Coronation Street Set To Air Its First Gay Wedding
Image: Daniel Brocklebank As Billy Mayhew
Much loved British soap opera Coronation Street, which first debuted on December 9, 1960, is edging closer to the series featuring its first gay wedding in its 60-year history.
The announcement made by the show’s creators comes after three previous gay marriage attempts on the show, have all ended in either death or disaster.
While it is clear that one of the grooms will be the character of Billy Mayhew, played by 41-year-old actor Daniel Brocklebank, it is yet to be established if he will end up tying the knot to his current beau Paul Foreman (Peter Ash) or ex-love Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce).
Brocklebank first appeared on Coronation Street in 2014 and has been a regular fixture of the show ever since.
Speaking with The Mirror, Brocklebank said of the shows previous attempts at gay marriage that, “None of the others have followed through – we’ve only attempted three. Two were lesbian weddings and neither happened – the roof collapsed on one and there was a jilting at the other.”
In 2010, gay couple Sean Tully (Antony Cotton) and Marcus Dent (Charlie Condou) were also set to get married on the show but split up before they could tie the knot.
Brocklebank himself a gay man, proclaimed that, “From my perspective, I would love to be part of Corrie’s first male gay wedding… It would be lovely, as a gay man myself, to be part of the first gay wedding on Corrie that actually happens! That would be amazing.”
However, he went on to say that his character (who up until last year was the local Vicar) would be terribly torn by the fact that he couldn’t have a religious ceremony, due to gay marriages not being permitted to take place in a church.
“I think that would be really important – he would want to do it in a church so if there was anything to stop him, it would be that. It would have to be a pretty special man to make him get married in a registry office.” Brocklebank added that “once he [Mayhew] quit [the church] for Sean and then he quit for Todd – but he’s gone back both times. Now that he’s archdeacon I think it would be even harder for him to walk out.”
