He's returned to the Street, but this time he hasn't popped round to say a friendly hello.
By Liz Murphy
He's back. Like the proverbial bad penny, Greg Kelly has turned up in Coronation Street again. But this time he obviously has only one thing on his mind--revenge. And he's already got smooth-talking Mike Baldwin in a stew. It turns out that Greg is the brains behind Julia Stone's clever blackmail plot. But extorting £10,000 from his former boss wasn't enough. Greg's forced Julia to go back to Mike for more cash, and it's obvious he's not going to be satisfied until he's got it.
But Mike's not the only reason Greg's come back. As a man intent on making anyone who crossed him pay, there must be a few people on the Street he has plans for. This week we find out who does have something to fear from Greg's return--and Sally has to be top of the list.
"As far as he's concerned, Sally and Mike ruined his life," says Stephen Billington, who plays the charmer-turned-blackmailer.
"They made him destitute. I think he's had some kind of a breakdown. He flipped out, and he's on his uppers and resents them all for it."
"The blackmail's also tied to the fact that he needs money. There's another possible business deal that he can get involved in but he needs money to invest in it. So he's trying to get it from Mike."
While he's twisting the knife in Mike, Greg must also be plotting Sally's fate. "He's got an obsession about her," says Stephen. "When they were together, he lost one thing after another--his clients, his car, his home--and he blamed Sally for that."
"He believes it was her big mouth that allowed Mike to find out he'd taken his clients, and that the business venture would have succeeded if she hadn't messed up. He doesn't see it the way it was--that Sally didn't deliberately ruin his life. He thinks she was being vindictive and malicious."
Greg's obviously returned to the Street pretty much as he left--a man with serious problems. When he first arrived in Weatherfield last year to find his long-lost dad Les Battersby, he seemed like such a nice boy.
Although it was obvious he wasn't quite all he seemed--no son of Les' could be entirely on the straight and narrow--his good looks and charming smile won hearts.
Greg played the part of the loveable rogue to perfection, talking his way into a job as a salesman for Mike's underwear company and into supercrimper Maxine's affections. Once he'd used her to get a flat, the love rat moved on to Sally. She became particularly attractive when he discovered that her mother had died and left her £50,000.
He persuaded Sally to quit her job with Mike and go into partnership with him. He was prepared to double-cross Mike, steal his clients and set up a rival lingerie firm--all financed by Sally's money, of course.
Romance was also part of the package, and Sally left Kevin to live with Greg. But the relationship started failing when Sally moved her daughters into Greg's flat. It all ended nastily when, having lost nearly all of Sally's inheritance, Greg beat her up and threw her out.
Sally and Mike joined forces to destroy what remained of Greg's business and he crept out having lost everything. "Greg wasn't always bad. He was always incredibly ambitious and could be ruthless, but he wasn't this bad," says Stephen. "The partnership with Sally was his first real chance. He wasn't accepted by his step-family, so he needed to prove himself and his one chance was ruined. It's changed him severely."
"He wants to punish Mike and Sally as much as he can and he thinks he's going to get away with it."
But Sally and Mike aren't the only people he'll hurt to get what he wants. "He's got something on Julia too," reveals Stephen. "He knows something about her which he's blackmailing her with but I think she's pretty fond of him. He's using her with not much regard for her feelings."
Before the Street, Stephen, 31, who appeared in Mel Gibson's movie Braveheart, was best known for his TV role as the stud in The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous. He looks as handsome in the flesh as he does on screen and has a devastating smile and a wicked sense of humour.
After a four-month absence, Stephen is thrilled to be back in the Street. When he left at the end of last year, he thought it was for good.
"Coronation Street approached me towards the end of January but I wasn't particularly impressed with what was originally offered," he explains. "Then they came back with a better storyline and I suggested ideas as well. I was impressed with how they dealt with it, so I said yes."
"I really enjoy playing Greg. One of the reasons I took the job in the first place is that he was a dark character. I'd cut my teeth on playing nice romantic people and was getting typecast. So playing a villain was fantastic. It's great to play a character who behaves in a way you can't in your real life. It's quite a release."
Returning was easy. "I walked in and there was Sally Whittaker with a big smile. There's a great bunch of people here and we have a lot of fun. It's good to be back."
While he was away Stephen filmed an episode of Highlander: The Raven for the Sci-Fi Channel. It's a follow-up to the Highlander TV series, and his character has flashbacks to the 19th Century.
"There was lots of sword-fighting and heads getting chopped off," he says laughing. "It was strange because we filmed in Paris but the flashbacks were set in Manchester!"
Now that he's back, does Stephen want to stay? "I'm only back for a month, and I don't know how the producers are thinking of ending it. There was talk at one point of killing Greg off, or at least maiming him," he says.
"I wouldn't mind him being killed off. I've already died twice--in Braveheart I was thrown out of a window and in Highlander I got my head chopped off. Maybe bullets would be good this time!"
Articles I Audio I Theatre I Biography I Gallery
SB Homepage I TV & Movies I Contact I Updates I Site Index
