John Savident is a British actor, known for his numerous television roles, including his portrayal of Fred Elliott in the soap operaCoronation Street from 1994 until 2006. He is also known for his performance as Monsieur Firmin in the West End debut of The Phantom of the Opera.
Early life
Savident was born in Guernsey and still lived there at the time of the German occupation of the island in 1940. He and his family escaped to England in a fishing boat. During his early years, he was a police officer before turning to acting as his profession.
Despite his many film and TV roles, it was only during the 1990s when Savident joined the cast of Coronation Street as the bellicose but romantic butcher Fred Elliott that he became a household name. He made his first appearance on the show in 1994 and his character quickly became popular with viewers. In December 2005, Savident announced that he was to leave Coronation Street citing "personal reasons". His character died of a stroke nine months later, in October 2006. He later revealed that he had retired from the show "because he wanted to spend more time with his family in Hertfordshire". Since leaving, he has been critical of the way the series is produced in a number of articles and television interviews, claiming that the programme is amongst other things "on too frequently" and "badly lit". He has also said he disagrees with the programme hiring well-known actors, as it takes jobs away from struggling, unknown actors.
Later work
Savident was one of the readers on the BBC's online Advent Calendar in December 2006. That year, he appeared in the pantomimeSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs as the henchman at Manchester Opera House, alongside his former Coronation Street co-star Suranne Jones, as well as Justin Moorhouse and an all-star seven dwarves including Warwick Davis. In 2007, he was touring as the lead in a production of Hobson's Choice. He appeared on Loose Women on 19 March 2009 to discuss his part as Sir Joseph Porter in the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta HMS Pinafore, which toured the United Kingdom during the spring and summer of 2009. He guest-starred in the Christmas special episode of Holby City in 2012, playing patient Rupert Pool. He voiced the character Pendle in the Doctor Who audio-drama Order of the Daleks.
Personal life
On 1 December 2000, Savident was stabbed in the neck at his home in Manchester by Michael Smith, who claimed he was acting in self-defence. Savident said at the time, "I suddenly felt somebody come up behind me and whizz me round so I was face down on the bed and then I felt a prick on my throat". Smith demanded valuables from Savident, and the keys to his classic Morgan sports car. Savident had met Smith in Napoleon's, a gay bar, following a personal appearance. They then went to Savident's home - apparently to discuss the theatre - which Smith claimed was a euphemism for sex. In September 2002, Smith, by then aged 30, was sentenced to seven years in prison. He had been charged with wounding Savident with intent to cause him grievous bodily harm and robbing him of his wallet, credit cards, a silver money clip and cash, a Jorge Jensen watch and ring, keys, and an invitation to Coronation Street's 40th anniversary birthday party. Savident's neck was pierced twice in a struggle with Smith; one of the wounds only missed the main artery in Savident's neck by less than an inch, and sliced straight through a minor blood vessel. The next week on Coronation Street, the large sticking plaster on his character's neck was explained as a "butchering accident". Savident has been married to Rona Hopkinson since 1961; the couple have two children.
