once been wed to a pretty young Thai bride he'd "bought" on an internet dating site.
Iain says his inspiration for Harry Flagg comes from his father Ray. "Every time I look at Harry... it's me dad," he said. "Only he doesn't realise it yet himself. My dad used to say to me, `You wanna get into The Bill. Give them a ring, now'.
"He thought all you had to do was pick up the phone and ask to be given a part. That's exactly the kind of thing Harry would say.
"To get something like Coronation Street is a dream come true for my mum and dad. They tape every single episode whether I'm in it or not. My dad will say, `Well, we'll tape 'em anyway, you never know'. My mum Mary - who is from Kirkcaldy - works in her local in Wrexham. The regulars have a Harry Flagg fan club."
Iain has a refreshing attitude to acting. He trained for three years at drama school in London and has been in the business for 20 years.
You may have spotted him in commercials for Safeway or TV dramas such as Peak Practice and The Bill. His movie credits include Mack The Knife, alongside the late Richard Harris. Iain said: "There's a lot of rubbish talked about acting. I don't find acting hard. At times, it can be a very long day on the set.
"But, let's be honest, it's not like working down a pit. I hate precious actors or luvvies.
"I've heard actors moan how they were called on to the set at three o'clock, didn't shoot their first scene until six. Terrible, isn't it?
"But my wife will come home and tell me how she had to inform some 16- year-old they had leukaemia. It kind of puts things into perspective, doesn't it?"
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