Coronation Street actor Anthony Bessick banned from teaching after 'flirting' and sharing 'sexual fantasies' with schoolgirls

6 February 2023, 14:25 | Updated: 6 February 2023, 14:29

A Coronation Street and Emmerdale actor has been banned from teaching for life after "acting out his sexual fantasies" with multiple schoolgirls at a renowned £39,000-a-year boarding school.

Anthony Bessick, 57, was accused of "flirting" and sharing "sexual fetishes" with the pupils during his time as a drama coach at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in Hertfordshire.

The veteran actor, whose real name is Anthony Cooke, is best known for taking on multiple roles in long-running ITV soap Coronation Street.

He also starring in much-loved dramas including Emmerdale, Kay Mellor's The Chase and The Royal.

A renowned performing arts school for eight to 19-year-olds, recent Tring School graduates include Cinderella and Baby Driver star Lily James, Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley and X Factor singer Ella Henderson.

Following a misconduct panel hearing, Bessick has now been banned from the classroom.

The ban follows a series of incidents - the majority of which pertain to three specific pupils, known only as Pupil A, Pupil B, and Pupil C .

Typecast as a 'bad boy', the actor played gangster Lewis Knox, a cab driver named Vernon Bradshaw, a dying hospital patient, and a fireman named Vince Lonsdale on the cobbles.

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He also appeared on ITV comedy series Harry Hill's TV Burp, as part of a skit which saw him mock his character's death.

The panel heard how Bessick was involved in filmmaking with the pupils, using social media and text messages to critique performances.

However, the teacher took a particular interest in Pupil A, Pupil B, and Pupil C.

During July 2016, the actor "took Pupil A to the staff room and offered her beer from the fridge".

The incident occurred on the night of the school ball and was witnessed by a co-workers, who interrupted him.

The teaching watchdog also found Bessick to have messaged Pupil A, requesting she indulge his sexual fantasies of "being squashed", "crushed" and "sat or stood on top of".

In relation to Pupil B, he texted the schoolgirl saying: "You should come down for a ghost hunting sesh. Not too bad after a few shots of voddy."

He then shared a picture of two pairs of bare legs on a bed, adding: "Uni, shmuni... can be a waste of c***ing time."

Pupil C took part in two of Bessick's productions, one in 2015 followed by another in 2018 - a point at which she was already an established actress.

Taking to Facebook to congratulate the girl, Bessick said: "I love what you did and it's sometimes hard to separate the actress from the role.

Adding: "I am saying this on FB as I would find it hard to say to you in school."

Bessick also asked her to act out one his sexual fantasies, according to Penny Griffith, chair of the Teaching Regulation Agency hearing.

She said: "Mr Cooke's conduct affected the way he fulfilled his teaching role, since he had blurred the teacher-pupil boundary and demonstrated a disregard for school policies.

"Furthermore, his actions exposed those pupils to his sexual fetishes."

After being found to have engaged in "sexually motivated conduct", Bessick was banned from teaching for life.

John Knowles, of the Education Secretary on teacher prohibition added: "The panel found that Mr Cooke was responsible for sexually motivated conduct using his position to engage with pupils and former pupils for his own sexual gratification."