Hebden first appeared in
Coronation Street from 1974 to 1975, as
Mavis Riley's (
Thelma Barlow) Spanish boyfriend
Carlos. He first appeared as
Norris Cole in 1994; he left in 1997, before returning to the role in December 1999. He also appeared in the very first episode of police procedural period drama
Heartbeat as well as the sixteenth episode of its ninth series. Hebden’s other roles include portraying model toy salesman Oliver Shawcross in the short-lived
ITV soap opera
Albion Market. In 1999, Hebden made a brief appearance as a pharmacist in the television film
Lost for Words, alongside
Pete Postlethwaite,
Anne Reid and
Thora Hird. He also made an appearance in
Last of the Summer Wine and also in ''
Children's Ward''. Along with his on-screen business partner
Barbara Knox (
Rita Sullivan), Hebden won the Best Onscreen Partnership award at the
British Soap Awards in May 2006. Additionally, he won the Funniest Character award for two consecutive years at the 2001 and 2002
Inside Soap Awards. Hebden had a near-fatal heart attack in December 2017, and was absent from
Coronation Street from December 2017 to April 2019. However, in March 2019, it was announced that Hebden would return briefly in May 2019. He made his final appearance in June 2020. In January 2021, he announced his retirement from acting, at the age of 81. == References ==