Darryl Shane Morton is a
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...
from the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford.
Origi ...
''. Portrayed by former ''
Grange Hill
''Grange Hill'' is a British Children's television series, children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical Comprehensive school (England and Wales), comprehensive school. The show began its ru ...
'' actor
Jonathan Dixon, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 18 March 2007.
Creation
Background
Darryl is the less serious-minded of the Morton twins, Darryl can be just plain daft, lazy and is closest to his twin sister Mel. In the interview with Digital Spy, Jonathan went on to confirm this, speaking of his character he said:
Darryl first appears on-screen 18 March 2007. He lives in the shed of the garden of Number 6. He gets into trouble with the law for several motoring offences, and is horrified when twin sister
Mel
Mel, Mels or MEL may refer to:
Biology
* Mouse erythroleukemia cell line (MEL)
* National Herbarium of Victoria, a herbarium with the Index Herbariorum code MEL
People
* Mel (given name), the abbreviated version of several given names (including ...
(
Emma Edmondson
Emma Edmondson (born 15 March 1984 in Rochdale, Greater Manchester) is a British television actress, best known for playing Mel Morton in '' Coronation Street''. She joined the soap in March 2007. Prior to this she had a small role in the first ...
) says that she plans to join the police. Soon after his arrival he strikes up a close friendship with next door neighbour
David Platt
David Andrew Platt (born 10 June 1966) is an English former professional football coach and player, who played as a midfielder.
Born in Chadderton, Lancashire, Platt began his career as an apprentice at Manchester United before moving to Crewe ...
(
Jack P. Shepherd) (coincidentally his real life childhood friend).
Casting
During the casting for the character of Darryl Morton different actors were called in for auditions for the role. Actor Jonathan Dixon revealed in an interview with Digital Spy that he was called back through five stages of auditioning and eventually got down to the last two where he had to audition against a long term friend. During each stage of auditioning the hopefuls had to audition as sets of twins. Jonathan continually met fellow cast member Emma Edmondson who plays his on-screen sister Mel. In the final audition the two were paired up, and went on to be cast as twins Mel and Darryl.
It also emerged that the actor is real life friend of fellow cast member
Jack P. Shepherd who plays David Platt in the show.
In August 2008, it was thought the character Darryl would exit the street in November, two months after the rest of the Morton family. However, he signed a new 6-month contract.
It was reported on 15 May 2009 that Dixon and co-star
Wanda Opalinska
Wanda Opalinska is an English-Polish actress, known for playing the part of Polish immigrant and Underworld factory worker Wiki Dankowska in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''.
Early life
Opalinska went to drama school before studying Engli ...
would be written out of the soap and would be departing later in the year with it being said that this was due to "natural storyline progression."
Storylines
Darryl Morton arrives in ''Coronation Street'' with his father
Jerry (
Michael Starke), grandfather
Wilf Wilf is a masculine given name, most commonly a diminutive form of Wilfred or Wilfrid. It is also a nickname and a surname.
People
Given name
* Wilfred Arthur (1919–2000), Australian World War II fighter ace
* Wilf Barber (1901–1968), Englis ...
(
Rodney Litchfield
Rodney Litchfield (1939 – 5 September 2020) was an actor known for ''Early Doors'' (2003), ''Sunshine'' (2008) and ''Grow Your Own'' (2007).
Career
Litchfield's first television appearances were in the 1980s, the first of which was the epi ...
), and sisters,
Jodie (
Samantha Seager
Samantha Seager (born 13 July 1974) is a British actress born in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, who played the role of Jodie Morton in the soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Since leaving ''Coronation Street'', Seager worked in television a ...
), Mel and
Kayleigh
"Kayleigh" is a song by the British neo-progressive rock band Marillion. It was released as the first single from the concept album '' Misplaced Childhood''. It was the band's most successful single in the UK, where it peaked at number-two an ...
(
Jessica Barden
Jessica Amy Barden (born 21 July 1992) is an English actress. She began her career as a child actress. She is best known for her role as Alyssa in the Channel 4 comedy-drama ''The End of the F***ing World'' (2017–2019). She received a British ...
). In April 2007 it was announced that he would be involved in a heavy
marijuana
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...
smoking scene with
Vernon Tomlin
Vernon Tomlin is a Character (arts), fictional character from the Television in the United Kingdom, British ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', portrayed by Ian Reddington. He appeared from December 2005 until September 2008, ...
(
Ian Reddington
Ian Reddington (born 25 September 1957) is an English actor with many stage and television credits since the early 1980s. He became widely known for television roles such as the Chief Clown in the ''Doctor Who'' serial ''The Greatest Show in t ...
). It caused controversy, and the soap's executive producer Kieran Roberts stated that: "Not all stories are to the taste of all our viewers. But the vast majority of the time we get it right. We do not set out to shock and sensationalise." Although the scene did not air, there is a milder scene at the Morton's house-warming party where Vernon takes on a mellow disposition after smoking a joint Darryl gives him.
On 16 September 2007, Darryl's friend 'Stig' asks him to look after some
ecstasy tablets. Afraid that his dad would find them, he asks David to look after them, but he hides them in one of his niece's dolls. However, when
Bethany
Bethany ( grc-gre, Βηθανία,Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p152/ref> Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܥܢܝܐ ''Bēṯ ʿAnyā'') or what is locally known as Al-Eizariya or al-Azariya ( ar, العيزرية, " laceof Lazarus"), is a Palestinian town in the West B ...
(Amy & Emily Walton) swallows one, David decides to protect his friend and bails Darryl out by taking the blame for possession. After a brief flirtation in the Rovers with barmaid
Lauren Wilson
Lauren Wilson (born April 19, 1987) is a Canadian figure skater. She is the 2002 Canadian junior national champion. She trained under Michelle Leigh and Doug Leigh. She placed 8th at the 2002 World Junior Figure Skating Championships. Wilson w ...
(
Lucy Evans
Lucy Evans (born 26 May 1985) is an English actress best known for playing the role of Lauren Wilson in '' Coronation Street'' from 2007–2008.
Other roles include that of Debs in ''Mile High
''Mile High'' is a British television dram ...
), Darryl begins dating her. After a few dates of playing hard to get, they begin seeing each other on a more regular basis. He often pays for their dates and drinks, even though Mel tells him that his money is the only reason she is interested. Their involvement with each other comes to an end when Lauren becomes angry with him having no money, and states they were never an item.
Originally, Darryl was supposed to be leaving with the rest of the Morton clan. However, in an interview with the ''
Liverpool Echo
The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St Paul's Square, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Sunday, and is Liverp ...
'', Michael Starke who plays his father Jerry revealed they had kept Darryl's character on because of "his character links in with David Platt". Jerry collapses on 27 August 2008 and goes into care on 31 August, where Darryl and the rest of the family were told that Jerry is still alive and has a high chance of staying that way, but also that he may die. Jerry makes a full recovery but discovers that wife
Teresa Bryant
Teresa Bryant (also Morton) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Portrayed by Karen Henthorn. The character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 28 March 2007. She made her final app ...
(
Karen Henthorn
Karen Henthorn (born 1963) is a British character actress who portrayed the role of Teresa Bryant in the long-running British soap opera ''Coronation Street''. She appeared in the role briefly in 2007 and became a regular character in 2008. Her ...
) has been poisoning him. Darryl, along with his siblings order Teresa out of the family home as a result.
Amber Kalirai
Amber Kalirai is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'', played by Nikki Patel, the character first appeared on-screen during the episode airing on 9 November 2005. In May 2011 it was announced that Patel ...
(
Nikki Patel
Nikki Patel (born 5 July 1990) is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Amber Kalirai in the ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'' from 2005 to 2009, then again from 2011 to 2012.
Career
Patel joined the cast of '' Coron ...
) becomes close to Darryl and they subsequently start a relationship.
Darryl opts to stay on in Weatherfield when Jerry decides that he is moving Kayleigh and
Finlay
Finlay is a masculine given name, and also a surname. The given name is represented in Scottish Gaelic as Fionnlagh.
Given name Finlay
* Finlay Mickel, Scottish skier
*Finlay Currie (1878–1968), Scottish actor
* Finlay Calder, Scottish rugby pl ...
(Ramone Quinn) to
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
in September 2008 due to his job and friends being on the Street. He allowed Teresa back into the house after finding her drunk on the street. He subsequently gets into trouble with Amber's overprotective father
Dev (
Jimmi Harkishin
James "Jimmi" Harkishin (born Rajan Harkishindas; 19 March 1965) is an English actor best known for his role as shopkeeper Dev Alahan in ''Coronation Street'', which he has played continuously since 10 November 1999. He also played Ranjit in th ...
) after he discovers that he is having sex with Amber. In November 2008, Dev takes over Jerry's takeaway shop as it proves too much for Darryl to run alone. Darryl is dismayed to learn that as well as selling the business to Dev, Jerry is putting No. 6 on the market. After much difficulty of running the shop alone on his first day as owner, Dev eventually relents and asks Darryl to run the place for him.
Prior due to Jerry's departure, Darryl and his mother Teresa have been evicted form their home as Jerry decides to rent the house to new family, the Windasses. However, before the family can move in, Teresa protests to the idea by barricading herself in the house, refusing to come out. This prompts Darryl to bribe her by putting money in the letter box, but to no avail. The Windasses run out of patience and decide to do the job themselves by smashing the front door window with a crutch. When they run into the house, they discover that Teresa has handcuffed herself to the kitchen oven and cupboard doors. Since she has lost the keys to the handcuffs, the family's son
Gary (
Mikey North
Michael "Mikey" North (born 27 September 1986) is an English actor best known for his role as Gary Windass in the ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'' since 2008.
Early life
North was born in the Cayton area of Scarborough and began acting a ...
) decides to drag her out of the house. Having nowhere to go, Amber offers Darryl a place to stay with her and Dev, and agrees to the offer to stay, without Teresa.
In December 2008, Darryl becomes involved in a scheme of
Pam Hobsworth
The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'' in 2008, by order of first appearance.
Tina McIntyre
Tina McIntyre, played by Michelle Keegan, made her first appearance on 7 January 2008, ...
(
Kate Anthony
Kate Anthony (born 11 April 1964) is an English actress best known for her role as Pam Hobsworth on the ITV (TV network), ITV soap ''Coronation Street''.
Career
She has appeared in ''Doctors (2000 TV series), Doctors'' playing Ellen Murray, ...
)'s to make money. He agrees to sell her the used oil from the takeaway to convert into a form of biofuel. However, the project backfires for the pair during the New Year's Eve episode when Pam accidentally ignites the fuel causing it to explode. Darryl escapes with minor injuries while Pam is hospitalized.
March 2009 sees Darryl expressing concern that his relationship with Amber may not survive when she speaks of going to university in London but she reassures him that they will be fine. However, he is unconvinced and several months later, Amber kisses Mitch, a Uni friend after an argument with Darryl. He dumps her and she departs to University alone and upset.
Amber returns during Freshers' Week and makes up with Darryl at
Jason Grimshaw
Jason Grimshaw is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Portrayed by Ryan Thomas, the character first appeared on screen on 25 December 2000. It was announced in October 2015 that Thomas had quit the role ...
(
Ryan Thomas
Ryan may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
*Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
Places Australia
* Division of Ryan, an elector ...
) and
Tina McIntyre
Tina McIntyre is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Portrayed by Michelle Keegan, the character first appeared on-screen during the episode that was shown 7 January 2008. The character was central to ma ...
(
Michelle Keegan
Michelle Elizabeth Keegan (born 3 June 1987) is an English actress, known for her roles as Tina McIntyre in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and Sergeant Georgie Lane in the BBC drama series '' Our Girl''. Keegan also starred as Tra ...
)'s party. However, Amber's father Dev, not keen on having Amber choose Darryl over University, bribes him with £500 to dump Amber. Darryl took the money but doesn't cash it and tells Dev what he thinks of him. Amber later finds out thanks to Teresa's interference, and she leaves for Uni once again on the bus, with neither Darryl or Dev able to convince her to stay.
On 16 October 2009, Dev discovers that
Umed Alahan (
Harish Patel
Harish Patel (born 5 July 1953) is an Indian character actor. He has appeared in a variety of Hindi films, but in recent years has begun to appear in American projects like reimagination of ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' on Hulu. His latest pr ...
) and Teresa are selling curry in the kebab shop, although this is not Darryl's idea. Dev warns him that he is on thin ice, but Darryl, fed up with Dev, quits his job anyway. He then decides to go and live with his family in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. He bids farewell to Teresa before boarding the bus to the airport.
In May 2010, when Teresa departs Weatherfield, after her relationship with
Lloyd Mullaney
Lloyd Mullaney is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Craig Charles. He made his first on screen appearance on 20 June 2005. The character departed on 23 July 2006, while Charles was suspended ...
(
Craig Charles
Craig Joseph Charles (born 11 July 1964) is an English actor, comedian, television and radio presenter. He is best known for his roles as Dave Lister in the science fiction sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' and Lloyd Mullaney in the soap opera ''Coronation ...
) comes to an end, it is possible that she has gone to Spain to live with Darryl, this is implied after she makes a phone call, presumingly to Darryl, asking for a favour.
Reception
When the Manchester Evening News spoke upon the axing of the Morton clan, their critic Ian Wylie stated that he had become to like the characters of Darryl and Mel, even though their on-screen family 'failed to fit the Weatherfield jigsaw'. A reporter from
Holy Soap
Holy Soap is a UK television and entertainment website founded in June 2009 by the British television company Channel 5. The website is the official UK home of the Australian soap operas '' Home and Away'' and '' Neighbours'', which are broadcast ...
described Darryl's most memorable moment as being caught in the fire drama after selling Pam's old cooking oil from the chip shop. On the ''
What's on TV
''What's on TV'' is a weekly television listings magazine published by Future PLC.
Overview
''What's on TV'' is a weekly UK television magazine. It publishes features, TV listings, news and gossip from soap operas, as well as puzzles and compe ...
'' website, Darryl was described as "a likeable layabout" who "totally lacks energy and ambition".
References
External links
Character profileat ''
What's on TV
''What's on TV'' is a weekly television listings magazine published by Future PLC.
Overview
''What's on TV'' is a weekly UK television magazine. It publishes features, TV listings, news and gossip from soap operas, as well as puzzles and compe ...
''
Character profileat
Holy Soap
Holy Soap is a UK television and entertainment website founded in June 2009 by the British television company Channel 5. The website is the official UK home of the Australian soap operas '' Home and Away'' and '' Neighbours'', which are broadcast ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, Darryl
Coronation Street characters
Fictional twins
Television characters introduced in 2007
Male characters in television