Sean Tully is a fictional character 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, ...
soap opera ''
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 ...
'', played by
Antony Cotton
Antony Cotton (born Antony Dunn; 5 August 1975) is an English actor, known for portraying the role of Sean Tully in ''Coronation Street'', as well as portraying Alexander Perry in the original '' Queer as Folk'' series. In 2007, Cotton hosted ...
. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 13 July 2003. Following that appearance, the character returned full-time on 12 April 2004.
Storylines
Sean is introduced as a gay colleague of
Martin Platt
Martin Platt is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', portrayed by Sean Wilson. His major storylines were a relationship with Gail Tilsley (Helen Worth) following the death of her husband Brian (Christo ...
(
Sean Wilson) and
Karl Foster
The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'' in 2003, by order of first appearance.
Tony Stewart
Tony Stewart made his first screen appearance on 2 March 2003. The character was orig ...
(Chris Finch). Some months after his first appearance Sean comes to Coronation Street, desperately looking for somewhere to live. Karl's ex-boyfriend
Todd Grimshaw
Todd Grimshaw is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Coronation Street'', formerly played by Bruno Langley from 2001 to 2017, and now played by Gareth Pierce. The character's debut was broadcast on 14 January 2001. He was intro ...
(
Bruno Langley) recognises Sean and takes him for a drink at The Rovers. When Todd's mother
Eileen Grimshaw
Eileen Grimshaw (also Phelan) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Portrayed by Sue Cleaver, the character first appeared on-screen during the episode airing on 3 May 2000. Her storylines have often i ...
(
Sue Cleaver
Susan Owen ( Cleaver; born 2 September 1963) is an English actress. She is best known for portraying the role of Eileen Grimshaw on the ITV soap opera, ''Coronation Street'', which she has played since 2000.
Early and personal life
Cleaver was ...
) meets Sean she likes him and offers him a place to stay. Her other son,
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 ...
), is not pleased but later warms to the idea. Sean gets a job at ''Underworld'', where he makes friends with
Fiz Brown
Fiona 'Fiz' Dobbs (also Brown and Stape) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street''. Portrayed by Jennie McAlpine, the character first appeared on screen on 20 April 2001. Initially appearing for five epis ...
(
Jennie McAlpine
Jennie Elizabeth McAlpine (born 12 February 1984) is an English television actress, comedian and businesswoman. She is known for her role as Fiz Brown in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. She also took part in the seventeenth series o ...
) and
Kelly Crabtree
: ''For the ''Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps'' character, see Kelly Crabtree''
Kelly Crabtree is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street''. Portrayed by Tupele Dorgu, the character first appeared ...
(
Tupele Dorgu
Tupele Dorgu (born 13 December 1977 in Preston, Lancashire) is an English actress and voice over artist. She is best known for playing the role of Kelly Crabtree in the ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'' from 2004 to 2010.
Education
Dorgu ...
).
Violet Wilson
Violet Wilson is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street''. She was portrayed by Jenny Platt making her first on-screen appearance on 8 October 2004 and remained until 29 February 2008. Platt returned for one ...
(
Jenny Platt
Jennifer "Jenny" Platt (born 24 September 1979) is an English actress best known for her role as Violet Wilson in the long-running television soap ''Coronation Street'' and her role as Jeanne in ''Versailles''.
Platt was born in Ipswich, Suff ...
), Sean's close friend, moves to the Street and begins dating
Jamie Baldwin
Jamie Baldwin is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'', played by Rupert Hill. He first appeared in 2004 and left in 2008.
Storylines
Shortly after his arrival in Weatherfield, Jamie began dating Leanne ...
(
Rupert Hill
Rupert Sinclair Hill (born 15 June 1978) is an English actor. He is known for his roles in several soap operas.
Hill started with small roles on television. He appeared in an episode of ''EastEnders'' as Robbie's half-brother Kevin Bolton, an ...
), who Sean also becomes close to. When Jamie seems to be losing interest in Violet she fears he is secretly gay, she asks Sean to spend time with him to see if he can find out — unaware that Sean has fallen for Jamie himself. However, Sean is shocked to discover that Jamie is actually in love with his stepmother,
Frankie Baldwin
Frankie Baldwin is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'', played by Debra Stephenson. She was introduced as part of the Baldwin family along with Danny Baldwin (Bradley Walsh), Jamie Baldwin (Rupert Hill) ...
(
Debra Stephenson
Debra Stephenson (born 4 June 1972) is an English actress, comedian, impressionist and singer, best known for her roles as Diane Powell in ''Playing the Field'', Shell Dockley in '' Bad Girls'' and as Frankie Baldwin in ''Coronation Street''.
...
). Sean supports both Violet and Jamie when Violet ends their relationship.
When Violet suffers an ectopic pregnancy, she is told her chances of conceiving have been reduced. Violet then becomes desperate to have a baby and suggests she and Sean should consider having a child together. Sean agrees and, despite her fertility issues, Violet becomes pregnant via self-administered artificial insemination (after the two try and fail to have sex). Sean accompanies Violet to her 12-week scan, where he becomes attracted to the
sonographer
A sonographer is an allied healthcare professional who specializes in the use of ultrasonic imaging devices to produce diagnostic images, scans, videos or three-dimensional volumes of anatomy and diagnostic data. The requirements for clinical pr ...
,
Marcus Dent
Marcus Dent is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Charlie Condou. He made his first screen appearance during the episode on 7 September 2007. Marcus departed on 5 September 2008, but returned o ...
(
Charlie Condou
Charlie Condou, (born 8 January 1973) is a British actor, columnist and LGBT rights activist. Condou secured a series of television movie roles during his teenage years in the 1980s. He later had guest roles in British television series during th ...
). Violet matchmakes between the two and they begin dating, although they hit a rough patch when Sean tricks Marcus into telling him Violet is expecting a baby boy when she had wanted the gender to be a surprise.
When Violet gets back together with Jamie, she begins to find Sean's presence during the pregnancy stifling, especially after he lends her and Jamie money for a flat deposit and begins coming and going as he pleases. When Violet realises she is in labour at the
Rovers' it is Sean, not Jamie, at her side as Jamie is in London. Sean is delighted that he was the first person that his son saw and bonds with Dylan while Violet is in hospital, upsetting both her and Jamie. Sean suggests calling him "Dylan Wilson-Tully" and asks Violet to put his name on the birth certificate. Violet ignores both suggestions, naming her son "Dylan James Wilson" and putting Jamie's name on the birth certificate. Fed up with Sean being a third wheel, Jamie and Violet move to London with Dylan, devastating Sean when Violet throws her mobile away so he can't contact her.
Sean becomes close friends with
Tom Kerrigan (
Philip McGinley
Philip Kiaran McGinley (born 6 June 1981) is an English actor, best known for playing Anguy the Archer in Season 3 of HBO's ''Game of Thrones''.
Early life
He was born in Liverpool and grew up in Golborne, near Wigan. He attended All Saints P ...
), a business partner of his boss,
Carla Connor
Carla Barlow (also Connor and Gordon) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'', played by Alison King. She made her first appearance on screen during the episode airing on 1 December 2006 and introduced ...
(
Alison King
Alison Rosamund King (born 3 March 1973) is an English actress and model. She is known for her roles as Lynda Block in the Sky One drama series ''Dream Team'' (1998–2003, 2005–2007), and Carla Connor in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Cor ...
) and begins to develop feelings for him. When Sean tries to kiss Tom, he tells him that he is straight and actually interested in Sean's friend Kelly. Realising things are awkward between Sean and Tom, Marcus questions Sean, who lies and says Tom made a pass at him rather than the other way around. Marcus angrily punches Tom but is furious to then discover Sean was the one in the wrong. With Sean having already been jealous of Marcus's friendships with other gay men, Marcus realises there is no trust left in their relationship and departs for London.
After joining a gym with Jason, Sean becomes attracted to fellow member
Leon
Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to:
Places
Europe
* León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León
* Province of León, Spain
* Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again f ...
(
Andrew Langtree). When Leon mistakenly thinks Jason is Sean's ex-boyfriend Sean doesn't correct him, and is pleased that Leon seems happy to hear he is single. However, Sean is left disappointed when it turns out that Leon is actually interested in Jason and "doesn't fancy camp men".
Sean decides that he wants to track down Violet and Dylan, as his son would now be two years old. He finds Violet via a
social networking
A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for an ...
site and sets up a page using
Liz McDonald
Elizabeth 'Liz' McDonald (also Greenwood and Tomlin) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. She is portrayed by Beverley Callard. She made her first appearance on 27 October 1989. Callard opted to lea ...
's (
Beverley Callard
Beverley Jane McEwan (''née'' Moxon; previously Atkinson, Sowden and Callard; born 28 March 1957) is an English actress, known for her role as Liz McDonald in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and Flo Henshaw in '' Two P ...
) identity. However, the scheme backfires when Liz finds out what Sean has done and she fires him from the Rovers. She later softens towards him and reinstates him, and also has a word with Violet on Sean's behalf. Violet agrees to Sean visiting Dylan in London. However, on one of his visits, Sean is surprised to see Marcus at Violet's house, unaware that they were still in touch. The two realise they still have feelings for one another and reunite. When Violet and Jamie split, Sean begins looking after Dylan more often, with Dylan living with the pair for several weeks after Violet has a car accident. Marcus enjoys being part of Dylan's life and suggest they adopt a child of their own; however, Sean doesn't feel the need to have another child. The issue eventually drives the pair apart, with Sean later horrified to discover Marcus has begun a relationship with his close friend
Maria Connor
Maria Connor (also Sutherland) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', portrayed by Samia Longchambon. The character made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 19 May 2000. During her time ...
(
Samia Ghadie
Samia Maxine Longchambon (''née'' Ghadie, previously Smith; born 13 July 1982) is an English actress. She has played the role of Maria Connor in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' since 2000.
Early life
Samia Ghadie was born in Eccles ...
), despite having shown no interest in women before. Sean accuses Marcus of only dating Maria to become a father to her son, Liam and the two fall out.
When Todd returns to Manchester after several years in London, Sean wonders if there is a chance for romance between them. However, Todd is only interested in getting Sean to spend money on him, turning his romantic attention towards Marcus instead. Sean is shocked when he catches Marcus cheating on Maria with Todd and encourages him to be honest with both Maria and himself.
Depressed at being alone, Sean goes on a night out to Manchester's gay village with his colleague
Sinead Tinker (
Katie McGlynn
Katie McGlynn (born 16 July 1993) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Jodie "Scout" Allen in '' Waterloo Road'' (2011–2013), Sinead Tinker in ''Coronation Street'' (2013–2020), and Becky Quentin in ''Hollyoaks'' (2021–202 ...
) and meets
Billy Mayhew
''Coronation Street'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters that appeared in 2014, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by series producer Stuart Blackburn. Shar ...
(
Daniel Brocklebank
Daniel Brocklebank (born 21 December 1979) is a British actor, best known for portraying the roles of Ivan Jones in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' (2005–2006), and Billy Mayhew in ITV's other long-running soap ''Coronation Street'' (2014 ...
). The two exchange phone numbers and meet again, but Sean is shocked when
Emily Bishop
Emily Bishop (also Nugent and Swain; originally credited as Miss Nugent) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street''. Portrayed by Eileen Derbyshire, the character is the longest-standing female character in ...
(
Eileen Derbyshire
Eileen Derbyshire, MBE (born 6 October 1931) is an English retired actress, best known for her role as Emily Bishop in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. She played the character for 55 years from January 1961 to January 2 ...
) introduces Billy as the new local vicar a few days later. Although Sean struggles with Billy's job, the two begin dating, with Sean even trying to become involved with the church. However, when Emily seems distant from Billy and unwilling to involve herself with his new ideas for the church, Sean accuses her of homophobia. Emily is upset and denies this, telling Sean that she simply prefers more traditional church activities. Billy is angry with Sean and makes him apologise, telling Sean that he has to put his parishioners first and that being gay in the church involves some discretion. The pair briefly split, but Emily matchmakes to bring them back together.
Sean later accompanies the ''Underworld'' staff to an awards ceremony, but events take a nasty turn when a group of racers cause the minibus driver,
Steve McDonald (
Simon Gregson
Simon Alan Gregory (born 2 October 1974), better known by his stage name, Simon Gregson, is an English actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Steve McDonald in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' since 1989. He has rece ...
), to swerve and crash the vehicle, which is now narrowly balancing on the edge of a quarry. Sean is one of the first people to awaken from unconsciousness and he, Steve and
Julie Carp
Julie Carp (also Jones) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Katy Cavanagh. The character debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 25 April 2008 and was originally introduced as a new g ...
(
Katy Cavanagh
Kathryn Sarah Collins Jupe (born 12 December 1973), known professionally as Katy Cavanagh, is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Julie Carp in the ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'' from 2008 to 2015. She also had reg ...
) escape the wreckage. Steve flees as he comes to terms with the events, while Julie re-enters the vehicle to retrieve the trapped passengers. Sean looks after the staff once they are out, but he soon suffers a
panic attack
Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear and discomfort that may include palpitations, sweating, chest pain or chest discomfort, shortness of breath, trembling, dizziness, numbness, confusion, or a feeling of impending doom or of losing ...
as the reality of the minibus crash dawns on him. Once everybody is out, Sean is the first person to realise that Carla is still trapped in the front seat of the minibus.
Tracy Barlow
Tracy Lynette McDonald (also Barlow, Preston, Cropper and Langton) is a fictional character and a main antagonist from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street''. She was born on-screen during the episode broadcast on 24 January 1977. ...
(
Kate Ford
Kate Ford (born 29 December 1976) is an English actress. She is known for her portrayal of Tracy Barlow in the ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'' (2002–2007, 2010–present).
Ford was born in Salford, Greater Manchester. She attended Qu ...
) risks her life to save Carla and nearly falls to her own death when the wreckage begins to slide off the edge of the quarry, but she leaps out just in time. At the hospital, Sean is met by Billy, who reveals how proud he is of him.
Characterisation
![Antony Cotton 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Antony_Cotton_3.jpg)
Antony Cotton said that playing Sean is easy because he just has to act like himself.
Speaking to ''
The People
The ''Sunday People'' is a British tabloid Sunday newspaper. It was founded as ''The People'' on 16 October 1881.
At one point owned by Odhams Press, The ''People'' was acquired along with Odhams by the Mirror Group in 1961, along with the ' ...
'', Cotton said that Sean looks and he sounds like him.
Cotton later admitted that not all of the reviews about him are positive.
Some of the gay press have accused Cotton of making Sean a stereotype. Of this he said, "You've got people like
Blanche Hunt
Blanche Hunt (also Linfield) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street''. She was originally played by Patricia Cutts; however, the actress died by suicide after appearing in just two episodes in August 1974. ...
,
Emily Bishop
Emily Bishop (also Nugent and Swain; originally credited as Miss Nugent) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street''. Portrayed by Eileen Derbyshire, the character is the longest-standing female character in ...
and
Norris Cole
Norris Gene Cole II (born October 13, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for Grand Rapids Gold of the NBA G League. A 6' 2" point guard, he is a two-time NBA champion, winning back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013 with the Miami ...
and there were the classic characters like
Bet Lynch and
Annie Walker. They're all more camp than Sean — I'm
Grant Mitchell compared to them."
Development
In an interview with ''
Digital Spy
Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
'', Cotton was asked why Sean has always been so unlucky in love. He answered; "When I first came into the show, a lot of the old-school writers that are no longer here had never written a gay character. At that time, Raquel had just gone so they basically wrote Sean as Raquel. Hilda and Raquel are my favourite ever Corrie characters and one of the reasons that I've always loved Raquel is that she was unlucky in love. Even when she was in the gutter battered and bruised, she was always looking up at the stars thinking that the next one was around the corner. I thought that was an interesting way to play Sean, so he's always unlucky in love because Raquel was, is the short answer! That's just the way it worked out — but I like playing that."
In January 2011, it was confirmed that
Charlie Condou
Charlie Condou, (born 8 January 1973) is a British actor, columnist and LGBT rights activist. Condou secured a series of television movie roles during his teenage years in the 1980s. He later had guest roles in British television series during th ...
who played Sean's ex-boyfriend
Marcus Dent
Marcus Dent is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Charlie Condou. He made his first screen appearance during the episode on 7 September 2007. Marcus departed on 5 September 2008, but returned o ...
between 2007 and 2008 would return to the serial. A ''Coronation Street'' spokesperson teased the upcoming reunion saying; "There are eventful times ahead for Sean as his old flame Marcus Dent returns to the cobbles. Marcus arrives back in Weatherfield and the relationship between him and Sean is rekindled."
In September 2014, it was revealed that Sean would begin a relationship with a
vicar
A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
named Billy portrayed by Daniel Brocklebank. Producer
Stuart Blackburn said: "It's about time Sean had a romance, he's been unlucky in love for a long time. Billy is a great guy who is sincere about his feelings for Sean, but his first love is and always will be God and the Church. We will be exploring this very modern relationship in the coming months and are delighted to have Daniel on board to play Billy." Cotton added: "I am thrilled that Sean is to find love again especially with this unique and exciting storyline. I'm sure it'll have its ups and downs, but that's what makes ''Coronation Street'' great. Hopefully it will be tender, funny and honest. Heaven!" In January 2015, Cotton revealed in an interview that he was surprised by the positive response to Sean's relationship with Billy storyline.
Reception
Antony Cotton
Antony Cotton (born Antony Dunn; 5 August 1975) is an English actor, known for portraying the role of Sean Tully in ''Coronation Street'', as well as portraying Alexander Perry in the original '' Queer as Folk'' series. In 2007, Cotton hosted ...
has won a number of awards since the character's first appearance, including a prestigious
National Television Award
The National Television Awards (often shortened to NTAs) is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV (TV network), ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the ...
. In 2006 he won an award for ''Funniest Character'' at the ''Inside Soap'' Awards. along with ''Best Actor'' at the British Soap Awards in 2007.
References
External links
Sean Tullyat
itv.com
itv.com is the main website of ITV plc, the UK's largest commercial television broadcaster which operates 13 out of 15 regions on the ITV network under the ITV brand (or the UTV brand in Northern Ireland). The website offers online streaming, ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tully, Sean
Coronation Street characters
Fictional bartenders
Fictional factory workers
Fictional gay males
Fictional machinists
Fictional receptionists
Fictional homeless people
Television characters introduced in 2003
Fictional LGBT characters in television
Male characters in television
LGBT and homelessness
Crossover characters in television