Bernard Arthur Popley (28 December 1914 – 27 August 1984), better known by his stage name Bernard Youens, was an English character actor of stage and television, and briefly appeared in radio plays and had cameos in film. He was also a TV announcer and is perhaps best remembered for his portrayal of Stan Ogden in the serial soap opera Coronation Street from 1964 until his death in 1984. Early years Born in Hove, Sussex, Youens began his stage career as a 16-year-old after becoming assistant stage manager at the Players Theatre in Newcastle upon Tyne. Youens was from a working class family who had no theatre connections. He went on to spend much of the 1930s honing his craft in repertory theatre. His acting career was interrupted by World War II, during which he served in North Africa and Italy. He was wounded by shrapnel in his right leg in Anzio in February 1944. He returned to rep after the war, while also working as a publican, bread salesman, van driver and a labourer. Stage Youens was a member of Frank Fortesque's Players after the war. Bernard "Bunny" Graham (Youens used Graham as a stage name at the time; Bunny was his wife's pet name for him) appears in the film Cup-tie Honeymoon, a Mancunian Films production, with Betty Jumel. This was the first film to be shot at their Rusholme Studio in Manchester, with exteriors filmed at Maine Road football ground and Abney Hall in Cheadle. In the film, veteran comedian Sandy Powell performed one of his stage sketches, The Soldier’s Return Home, with a young actress, Pat Pilkington, later known as Pat Phoenix who played Elsie Tanner in Coronation Street. Despite dreadful reviews, the film was a success in the North West. Television Youens became a continuity announcer in May 1956 for Granada Television, which had just been launched, in which his velvet-voiced tones were in marked contrast to the character for which he would gain national attention. Youens also took minor roles in several ITV series at the time, and radio plays such as William Wilberforce on the BBC Home Service in October 1959 although he declined the chance to audition for Coronation Street when it was launched, preferring the security of his announcer's role, before eventually passing an audition. His first words were "A pint of mild and 20 fags, missus" in June 1964. His