He was also a TV announcer and is perhaps best remembered for his portrayal of Stan Ogden in the serial soap opera Coronation Street from 1964 until his death in 1984.
[citation needed] Youens became a continuity announcer in May 1956 for Granada Television, which had just been launched, in which his velvet-voiced tones were in marked contrast to the character for which he would gain national attention.
Youens also took minor roles in several ITV series at the time, and radio plays such as William Wilberforce on the BBC Home Service in October 1959[1] although he declined the chance to audition for Coronation Street when it was launched, preferring the security of his announcer's role, before eventually passing an audition.
His role resulted in him often being engaged to open fetes and stores (such as the reopened FW Woolworth in South Shields in 1970.)
When asked what he thought when a national British newspaper had dubbed his character "the uncrowned king of the non-working classes", he replied: "Stan is my creation and I am proud of him."
Having suffered most of his later life with severe arthritis in the neck and knees, Youens was taken into hospital on 2 April 1984 with the condition and over the next three months his health deteriorated rapidly.
The explanation for his absence from Coronation Street was that he had been admitted to hospital after becoming ill, on the doctor's orders after Hilda collapsed from exhaustion to the strain of looking after him as his health deteriorated.
Youens died peacefully in his sleep at Salford Royal Hospital on 27 August 1984 after suffering a heart attack.