Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank)

[tammyy2j]

Lee scrapes together change for a pint in the Rovers but is later caught trying to steal from Erica’s handbag. As things get nasty and Liz prepares to call the police, Billy intervenes and assures the locals he will handle Lee, whom he offers a room at the rectory.
Later Lee steals cash from the till at Preston’s Petals and Billy stops Todd calling the police, finally confessing how heroin addict Lee is his brother. Billy goes on to explain that both of their parents are dead and Billy is on the only one who can help.


Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2016/05/10/corona...#ixzz4969kBCtU

Still not something that he needs to keep from Sean

I agree

Is Billy keeping his sexuality a secret from Lee?

[Dazzle]

I agree

Is Billy keeping his sexuality a secret from Lee?

Possibly, although I can't imagine why he would especially since their parents are dead. However, he must have something he wants to hide to make sense of this storyline.

[Perdita]

Why has the vicar been keeping so quiet about his secret sibling?​

Coronation Street vicar Billy Mayhew had a huge confession of his own to make last night (May 18), telling Todd Grimshaw that mysterious newcomer Lee is actually his brother.

Lee is a heroin addict who has been causing chaos on the cobbles with his desperation for cash recently, but Billy has only been prepared to help him out in secret - keeping the true nature of their connection totally quiet. But why?

Digital Spy recently caught up with Daniel Brocklebank, who plays Billy, to get his reaction to this intriguing new storyline.

How do you feel about life for Billy suddenly getting much busier on screen?

"I'm loving it. From a personal perspective it's great, because I've moved to Manchester and Coronation Street is the sole purpose of me being here. So therefore if I'm not busy, I'm kind of surplus to my own existence!

"From a professional point of view, it's also fantastic because I've been playing Billy for nearly two years now. I think sometimes it takes time for a character to bed in. You can't rush in with a massive story, because the audience don't care. They've got to care about the character first."

How do you think Billy has progressed?

"The first 12 months that I was here were quieter, but I think it's just because the audience has to get used to a new character. What's great for me now is that I'm discovering who Billy is, where he's from, and who his family are. All I knew at first was that Billy's last parish was in Peterborough, so it's lovely now that I'm finding out more about him."

"It's a really exciting storyline for me. Richard Crehan, who plays Lee, is lovely to work with. It's also nice that the writers are investing in Billy, because it shows that he's seemingly gone down well with viewers. If you're working on a movie or a drama, you've always got a beginning, a middle and an end. The weird thing about being on this show is that you're constantly playing the middle and there is no end to it.

"So when you get your scripts every week, it's quite exciting and you wonder what you're going to be up to. It's almost like having two lives. I've got my own life but I've also got Billy's. Which I have to say, is far more interesting than mine is!"

Why is Billy keeping so quiet about Lee's identity? Is he ashamed of him?

"I think Billy is probably more ashamed about the fact that he's failed in helping Lee. There are certain reasons from their past that have made it difficult for Billy to go back and help him, but Billy is a decent person and thinks that he still could have done more.

"That's not to say that Billy isn't also ashamed of how Lee has turned out. But I think he blames himself for that, more than he does Lee. He's ashamed that he's allowed his brother to get into the state that he's in. With his job as a vicar, Billy is meant to be someone his parishioners can trust and turn to. So how could they turn to him, knowing that he's let down his own family?"

Is that why Billy doesn't tell Sean?

"Yes, it's just total shame. Billy doesn't tell Sean anything about his past, which personally I find odd – because you would share those things with your partner. But I guess it's just this deep embarrassment that Billy is not as clear-cut as he appears. Deep down, he doesn't want people to know that he's got this past."

Do you hope Billy and Sean can make it through this when the truth does come out?

"I think Billy and Sean work incredibly well together, so I'll miss working with Antony [Cotton, who plays Sean] if this does split us up. We get along and I think we've found a lovely rhythm between the two characters. When I'm reading a script, I can usually second-guess how Antony is going to play it, so then I know how I'm going to play it too and it just clicks.

"We've had some nice comedy stuff, but also some nice heartfelt stuff over the 20 months that I've been here. Who knows what's planned? We've just got a new producer, so Billy could be dead by September! Who knows where these things are going to go?"

What kind of feedback have you received about playing a gay vicar?

"Initially from the general public, 99% of it was very good. They seemed to take to the character very well. There were, of course, your hardcore right-wing Christians who were utterly disgusted that anybody could even contemplate that gay vicars exist. And they were quite forceful in telling me that they don't!

"I can tell you categorically that they do, because I have a whole pack of gay vicars that I speak to quite often and use for reference. Based on the gay vicars that I've met, they're pleased that we're tackling something that – ridiculously in 2016 – is still seen as taboo."

Are you pleased with how it's all progressed?

"Well, what I like about Billy is the fact that he's gay is not really an issue anymore. It's just a part of who he is. 20 years ago, you wouldn't have been able to do that in television because of society's attitude towards gay people.

"Now it's great to see a gay character who just happens to be gay. It's very rarely spoken about. It was initially when I joined the show, but now nobody really bats an eyelid and I think that's great. It shows progression.

Daniel Brocklebank as Billy Mayhew in Coronation Street© ITV
"When I was growing up, having gay characters in mainstream shows or even in the media would have helped me dramatically. The internet didn't exist when I was growing up, so when I realised I was gay, I thought I was the only person in the world who felt like this.

"There were no gays on telly, they weren't reported in the news, Section 28 meant that people couldn't be taught about it in schools, the internet didn't exist – and I lived in the middle of a field! So I was like: 'I'm literally the only person who feels like this'.

"Last year I had a woman come up to me at Euston Station, hug me and thank me for being so visible. She said I'd really helped her son come to terms with his sexuality. It was a really beautiful moment, because I thought: 'It was worth it, then'.

"I came out 21 years ago, and the legal age of consent was different, the legalities towards gay people were different. So much has changed in those 21 years."

Have you had a chance to speak to Coronation Street's new boss Kate Oates yet?

"Yes, I've spoken to her. She's fabulous. She has got a really lovely energy and I think she's going to be great for the building. I don't know Kate from before, but she's come from Emmerdale and I was at Emmerdale too a few years back, so we have a myriad of people in common.

"Kate seems great and I like her. I just hope she likes me and likes Billy because I'd like to stay for a bit. I've moved all the way up here, I don't want to have to move again!"


Digital Spy

[lizann]

billy quits the church for todd

[Perdita]

billy quits the church for todd

I think he might regret that ....

[tammyy2j]

I expected more suspicious questions from Billy to Todd and Phelan

[Perdita]

Coronation Street Christmas spoilers: Billy Mayhew’s mystery guest brings huge trouble
Billy Mayhew may be about to bring huge trouble to Coronation Street as he takes in a troubled girl called Shona at Christmas – but just who is she and what is she after? Viewers first meet Shona when she chats up David Platt at a nightclub and he later discovers his wallet missing.
This hits David hard when he realises it has gone – he isn’t bothered about the money but is distressed as the wallet contains pictures of his late wife Kylie. He is left frustrated though when he tracks down Shona and she denies any knowledge of his wallet.
Later though, we see her recover the wallet from the bin and look thoughtfully at the pictures of Kylie.
On Christmas Day, Todd Grimshaw can see how much Billy is missing the church and suggests that they attend the service undertaken by the new vicar. Billy has a lovely time and when he spots Shona in the vestry sinking wine, she tells him that her ex, Nathan, has left her homeless.
Feeling sympathy, Billy insists that she spends Christmas with the Grimshaws but with Nathan watching from afar, just what is Shona hiding and could Billy be getting himself into some deep trouble?

[lizann]

im finding billy annoying now

[swmc66]

He sometime can be childlike and imature.

[tammyy2j]

I hate that he didn't question Todd and Phelan more about the scam, he had got close to Sarah who lost money

What happened with his brother Lee?