Michael has died at the age of 82Credit: ITVCORRIE and Harry Potter star Michael Byrne has passed away aged 82.
The actor famously played Gail Platt’s long lost father Ted Pag in the ITV soap opera.
Born November 7, 1943 Michael grew up in Hampstead, London, and was raised by his single mother who was a cook from Kilkenny, Ireland.
He attended the Central School of Speech and Drama before beginning his impressive 60-year-long career on stage.
Michael landed one of his very first roles in 1963 in the Laurence Olivier’s National Theatre Company at the Old Vic.
The star appeared alongside fellow actors such as Dame Maggie Smith and Robert Stephens in Shaffer’s The Royal Hunt of the Sun and Pinero’s Trelawny of the Wells.
Michael entertained crowds at other major theatres across the country, including the Royal Court, the Young Vic, West End, and the Royal Exchange in Manchester.
In 1971 he starred in Harold Pinter’s production of Simon Gray’s play Butley alongside Alan Bates – the pair became lifelong friends.
Michael also played Cassius in Peter Gill’s production of Julius Caesar at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith in 1980.
He enjoyed a varied career, acting in iconic films such as Braveheart and Tomorrow Never Dies – a James Bond movie.
He also starred alongside Sir Ian McKellen as a Jewish concentration camp survivor in Apt Pupil.
The actor also played the evil Colonel Vogel in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Michael’s big blockbuster roles continued when he featured in the 2010 film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 as Gellert Grindelwald – a notorious and powerful wizard.
Michael later appeared in Corrie in 2008 and 2010 to play Ted Page – the absent father of Gail and ex-lover of Audrey Roberts.
His TV roles also included regular appearances in many beloved shows such as BBC‘s Casualty, a Touch of Frost and Sharpe.
Michael passed away on June 20, 2026.
He is survived by former wife Carole, who took care of him towards the end of his life.
They had two daughters together, Tara and Bryony, and three grandchildren, Tom, Chloe and Jasmine.