Daniel Brocklebank: 'I hated myself for being gay'
Coronation Street star Daniel Brocklebank has opened up about his sexuality, saying he 'hated himself for being gay' when he was younger.
The actor, who plays Billy Mayhew on the soap, spoke about coming out at 15 in a candid interview with Gay Times.
"I always knew I was different from the other boys I hung around with, but couldn't ever work out what it was," Daniel said.
"I was 12-years-old the first time I actually realised that I was gay. Back then there was no internet, very few gay people on TV or in the media, and we weren't taught about homosexuality in school due to Section 28 - so for a while I thought I might be the only person out there who felt like that. I hated myself for it and hoped it was a phase."
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Daniel Brocklebank
© Rex Features Ken McKay
The actor went on to say: "I was 15-years-old and told my mum first, and then the rest of the family in one hit, like ripping off a plaster.
"It was terrifying and exhilarating all at once. To feel free to say the words 'I'm gay' out loud was one of the hardest yet most natural things in the world. Now I wouldn't change it for the world. I love who I am."
Catherine Tyldesley is launching a music career
Coronation Street favourite Catherine Tyldesley is taking a major step forward in her career by signing a record deal.
The Eva Price actress shared the happy news with fans on Twitter that she will be recording music under the direction of United Agents Music.
"Exciting news! I've signed with @UnitedMusic Sign up here to be the first to hear about a whole new journey for me," she tweeted.
United Agents Music has an impressive roster of talent, including West End favourite Samantha Barks and X Factor winner Matt Cardle.
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© ITV This Morning
Corrie fans have long been fond of Tyldesley, who has played the scheming Eva Price since 2011.
She's been back on the soap full-time since last summer, following a brief maternity break.
Tyldesley signed a year-long Coronation Street contract extension back in March.
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I hope she will combine the two careers, I want her to stay on the cobbles :D
Mikey North becomes first time dad
Corrie most complained about soap last year
Coronation Street is the most-complained-about soap of the past year – with 1,204 complaints
Coronation Street may be gripping viewers most nights of the week, but it's also the most-complained-about soap.
Viewers sent complaints about Corrie to Ofcom more times in the 12-month period ending March 2017 than any of its rival soaps, including EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks.
In total, the cobbles attracted 1,204 complaints (up from 154 during the previous year) – although this has been skewed slightly by the fact that a large percentage (around 40%) came from one single episode – 473 over Eva Price's racially-insensitive "more roots than Kunta Kinte" comment.
"I have more roots than Kunta Kinte," she said back in August 2016, venting her frustration about her hair at Audrey Roberts's salon. "No idea who that is, by the way, just something my mum used to say."
Despite the controversy, Ofcom did clear the comment, saying that it "reflected the foolishness, and lack of sensitivity and cultural awareness, of her character".
"For her to speak in this thoughtless fashion without understanding what she was referring to, or that it might cause offence, was likely to have been consistent with the audience's expectations of her character," the report added.
Meanwhile, Emmerdale had 789 complaints in the last year (up from 433) and EastEnders had 335 (down from 348).
Despite all the murdering and huge storylines going on in Hollyoaks, the Channel 4 soap only had 26 complaints (down from 41).
Daniel Brocklebank and Rob Mallard ARE a couple
It's official – Coronation Street stars Daniel Brocklebank and Rob Mallard are a couple.
Rumours began surfacing this week that the pair who play Billy Mayhew and Daniel Osbourne respectively – had hit it off on the cobbles behind the scenes and were now in a relationship.
The Sun revealed that the romance began after Rob joined the show last year, and the new couple have even been enjoying double dates with co-star Catherine Tyldesley and her husband Tom Pitfield.
Confirming the news on Twitter this afternoon, Daniel said: "It's true! @Rob_Mallard only came round to put some shelves up & it went from there... #LoveIsInTheAir"
Following on from Daniel's message with a cheeky tweet of his own, Rob said: "Thanks for all of the kind comments! I have indeed bagged the 'notorious' @Dan_Brocklebank (batteries not included)."
Kym Marsh joined in on the love, quipping to Rob: "I didn't even know you were gay."
1h
Rob Mallard ✔ @Rob_Mallard
Thanks for all of the kind comments! I have indeed bagged the 'notorious' @Dan_Brocklebank (batteries not included) 😘✌🏻✌🏽✌🏿🌈
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Kym Marsh ✔ @msm4rsh
@Rob_Mallard @Dan_Brocklebank I didn't even know you were gay 😳😂
3:06 PM - 17 May 2017
2 2 Retweets 24 24 likes
Daniel joined Corrie in late 2014, with his character Billy Mayhew going on to have a romance with barman Sean Tully, before dumping him for Todd Grimshaw.
Rob publicly opened up about his sexuality for the first time earlier this year, stressing that he never planned to keep his sexuality a secret.
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