Coronation Street actor Anthony Bessick, 57, banned from teaching after ‘flirting with schoolgirls’

An actor known for his roles in Coronation Street and Emmerdale has been banned from teaching after “acting out his sexual fantasies and flirting with a schoolgirl” at a £39,000-a-year boarding school.

Coronation Street actor Anthony Bessick has been banned from teaching after acting out his sexual fantasies with a schoolgirl and flirting with two other teenage students.

In addition to his acting career, he worked under his real name, Anthony Cooke, as an acting coach at the Tring School of Performing Arts.

The 57-year-old has now been banned from the classroom for life for his dirty behavior at the Hertfordshire boarding academy, which costs £39,000 a year.

Bessick starred in four roles in Cobbles – mobster Lewis Knox, Street Cars cab driver Vernon Bradshaw, dying hospital patient Mike Scott and firefighter Vince Lonsdale.

Anthony Bessick, 57, real name Anthony Cooke, was banned from teaching after acting out his sexual fantasies with a schoolgirl and flirting with two other teenage students

Bessick is best known for his roles on Coronation Street, including gangster Lewis Knox, Street Cars cab driver Vernon Bradshaw, dying hospital patient Mike Scott and firefighter Vince Lonsdale

He again played Mike Scott in Harry Hill’s TV Burp, poking fun at his character’s death scene.

The Bolton-based actor, who specializes in bad boy roles, has also appeared in The Royal, Emmerdale, Boy Meets Girl, The Street, Kay Mellor’s The Chase and Truth Dare Kiss” on.

Tring has produced some of Britain’s biggest stars – most recently Lilly James, X Factor singer Ella Henderson and Life after Life’s Jessica Brown Findlay.

A misconduct committee was told that Bessick was involved in filmmaking with the students and would comment on their performances via social media and text.

But with three girls referred to only as Student A, Student B, and Student C, the conversations took an eerie turn.

On the night of the prom in July 2016, “he took student A to the staff room and offered her a beer from the fridge,” according to colleagues who interrupted him.

He texted her, asking her to indulge his sexual fantasies of “being crushed,” “being crushed,” and “sat or stood on it,” and tutored guard dogs found

While living on the premises as a caretaker, he sent Student B a message: “You should come down for a ghost hunt

A misconduct committee was told that Bessick was involved in filmmaking with the students and would comment on their performances via social media and text

‘Not so bad after a few Woddy shots.

He shared a picture of two pairs of bare legs on a bed and texted her: “Uni, Shmuni…can be a waste of time.

“I just went to a dress rehearsal today… must have a freakin’ big mustache… looks like a Victorian porn star.”

He began harassing Student C when she was a student and taking part in one of his productions in 2015, and then again in 2018 when she was an established performer.

Taking to Facebook to congratulate her on her performance, he drooled, “I love what you’ve done and it’s hard to tear the actress from the role at times. I’m saying this on FB as I would have a hard time telling you at school.

Three years after she left, he got back in touch with her in 2018 and asked for a personalized animated logo to promote and perform for one of his school films as well.

In addition to his acting career, he worked as an acting coach at the Tring School of Performing Arts

John Knowles, the Secretary of State for Education, stressed: “The panel found that Mr Cooke was responsible for sexually motivated behavior by using his position to socialize with pupils.”

He told her: “It’s cool to have a top totty in the logo. If need be, could you crush a real one?

Told me class that an ex-Tring, top totty superstar, could be in her movie.

According to Penny Griffith, who chaired the Teaching Regulation Agency hearing, he also asked her to perform an act related to one of his sexual fantasies.

She said: “Mr Cooke’s behavior affected the way he fulfilled his teaching role as he had blurred the line between teacher and student and shown a disregard for school policies.

“Furthermore, his actions exposed these students to his sexual fetishes.”

Noting that Mr Cooke was guilty of unacceptable professional conduct, Ms Griffin added: “He referred to losing a position he loved.

“But he has shown no understanding of the impact on the students and the school. His actions spanned several years.

“His manner of communicating with students and alumni was sexually motivated, culminating on one occasion in acting out his fantasies with a student at the school.

“He accepts that he was sexually motivated in engaging in this behavior as it was in pursuit of sexual gratification.

“Mr Cooke had behaved in a sexually motivated manner as he was in search of sexual gratification as his actions related to his own sexual fantasies.”

John Knowles, the Secretary of Education, banned him for life, underscoring: “The panel found that Mr Cooke was responsible for sexually motivated conduct, using his position to engage with students and alumni for his own sexual gratification.”