Lancaster pub DJ whose 'secret' day job is as a Coronation Street extra

That’s the entertaining life of Graham Burton who’s been resident DJ at the Crafty Scholar in Church Street since 2015 and an ‘extra’ in Corrie for more than 30 years.

Both jobs demand dedication as Graham has an 85-mile round trip from his home in Accrington to Lancaster from Wednesday to Saturday every week, sometimes not finishing his DJ set until 3am, while his work as an extra can take him across the country and the world.

“It is a commitment but I love the jobs,” said Graham.

“When you’re hanging around the Green Rooms at Corrie or Hollyoaks, you come across quite a few DJs as both jobs seem to dovetail nicely.”

Graham first caught the acting bug during amateur dramatics shows in Accrington and became a full-time singer around clubs and hotels in his 20s when his stage name was Graham Paige.

When the singing career tailed off, Graham worked in Tenerife for seven years as a compere and DJ before returning home and signing up with an agent for work as a supporting artist or ‘extra’.

His first job was walking along the shopping parade in Brookside which led to more than three decades of working on the sets of soap operas, television dramas and major films.

“Anybody can do it. You just need to be able to take direction and not look at the camera,” said Graham.

He’s now ‘on call’ for Coronation Street and has seen some major changes over the years, including when the whole operation moved from Manchester city centre to its current home on Salford Quays.

He’s become a familiar face to the cast but had a special connection with Julie Hesmondhalgh, who played Hayley Cropper, as they both attended the same school.

Among all the television dramas Graham has appeared in, Doctor Who has to be his favourite.

“I’m a massive Doctor Who fan and I’ve wanted to appear in it all my life,” he said.

His dream came true when he appeared in three episodes including the 2019 Christmas special in a scene with Jodie Whittaker and Bradley Walsh.

Most recently, Graham has worked on the new Yorkshire Ripper drama, The Long Shadow; and a new series of Happy Valley.

On the big screen, Graham has been an extra in several movies including Star Wars – Force Awakens and Wonder Woman though he rarely goes to see the films in which he appears.

Most are ‘blink and you’ll miss him’ moments and in the live action Disney version of The Little Mermaid, due for release next year, he was even one of the body doubles for Javier Bardem who plays King Triton.

“I was stood in the sea in Sardinia with a white wig on waving,” he said.

Most recently, he’s filmed much closer to home on the Take That musical movie – Greatest Days – partly shot in Clitheroe.

Graham said: “I love the supporting artist work but couldn’t do it full-time as there’s a lot of travelling involved.”

That should be music to the ears of regulars at the Crafty Scholar, many of who don’t even know about his other ‘extra’ role.