High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Christopher Hancock was a British television and theatre actor. He was born in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England. His brother is actor Stephen Hancock. He and his brother trained at the Old Vic theatre school. He was married to Ann Walford; the couple had two daughters before divorcing. Hancock began acting in the theatre in the 1960s and he had roles in plays such as Richard II and Measure for Measure and the musical Billy (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 1974). He was then best known for playing conman Charlie Cotton in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders from 1986 until 1991