Coronation Street plans first same-sex wedding that doesn’t end in death or disaster
Daniel Brocklebank plays gay vicar Billy Mayhew on Coronation Street. (ITV)
Coronation Street is reportedly planning to air its first-ever successful same-sex wedding, after three previous gay marriage attempts ended in death and disaster.
The soap’s creators are planning to make the character Billy Mayhew, played by Daniel Brocklebank, one half of the first gay couple to actually marry in Coronation Street’s 60-year history, The Mirror reported.
Mayhew’s current storyline, however, makes it unclear if he will end up with his partner Paul Foreman, or whether he will get back together with his ex Todd Grimshaw, who is determined to split the couple up.
Although Coronation Street has seen same-sex couples make it to the altar before, none have actually ended up married.
Brocklebank told The Mirror: “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 and Marcus Dent – played by Antony Cotton and Charlie Condou – were also set to get married on the show, but split up before they could tie the knot.
The actor said: “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, his character plays an archdeacon in the Church of England and would be unable to get married 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,” Brocklebank continued.
“It would have to be a pretty special man to make him get married in a registry office.”
During an episode in August, 2020, when Mayhew was still a vicar, he told his boyfriend: “You do know that if we could get married in the church, I’d propose to you in a shot?”
To which Foreman responded: “And you know I would say yes.”
On whether Mayhew would quit the church to marry the man he loves, Brocklebank added: “Once he quit 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.”
