Charles Lawson

Charles "Charlie" Lawson (born Quintin Charles Devenish Lawson; 17 September 1959) is a Northern Irish actor. He is best known for playing Jim McDonald in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Also appears as Doctor Black in the 2016 BBC drama,My Mother and Strangers.

Lawson was born Quintin Charles Devenish Lawson in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, Lawson was educated at Campbell College (a Grammar School) in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and later at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, England.

Lawson has appeared in at least three films and in at least twenty television productions. He is probably best known for appearing as Jim McDonald (who is originally from Belfast) in the ITV television soap opera Coronation Street. He first appeared as Jim in 1989 and remained a regular character for the next 11 years, since which time his appearances have been few and far between.

His other television work includes appearing as Seamus Duffryn in the Yorkshire Television thriller miniseries Harry's Game (also known as Belfast Assassin) (1982) based around The Troubles in Northern Ireland and as Trigg in the television film The Firm (1989). He has also appeared in various other television series including Doctors (twenty-four episodes), Bread (eleven episodes), The Bill (three episodes) and Rosemary & Thyme (one episode).

In 2000, Lawson made a programme for ITV Granada called 'Passion for Peace' that followed him back to Northern Ireland and reports on the creation of the Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Peace Centre in Warrington, England www.foundation4peace.org

In 2005, Lawson appeared in the TV/movie document, Titanic birth of a legend

In 2009, Lawson appeared alongside an eight-foot frankfurter sausage in a German television commercial, advertising hot dogs. His overdubbed catchphrase in the commercial is Betrachten Sie die Größe meiner Wurst! (English-language translation — "Look at the size of my sausage!").

In 2010, Lawson revealed that he would be returning to Coronation Street for its 50th anniversary celebrations. He speculated that bosses may be planning to kill his character off. Ultimately, this has not happened. He stayed until April 2011. Lawson then returned for a three-month stint on the soap between August and November 2014. His brief return coincided with the imprisonment of Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne) after he is framed for the murder of Tina McIntyre.

In 2015, Lawson made a guest appearance in an episode of the Comedy Central sitcom Brotherhood as the father of the three main characters.

In a 2008 programme Lawson admitted to supporting the actions of Loyalist paramilitaries during the Ulster Workers' strike in 1974.

In 2010, Lawson and his partner Debbie Stanley opened a farm shop in the centre of the Cheshire village of Prestbury.

In 2012 Lawson confirmed that he had not retired from acting, but is currently focusing on his business which he opened with his partner Debbie.