Coronation Street’s Daniel Brocklebank reveals gay vicar backlash
By Ryan Love
Coronation Street
star Daniel Brocklebank has spoken about the abuse he has received for his role as gay vicar Billy Mayhew.
The openly gay actor made his on-screen debut as a new love interest for Antony Cotton’s Sean Tully at the end of last year.
“We’re here to cause some sort of stir and you’re never going to please everyone. Some of the religious viewers so far have not been too happy,” Brocklebank told The Mirror about viewer reaction to the plot.
“A woman came up to me in a supermarket three days ago telling me I was going to go to hell playing a gay vicar. The show itself has had a backlash.”
However, Brocklebank remains positive that Billy can be a force for good in the long run.
“Having a progressive vicar in Coronation Street provides the opportunity to educate people and give them a different point of view,” he explained.
Cotton predicted the backlash last summer, telling attitude.co.uk that the storyline would “wind a lot of people up”.
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