Actor Eric Potts pleads guilty to making indecent images of children over decade

Eric Potts, 61, known for Coronation Street and Brookside, has pleaded guilty to six charges of making and distributing indecent images of children. Sentencing is due at Burnley Crown Court next month.

Coronation Street actor faces prison after guilty plea over child abuse images

Eric Potts, 61, best known for playing eccentric baker Diggory Compton in Coronation Street, pleaded guilty last week to six charges relating to the making and distribution of indecent images of children, The Sun can reveal.

The actor admitted three counts of making indecent photographs of a child and three counts of distributing them — offences that took place in Bacup, Lancashire, where Potts has lived for 20 years, spanning a decade between May 2015 and October 2024.

In total, 83 images were found across his devices. Seven were classified as Category A — the most serious designation, which frequently depicts penetrative sexual activity. A further 16 were Category B and 60 were Category C. Prosecutors stated that Potts shared five images on a single day, 16 July 2024.

Devices seized after file-sharing alert

Lancashire Constabulary said the investigation began on 20 August last year, when officers received a tip that a file-sharing account had been used to upload an indecent video of a child to the internet. Members of the force's Internet Child Exploitation Team attended the address linked to the account and arrested Potts on suspicion of possession and distribution of indecent images.

He was bailed pending further enquiries. After examination of his devices uncovered additional illegal imagery, he was arrested a second time and charged in September this year.

Prosecutor Safia Hussain told Blackburn Magistrates' Court that officers seized a PC, an HP laptop and an iPhone from the defendant's home address. "They were taken for examination by the digital forensic unit, and a number of indecent images were found on the devices," Hussain said. "The defendant was therefore charged with making and distributing images of Category A, B, and C."

Potts pleaded guilty to all charges at Blackburn Magistrates' Court on 1 October in a hearing lasting around ten minutes. He will be sentenced at Burnley Crown Court next month.

A career spanning decades of British television

Scottish-born Potts was raised in Irvine, Ayrshire, and switched from studying law at Glasgow University to train at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School from 1984. He went on to build a substantial career across British soap operas and television drama.

He is most widely recognised as Diggory Compton, the father of Molly Compton, appearing in 50 episodes of Coronation Street in 2005 and 2006 before his character was written out when his business folded. Speaking about the role in 2019, Potts said: "It was just a joy being part of such an iconic show."

Before Coronation Street, he had a two-year run in Channel 4's Brookside from 1998, playing oddball Mr Moore — a character briefly suspected of being a serial killer. His other television credits include Heartbeat, The Royal, Last of the Summer Wine, Casualty, and the BBC Scotland sitcom Still Game. In 2005 he appeared in an episode of Doctor Who, and between 2012 and 2018 he had roles in Emmerdale. He also appeared in the Hollywood film Oz the Great and Powerful in 2013.

Away from the screen, Potts developed a parallel career as a pantomime dame and writer. In December 2011 he appeared alongside Dame Edna Everage in Dick Whittington at the New Wimbledon Theatre in London. He is also a married father of two.

Source: The Sun