Ooh, You
Are Awful!Written by Jon Peake
Stephen Billington ponders the dubious charms of the Street's smooth-talking womaniser Greg Kelly....
They know they shouldn't, but ask many women and they will say they can't resist a bad lad.
Take Maxine Heavey. With her experience of men, you'd have thought she would have seen through that charmer Greg Kelly by now and moved on to someone new.
But no. Our Max is well and truly smitten, and no amount of brush-offs from the smooth-talking salesman is going to put her off.
If only she would have a word with Stephen Billington. The 30-year-old-actor knows Greg better than anybody, and is convinced that Weatherfield's hottest new dish is bad news where women are concerned.
"Greg's not a one-woman man. He likes to play the field,"
he says."Maxine has some very alluring qualities, but Greg's not interested in anything permanent with her. She's loyal, loving, pretty and always there for him, which is just what he wants. He'll continue to string her along for as long as it suits him."
No woman is safe. Even Maxine's best mate Fiona is on the laid-back Lothario's list of would-be conquests.
"He makes a pass at Fiona but it's not a serious one," reveals Stephen.
"Greg is just making her aware that he could have her if he wanted. He likes to be able to show off the power he has over women."
And then there's Sally Webster. She may be married with two children, but that, warns Stephen is unlikely to put Greg off from trying to seduce her.
"He's after her money," says Stephen. "It's particularly nasty of him because it's the money that her mother left her in the will, but that's just the way he operates."
Being the son of Les Battersby, some would say it's little surprise that Greg's turned out the way he has. It's an obvious case of like father, like son.
"He's inherited many qualities from his father," laughs Stephen. "Les would love to be a womaniser like Greg, but he just doesn't have the charm to pull it off."
"He managed to snare Greg's mum Moira once, but that was a long time ago. As he's got older, he's lost his looks and got a bit rough around the edges. Greg is a more polished version of him. Les now has to be content with living out his fantasies through his son."
Stephen may be a relative newcomer to the Street, but he already has a sizeable army of fans. It is this popularity that has helped Coronation Street make the decision to sign him up for a further six months.
"I was in Liz Dawn's [Vera Duckworth] pub the other night, and an old lady grabbed me by the hand, smacked my wrist and grinned, 'Ooh, you are awful, but I like you!'" he laughs.
"That's how people see Greg. They like his wickedness, and they wouldn't mind taking him home with them."
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