Tristan Gemmill dyed his hair to avoid any 'Coronation Street' continuity issues.
Tristan Gemmill
The 51-year-old actor - who plays Robert Preston in the ITV soap - went from his natural look to silver fox last year after deciding it was a lot easier than having to worry about what colour his hair looked like in scenes, which are filmed out of sync.
He said: "There are a number or reasons. I'd toyed with stopping with the tinting for quite a long time, but the problem was continuity on 'Coronation Street'.
"Because we film in blocks that are out of sequence, I couldn't be grey in one scene but dyed-black in the next! The chance came when Robert was sent to prison last year and I had about six weeks off.
"I figured it was now or never - although I consulted the producers first, of course. They were fine about it fortunately."
Tristan received a "much bigger" reaction to his tresses change than he thought he would, after finding it a "real pain" to dye his hair on a weekly basis.
He said: "I much prefer not having to dye my hair. In order for it to look reasonably authentic, I was having to get it done every week - not great for the condition, plus it was a real pain.
"There comes a time in every man's life when he has to stop trying too hard, I think, and I'd reached mine."
The 'Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box' actor can now spot that someone has dyed their hair "immediately".
He added to Soaplife magazine: "When you've it done yourself, you just know when other men are dying their hair. You recognise it."
One of Tristan's big 'Corrie' storylines since he joined the soap in 2015 saw Robert diagnosed with testicular cancer, and the plot inspired a fan in Canada to check himself, resulting in the viewer discovering he had a lump.
Tristan recently said: "When we did the testicular cancer story, there was a guy in Canada who checked himself as a result and found a lump.
"He got it seen to in time and had it removed, and is now on the road to recovery.
"He and his wife are coming to the UK in a couple of weeks and I'm going to give them a tour of the 'Corrie' studios."