All material is, and remains the copyright property of Granada Television
All material is, and remains the copyright property of Granada Television
Coronation Street is a really terrific UK serial. It has an outstanding sense of time and place and you really come to feel like you know the people who live there on a very personal level. The calibre of writing, production values and performances is uniformly excellent.On Corrie (as it is affectionately known), Stephen played Greg Kelly, Les Battersby's illegitimate son.
MOST RECENT APPEARANCE
THE ONCE AND FUTURE KELLY In a storyline shown in the UK and in Canada, Greg Kelly returned to the Street. Stephen's second stint on Corrie is a brilliant, unqualified triumph. The Corrie writers crafted a storyline that even better showcases Stephen's talent than did his first stint on Corrie. His acting is a pure and unrivaled tour-de-force. Stephen has always in the past shown enormous subtlety and an ability to convey nuance of emotion. In this performance he also demonstrates that he has the ability to project raw power of emotion. Stephen brilliantly portrays a troubled mind in the process of complete breakdown. Stephen's Greg Kelly, at first, appears to be a manipulative blackmailer, totally in control of the situation. But, as events thwart his criminal designs, Stephen's portrayal shows that Greg is not at all in control, that his actions are ruled by psychosis. Greg watches, as aghast as anyone else, and desperately tries to rationalize brutality that seems as much a surprise to him as it is to those around him. In the final episode, his brilliant portrayal of this slide toward total madness is almost too intense to watch.
First line out of his mouth, now that he is back: "Course he (Mike) doesn't like it - that's the 'ole point. He'll pay don't worry. He's got no choice."Greg Kelly returned to Coronation Street in a story cycle of revenge, seduction, blackmail, and ultimately stark terror. Operatic in its scope, Greg's villainy establishes a new standard for soap opera antagonists. Stephen's portrayal finds complexity and humanity in a character who could have been a mere monster. His portrayal of Greg Kelly seems to resonate a dark chord in many souls:
"The response to him has been supportive--which to me is a bit scary and very odd. Given what we have seen of him so far it seems he will stop at nothing to get what he wants," Stephen Billington. (Best magazine, May 1999.)Greg WILL stop at nothing. In the new storyline, he blackmails Julia Stone into sleeping with Mike Baldwin. Greg uses photos of the tryst to blackmail Mike into paying him £10,000. This however is not enough for Greg. Greg needs money, but he lusts for revenge.
"He feels that his life has been ruined, especially by Baldwin, and also by Sally. He was well on his way to success in business, but that all got screwed up when she opened her mouth and Baldwin put him out of business. As a result he lost his relationship which I guess he didn't care very much about, lost his home, car and living, and went through some kind of breakdown. So he is now obsessed with Mike Baldwin and desperately needs money if he is to get his life going again," Stephen said. (WOMAN, May 1999)Greg attempts to blackmail Mike further, Julia betrays Greg. Greg tricks Sophie, Sally's small child, into letting him into Sally's house. Using Sally and her children as bait, he attempts to lure Mike into a meeting at Sally's house to settle things once and for all. This sets up a first for Coronation Street. An entire 28 minute episode is dedicated to one storyline. This episode which people have referred to as the "siege episode" redefines the genre. It is a incisive exploration into terror. Sally and Kevin, of course, feel terror at having Greg menacing their children. And Sally Whittaker and Michael LeVell do a wonderful job of portraying this. But Greg too is overtaken by panic at seeing his reality collapse around him. Stephen shows us what it is like when all of one's assumptions about the rules that govern the world cease to operate. It is as though, for Greg, gravity no longer operates, things now fall up instead of down. Greg never intended to kidnap the children. He never intended to threaten violence. In fact, in his mind, making the call from Sally's flat was a way of avoiding violence. He watches in horror as his simple phone call fails to bring him the money he expected, and his panic leads him further and further into violence. He desperately casts around for an explanation for the horrible things he cannot seem to believe that he is doing, spitting out venomous hatred for Sally and Mike, trying to balance the enormity of his own acts. As the program progresses, Greg becomes more and more desperate and less and less able to cope. Eventually he is so close to total catatonia that the petite Sally is able to overpower him. Stephen projects desperation and confusion with such intensity that it is painful to watch. Even knowing the conventions of soap opera, one believes that it is a very real possibility that Greg will do in the children, Sally and himself."He wants to punish Mike and Sally as much as he can and he thinks he is going to get away with it."
As we were told after the first nine months, we are told that this probably represents the end of Greg Kelly. We are not convinced! Even Stephen does not appear to be totally convinced.
"There are no plans for me to come back after this, but who knows? Personally, I think there is a lot more Greg could do, " Stephen said. (Inside Soap, May 1999)We may not have seen the end of Greg Kelly, the once and future king of soap opera actors (and more!).
Pictures in this table courtesy of Mike Plowman
Coronation Street Visual Updates- Click on a Date to Enter the Greg Kelly Visual Updates Pictures Pages - UK Canada
FRIDAY SUNDAY MONDAY WEDNESDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY 14 May 99 16 May 99 12 July 99 13 July 99 7 May 99 9 May 99 12 May 99 5 July 99 6 July 99 8 July 99 3 May 99 30 June 99 .
