Coronation Street’s Daniel Brocklebank has shared a new look following his exit from the ITV soap.
The actor played the role of Billy Mayhew from 2014 until January of this year. The character, who was a vicar in Weatherfield, died during the Corrie and Emmerdale crossover episode Corriedale.
Prior to the multi-vehicle crash taking place, Billy was driving a number of residents home from Debbie Webster’s (Sue Devaney) wedding in a minibus. Two of the passengers were Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) and Theo Silverton (James Cartwright).
As Billy drove home, Theo could sense that something was going on between him and Todd. The crash happened, and Theo spied an opportunity that would mean Billy couldn’t take Todd away from him.
Theo trapped Billy in the overturned minibus, right before it exploded. As Billy died, Todd’s hope of leaving his abusive relationship and being saved by his friend had vanished within seconds.
It was a heartbreaking end to Billy’s journey.
A few months on from his character’s final scenes, Daniel Brocklebank has been very busy exploring the industry away from soapland.
Recently, he shared the news that he’s preparing for a new job, and it has involved making quite the change to his appearance!
Daniel posted a selfie on his Instagram, which confirmed the beard we’d often see Billy Mayhew sporting has now gone!
‘First time clean shaven in over 10 years ready to start the next job. Yay or nay?? I can’t decide’, he pondered in the caption.
And of course, plenty of his friends shared their thoughts on his new look – and suffice to say they all love it.
Gareth Pierce said: ‘Oh hello’.
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Debbie Webster star Sue Devaney wrote: ‘You look n n n n nineteen! Yes yes yes! Sexy beast!’.
Tony Maudsley, who plays George Shuttleworth, added: ‘It’s a YAY from me!! You’re like Benjamin Button, dear!!’, while Colson Smith (Craig Tinker) commented: ‘Reminds me of someone I met when about 10 years ago!!’.
Following Billy’s death, Todd has remained trapped in his relationship with Theo.
He’s desperate for another Billy shaped hero to swoop in and realise something is wrong, and he’s potentially found one.
In upcoming episodes, Theo will hurl abuse through the bathroom door, believing Todd is in there. When Todd actually returns from the shop moments later, George appears from the bathroom.
Theo is quietly horrified to realise he’s just unleashed his vile side at George – but could this really be the moment the penny starts to drop for him?
Is George about to save Todd?
‘Domestic abuse affects women more than men, but there’s a sense that in this there are a lot of same sex couples who feel quite seen in it being explored within the LGBTQ+ community’, Gareth Pierce told Metro recently as he reflected on this story.
‘I’ve also been quite struck by a lot of men, gay or straight really, that find it quite confronting in terms of having quite a narrow perception of masculinity. It takes some people essentially back to childhood.
‘I think that most men will have a moment where they maybe have to confront their masculinity, or maybe strap on their sense of what a man should be, rather than necessarily sit with the vulnerability of men being a lot of things.
‘I think we’re pushing up narrow perceptions of masculinity with this story as well, and I think that’s uncomfortable viewing for a lot of the husbands of a certain generation. That seems to be the feedback I’m getting.’