Mel Hutchwright - wikipedia Mel Hutchwright Mel Hutchwright Coronation Street character Portrayed by Ian McKellen First appearance 1 May 2005 Last appearance 22 May 2005 Introduced by Tony Wood Classification Former ; recurring Profile Occupation Conman Lionel Hipkiss, using the alias Mel Hutchwright, is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, Coronation Street, played by Ian McKellen. He makes his first on - screen appearance on 1 May 2005 and is last seen on 22 May 2005. Contents 1 Creation and casting 2 Storylines 3 Reception 4 References Creation and casting In March 2005, it was announced that British veteran actor, Ian McKellen, had joined Coronation Street for ten episodes as a `` dodgy novelist ''. Producer Tony Wood said : `` We are delighted that an actor of Ian McKellen 's calibre has agreed to appear in the show, it is a testament to the direction we have been taking the show in the last 12 months. Ian will be perfect as Mel Hutchwright and the cast and crew are looking forward to working with him on what promises to be a very funny storyline. '' McKellen described in a humorous account posted on his website his experience of working on the set of the show : `` Often I felt a Pirandellian urge to laugh at it all. For instance, has Mel Hutchwright never watched television that he has to be introduced to characters who 've been such a part of the nation 's life for nearly half a century ? It 's like working with a castful of twins. There 's fluttery Emily who is a dead ringer for her creator Eileen Derbyshire. Ken Barlow looks just like the amiable Bill Roache. Have Rita and Barbara Knox ever been seen together ? Of course they have, all the time ! Then I began fantasies of Mel turning up in the Emmerdale bar once he 's moved on from the Rover 's... or even the bar of the Queen Vic. '' Storylines Mel Hutchwright, the author of novel Hard Grinding, turns up at a Book Club meeting having been invited by Blanche Hunt ( Maggie Jones ). Norris Cole ( Malcolm Hebden ), Rita Sullivan ( Barbara Knox ) and Emily Bishop ( Eileen Derbyshire ) are in awe of the author but Ken Barlow ( William Roache ) is unimpressed. Norris offers Mel a bed for the night at Emily 's, while Blanche buys his drinks. Mel tells the book club how he has been suffering from writer 's block. In the Rovers, he is enthralled to see the women fighting and declaring it has cured his writer 's block and decides he will stay in Weatherfield to complete his book. Mel continues to sponge off Emily and Norris. When he hears that Ken has written a book he enjoys poking fun at him. Mel continues to scrounge drinks as he feigns sincerity with Fred Elliott ( John Savident ) and Norris saying that he has named two of the heroes in his novel after them. He also dupes Roy Cropper ( David Neilson ) into giving him a free lunch at the café. Mel takes Audrey Roberts ( Sue Nicholls ) for lunch at the Clock Restaurant. He gets drunk and manages to dupe Audrey in to paying the bill by promising to base the hero of his book on her late husband Alf ( Bryan Mosley ). Drunken Mel suggests to Audrey they should go for a `` lie down '', which she refuses. Mel is not who he appears to be and the first signals of this happen when Norris discovers Mel is n't typing in the front room of Emily 's house at all, but it is a tape recording of someone typing. He 's hurt realising Mel lied to him but Mel manages to worm his way out of it. Norris intends to persuade the Book Club to raise the money to fund the publishing of Mel 's next book. Mel is about to leave, having stolen some of Emily 's ornaments, when Norris tells him his idea of raising money for his book. Mel secretly replaces the ornaments, and agrees to stay. Norris then gets everyone at the Book Club except Ken to agree to put in £ 200 to pay for the publishing of Mel 's The Canary 's Last Song. Ken does n't trust Mel and resolves to expose him for what he is. Mel tells Norris to get the Book Club members to make their cheques out to Lionel Hipkiss, his publisher. The Club meets and hands their money over to Mel, and in thanks he reads a passage from his book. Ken arrives at the Book Club and exposes Mel for the fraud that he is. Mel 's real name is in fact Lionel Hipkiss and he has pulled scams like this at book clubs all over the country. Emily, Blanche, Roy, Rita, Audrey and Norris are shocked and demand their money back. Norris manhandles Mel out of the door after he insults them all. None of the Book Club members report Mel to the police, embarrassed that they were taken in by a conman. Reception The Guardian critic Grace Dent described the character as `` a pretentious bore, '' and praised Coronation Street for being `` streets ahead. '' In the same article Dent went on to say `` he 's unwashed, sleazy and a leading authority on `` the working man '' and his `` daily struggle '', no mean feat considering Mel 's spent the past three decades in a dressing gown and flip - flops listening to the World Service. '' During a feature on famous faces in Coronation Street, Tom Cole of the Radio Times said McKellen 's casting was `` show - stealing '' and `` one in the eye for any snobs who 'd call soap operas vulgar or trashy. '' Cole added `` Playing smooth - talking conman Mel Hutchwright, McKellen 's performance in Corrie was as enchanting as a kaleidoscope and intoxicating as a fine single malt. '' References Jump up ^ `` Actor McKellen joins the Street ''. BBC News. BBC. 10 March 2005. Retrieved 23 August 2010. Jump up ^ `` Report from Coronation Street ''. Ian McKellen webpage. 1 May 2005. Retrieved 23 August 2010. Jump up ^ Dent, Grace ( 14 May 2005 ). `` Grace Dent 's World of Lather ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 23 August 2010. ^ Jump up to : Cole, Tom ( 27 January 2012 ). `` Stellar Street : Robert Vaughn and other famous faces in Corrie ''. Radio Times. BBC Magazines. Retrieved 21 February 2012. Coronation Street characters Present and future characters Ken Barlow Rita Sullivan Peter Barlow Gail McIntyre Tracy Barlow Audrey Roberts Nick Tilsley Kevin Webster Jenny Bradley Sally Webster Sarah Platt Jim McDonald Liz McDonald Steve McDonald Rosie Webster David Platt Norris Cole Sophie Webster Roy Cropper Leanne Battersby Toyah Battersby Tyrone Dobbs Dev Alahan Eileen Grimshaw Maria Connor Kirk Sutherland Bethany Platt Adam Barlow Fiz Brown Simon Barlow Sean Tully Chesney Brown Amy Barlow Michelle Connor Ryan Connor Carla Connor Gary Windass Mary Taylor Lewis Archer Izzy Armstrong Faye Windass Beth Tinker Tim Metcalfe Past characters Sunita Alahan Christine Appleby Shirley Armitage Katy Armstrong Owen Armstrong Danny Baldwin Frankie Baldwin Jamie Baldwin Mike Baldwin Deirdre Barlow Frank Barlow Ida Barlow Susan Barlow Des Barnes Natalie Barnes Janice Battersby Les Battersby Cilla Battersby - Brown Sheila Birtles Emily Bishop Natasha Blakeman Alan Bradley Renee Bradshaw Teresa Bryant Julie Carp Casey Carswell Matt Carter Paul Clayton Liam Connor Paul Connor Kelly Crabtree Hayley Cropper Trevor Dean Marcus Dent Jackie Dobbs Molly Dobbs Rob Donovan Jack Duckworth Terry Duckworth Tommy Duckworth Vera Duckworth Fred Elliott Anne Foster Frank Foster Alec Gilroy Tony Gordon Cheryl Gray Jason Grimshaw Todd Grimshaw Alma Halliwell Richard Hillman Charlotte Hoyle Blanche Hunt Mel Hutchwright Amber Kalirai Ray Langton Bet Lynch Tara Mandal Ciaran McCarthy Becky McDonald Karen McDonald Joe McIntyre Tina McIntyre Darryl Morton Jerry Morton Kayleigh Morton Mel Morton Lloyd Mullaney Karl Munro Hilda Ogden Stan Ogden Ashley Peacock Claire Peacock Pat Phelan Kylie Platt Martin Platt Sian Powers Eva Price Stella Price Graeme Proctor Mark Redman Alf Roberts Maya Sharma Ena Sharples Kirsty Soames John Stape Jed Stone Candice Stowe Luke Strong Charlie Stubbs Percy Sugden Leonard Swindley Dennis Tanner Elsie Tanner Albert Tatlock Ivy Tilsley Vernon Tomlin Shelley Unwin Annie Walker Curly Watts Raquel Watts Bill Webster Betty Williams Violet Wilson Derek Wilton Mavis Wilton Anna Windass Eddie Windass Eddie Yeats Original characters David Barlow Frank Barlow Ida Barlow Ken Barlow Minnie Caldwell Ivan Cheveski Linda Cheveski Christine Appleby May Hardman Esther Hayes Harry Hewitt Lucille Hewitt Florrie Lindley Martha Longhurst Emily Bishop Concepta Riley Ena Sharples Leonard Swindley Dennis Tanner Elsie Tanner Albert Tatlock Annie Walker Jack Walker Lists of characters 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1984 1985 1986 2017 2018 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mel_Hutchwright&oldid=816560646 '' Categories : Coronation Street characters Fictional con artists Fictional characters introduced in 2005 Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from March 2014 Use British English from March 2014 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Gaeilge Edit links This page was last edited on 22 December 2017, at 04 : 11 ( UTC ). About Wikipedia

Question: who did ian mckellen play in coronation street
Answer: Lionel Hipkiss, using the alias Mel Hutchwright