Sir Derek Jacobi treads the Coronation Street cobbles

Actor Sir Derek Jacobi has joined the list of illustrious names to have appeared in ITV’s long-running soap opera, Coronation Street.

The movie and stage actor, whose recent work includes The King's Speech and My Week with Marilyn, was visiting the Grenada Television studios in Manchester, where Coronation Street is filmed, and appeared as an extra inside the famous Rovers Return pub.

The 73-year-old is the latest major name to feature in the soap in recent years. Stephanie Beacham, Sir Ian McKellen and Honor Blackman are just a few of the well-known actors to have walked the cobbles for short roles.

In a 2007 interview with the Daily Mail newspaper, Jacobi said: "I have always wanted to be in Coronation Street. But nobody's ever asked me."

His appearance as an extra might well have fulfilled this ambition. Other notable extras include Prince Charles, Cliff Richards, Robbie Williams and Michael Crawford.

A spokesperson for the show told The Telegraph that they have "tried for years to try and sort out a role in the show for Sir Derek but have never quite managed it."

Click here or on “View Gallery” for pictures of famous faces who've trodden the cobbles