John McArdle

John McArdle (born 16 August 1949) is an English actor. He is most notable for playing Billy Corkhill in the soap opera Brookside, with many other smaller appearances in other soaps and dramas. Playing a regular character in Brooksides heyday (alongside Ricky Tomlinson and Sue Johnston, and working with writers such as Jimmy McGovern), he made himself memorable with his portrayal of a man beyond breaking point, which culminated with him ranting at neighbours and churning up their lawns as he drove his car around in circles. McArdle was the subject of This Is Your Life in 2003 when he was surprised by Michael Aspel on the set of Merseybeat. In 2006, McArdle portrayed Frank Taylor in an episode of BBC TV's Surviving Disaster that concerned the Munich air disaster of 1958, which Taylor was the only newspaper reporter to survive. In 2010, McArdle played Christopher Mead's father in Waterloo Road.