Coronation Street star looks unrecognisable as a fresh faced teen starring alongside Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love

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While Weatherfield and Hollywood seem worlds apart, a Coronation Street actor actually appeared in the Academy Award-winning film Shakespeare in Love with Gwyneth Paltrow – long before joining the cast of the famous British soap opera.

Daniel Brocklebank, who many know as the vicar Billy Mayhew, started his acting career much earlier. When he was just 18 years old, in 1998, he played a character named Sam Goose in a romantic movie.

In the film, Sam was chosen to play Juliet in a new adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate’s Daughter. The title was later changed to the more familiar Romeo and Juliet.

Let’s talk Shakespeare! In the movie, Gwyneth Paltrow’s character, Viola, does something incredibly clever – she disguises herself as a man to try out for the role of Romeo. And get this – during rehearsals, she actually shares a kiss with the actor playing Romeo, a young man named Sam! It’s a really charming and pivotal moment in the story.

In addition to Gwyneth Paltrow and Geoffrey Rush, the film Shakespeare in Love featured a talented cast including Joseph Fiennes, Judi Dench, Colin Firth, Imelda Staunton, Ben Affleck, and Jim Carter.

In 1999, the film received five Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Gwyneth and Best Supporting Actor for Judi, who played Queen Elizabeth.

Daniel gained further recognition in 2002, appearing in the acclaimed film The Hours alongside Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep, and also starred with Keira Knightley in The Hole.

Most TV viewers recognize him as Billy from Coronation Street, a role he’s played since 2014. He’s also been in popular shows like Holby City, Emmerdale, Waterloo Road, and The Bill.

Daniel Brocklebank has shared that coming out as gay in 1998 made it more difficult for him to find work in Hollywood.

Daniel told The Mirror that his managers in Los Angeles warned him revealing he was gay could negatively impact his career.

He explained that after a certain point, he wasn’t considered for roles as straight male leads. Instead, he was offered roles as either a gay best friend or smaller, character-based parts. This happened more often in the United States, but it was a common experience for him in Britain as well.

The actor stated that his private life shouldn’t affect how people view his characters. He also explained he decided to come out partly because he didn’t have any openly gay figures to look up to while he was growing up in the 1980s.

I’ve been a fan of Daniel’s work since the 90s, and he always felt like a real trailblazer to me. He often says he hopes he contributed, even in a small way, to making society more open-minded and accepting over the years, and honestly, I think he absolutely did.

Daniel announced he was leaving the soap opera earlier this year after playing his role for eleven years, and his departure will be part of a dramatic plotline.

As a lifestyle expert, I’m seeing a lot of fallout from this split! It seems Jordan Coulthard, who was with the actor, didn’t hold back at all when expressing their disappointment with the show’s producers. They were clearly very upset and immediately voiced some strong criticisms.

Jordan clarified that Daniel’s departure from the soap opera wasn’t his choice, and strongly criticized ITV, believing they were making a significant error.

The Sun reported that Daniel would be waving goodbye to the Cobbles in 2026.

Daniel’s boyfriend, Jordan, shared his strong reaction to the decision on his Instagram story.

Jordan said on social media: ‘Nothing to say. Not his decision. Huge mistake.

I’m still shocked we’re even talking about this. I’m absolutely devastated for him, but I know he’ll be okay and do great things.

In another picture of Daniel posing as his alter-ego, he added: ‘Utter madness.’ 

When the news came out, I immediately went to Instagram and shared a photo of myself in costume as the vicar, writing ‘Bye bye Billy’ with a little red heart. It felt like the right way to acknowledge the end of an era, you know?

A representative of Coronation Street said that Daniel’s departure is storyline driven.

A source has shared that Dan will be central to a significant storyline leading to Billy’s departure from the show in 2026. Specifics of the plot are currently being kept secret.

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2025-12-15 17:54