| Lewis Archer | |||||
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| Coronation Street character | |||||
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| Portrayed by | Nigel Havers | ||||
| Duration | 2009–2010, 2012–2013, 2018–2019 | ||||
| First appearance | Episode 7232 18 December 2009 | ||||
| Last appearance | Episode 9654 1 January 2019 | ||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||
| Introduced by |
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Lewis Archer is a fictional character from the British soap opera Coronation Street, played by Nigel Havers. The character was created and introduced as a love interest for Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls). Executive producer Kim Crowther revealed the team wanted an actor who was slightly younger than Audrey and who was very charming. Various actors were considered for the part, but the casting director suggested Havers as she knew he was a big fan of the show. The actor said he could not turn down a chance to appear in Coronation Street as his character had an interesting story arc. Havers was contracted until July 2010 and he made his debut as Lewis in the episode broadcast on 18 December 2009.
Lewis is a gentleman escort, who is described as being suave, charming and charismatic. He is first seen accompanying Claudia Colby (Rula Lenska) to a Christmas ball. He is introduced to Audrey, who falls for his charm and later hires him to be her companion to another event. In March 2010, Lewis was seen advertising his services in The Lady, as part of a crossover between the society magazine and Coronation Street. Rita Sullivan (Barbara Knox) sees the advert and books Lewis for a date, forming a love triangle storyline between them and Audrey. Lewis eventually declares his feelings for Audrey, and they plan to leave Weatherfield together.
As their plans to emigrate step up a gear, Lewis forges a plan to steal money from Peter Barlow's (Chris Gascoyne) betting shop by cashing fraudulently franked betting slips. His scam is successful, and he cheats on Audrey when he kisses Deirdre Barlow (Anne Kirkbride). Lewis flees the country; he made his last appearance on 13 August 2010. Just over a year later, it was announced Havers would reprise his role as Lewis full-time, and return to Coronation Street in February 2012. Havers believed Lewis would be a changed man who wanted to apologise to those he had hurt. The character's first period in the show was well received by television critics. On 22 January 2013, it was announced that Havers would be leaving Coronation Street once again and Lewis departed on 1 February 2013. Five years later, it was announced that Lewis would be reintroduced to the series full-time, and he returned on 1 June 2018. The character was killed off on 1 January 2019.