Corrie's Billy's life away from soap, cruel Hollywood snub and split from costar
For nine years, Daniel Brocklebank has graced our screens as Vicar Billy Mayhew in Coronation Street, and the character's time on the Cobbles hasn't come without some drama.
Billy arrived on the show in 2014 and has been through a lot since, from being stabbed and confessing he was involved with Susan Barlow's death to surviving being kidnapped and thrown off a cliff by Peter Barlow.
Most recently, the character has been involved in a big plotline, with his boyfriend on the show, Paul Foreman, having asked Billy to help end his life following his diagnosis with Motor Neurone Disease
The 43-year-old from Stratford-Upon-Avon has been acting since 1994 and has starred in various shows over the years including Down To Earth, Born and Bred, Casualty and The Bill.
Daniel plays Billy Mayhew on the soapAs well as his role on Coronation Street, Daniel is known for playing dustman Ivan Jones on Emmerdale, which he did from 2005 to 2006. Initially, he was only meant to appear in three episodes of the soap, but producers were so impressed with him that they made him a regular on the show.
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Ivan was later revealed to be bisexual and the character entered into an "explosive" relationship with Paul Lambert, who wanted to keep his sexuality a secret.
Daniel praised this storyline on the show and shared his hopes at the time that it would remove the social stigma associated with bisexuality. The actor himself is gay and spoke openly about his sexuality after appearing in Shakespeare In Love in 1998. He was just 18 at the time and believes that this harmed his career.
He told the Mirror in 2021: "I pretend for a living, I didn't want to pretend in my private life. When you spend your life on screen, it's important to hold on to the bits that are real. Who I am in my real life should bear no relevance to what I play on screen.
"I remember my management in Los Angeles trying to convince me not to come out because they said it would affect work – and it did. I stopped being screen-tested for the heterosexual male leads and I was either the gay best friend or the character parts. It was more in America than in Britain, but it was still very prevalent."
He previously dated his Corrie co-star Rob Mallard (WireImage)
The pair dated in 2017 (Manchester Evening News)Despite this struggle, the television star has no regrets about his decision to be open about his sexuality.
He continued: "One of the reasons I decided to come out publicly was because of the lack of gay role models when I was growing up. I was born in 1979, so I grew up in the 80s during the AIDS epidemic and social attitudes and legalities were very different.
"I came out in the mid-1990s and the difference between then and now is huge. Now it's incredibly fashionable to be gay and I like to think I was in a small way part of that movement to get the ball rolling."
Daniel was previously in a relationship with a co-star from Coronation Street, sating actor Rob Mallard, who plays Daniel Osbourne, back in 2017. The pair made their red carpet debut together at the British LGBT Awards.
Around the same time, Rob won the Best Newcomer prize at the British Soap Awards that year and cutely confessed that his co-star was the "best thing [he'd] taken home this year".
However, the couple split just two months later.
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A source told The Sun at the time: 'It was a lot of pressure for both of them to be working on the same show and going out - in the end something had to give."
But Daniel has since found love again and is dating Jordan Coulthard, a policeman and musician.
Their relationship was revealed by his friend - and former EastEnders icon - Cheryl Fergison who shared a snap of them at the Lytham Festival, writing: "Met some Corrie pals, @tonymaudsley1 @danielbrocklebank and his fella @_coulthard what an eve x."
EastEnders star Cheryl shared a snap of Daniel and his new partner (@danielbrocklebank/Instagram)
The actor admits his mum encouraged him to take the part of BillyAs well as being open about his love life, Daniel has also previously spoken honestly about how his mum was the deciding factor in his acceptance of the Coronation Street job.
The actor was living in London at the time he was offered the role of Corrie and he wanted to take some time to think about whether or not it was the right move for him.
He recalls being out to lunch with his mum when he got the call from his agent, telling the Liverpool Echo: "I was out for lunch with my mum and my grandmother and I spoke with my agent. I said, 'Look I'll think about it and call you back'."
But with his mum being a huge fan of Coronation Street, she quickly stepped in and changed his mind about taking the part of Billy.
"I told her it's a three-year contract and I'd probably have to move," he said. "She went 'I don't care, you're taking it. You have to take it. I'm not leaving this table until you phone him now.'"
And the rest, as they say, is history. Daniel has told how he's glad he accepted the role and has no intention of quitting any time soon, adding: "I'm in my ninth year and it's without a doubt one of the best places I've worked in my 30-year career. I adore this place."
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