| Sean Tully | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antony Cotton as Sean Tully in 2011 | |||||||
| Coronation Street character | |||||||
| Portrayed by | Antony Cotton | ||||||
| Introduced by | Jane MacNaught (2003) Kieran Roberts (2004) |
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| Duration | 2003, 2004— | ||||||
| First appearance | 13 July 2003 | ||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||
| Spin-off appearances | "East Street" (2010) | ||||||
| Profile | |||||||
| Date of birth | 12 September 1976 | ||||||
| Home | 11 Coronation Street | ||||||
| Occupation | Machinist at Underworld Barman at The Rovers Return |
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Sean Tully, is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor Antony Cotton, the character first appeared on screen during the episode airing on 13 July 2003.[1] Sean works as a factory machinist, and as a part-time barman in the Rovers Return Inn.
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Sean first appears in July 2003 at a hospital party. Sean's character is introduced as a friend of Martin Platt (Sean Wilson)'s fellow-nurse Karl Foster (Chris Finch), who, unknown to Martin, is gay.
The character is seen again in April 2004 when Karl and Todd Grimshaw (Bruno Langley) have a night out on Manchester's Canal Street. In August, after Todd has left the Street, Sean comes to Coronation Street, desperate for somewhere to live. Todd's mother, Eileen Grimshaw (Sue Cleaver), likes him and offers him a place to stay. Her other son, Jason Grimshaw (Ryan Thomas), is not pleased. When Eileen and Jason fall out over Todd leaving, Sean moves out briefly while they rebuild their relationship, but later moves back in.
Sean is a stereotypical gay character, who has had several brief and shallow relationships during his time on the Street; one of these was with vet Tim Whitein 2005. Sean works at Underworld, where he has made friends with Fiz Brown (Jennie McAlpine) and Kelly Crabtree (Tupele Dorgu). Kelly sees Sean's homosexuality as a challenge, and tries to seduce him, but is accidentally bruised by Sean when he pushes her away. Angrily, she tells people he has hit her and he loses his job at Underworld. His boss Danny Baldwin (Bradley Walsh) (whose nickname for Sean is "Mincemeat") guesses the truth and gives Sean back his job. Sean and Kelly make up their quarrel.
In 2006, Sean meets his "father" Brian (Tim Healy). He and Sean's mother split when Sean was ten. On Father's Day, Brian tells Sean that he is not his biological father, confessing that Maureen (Susan Brown), Sean's mother, had an affair while Brian was away at sea. She never told the other man about Sean.
Violet Wilson (Jenny Platt) becomes Sean's closest friend, and she asks Sean to spend time with her boyfriend, Jamie Baldwin (Rupert Hill), to find out whether Jamie is seeing someone else. Sean is shocked to discover that Jamie is in love with his stepmother, Frankie Baldwin (Debra Stephenson). Sean supports both Violet and Jamie when Violet ends their relationship.
In February 2007, Michelle Connor (Kym Marsh) introduces Sean to her new boyfriend, Sonny Dhillon (Pal Aron). Sean and Sonny are former lovers, but Michelle is unaware of Sonny's bisexuality. When Sean and Sonny rekindle their relationship, they are seen by Jamie and Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson). Michelle's brothers, Liam (Rob James-Collier) and Paul Connor (Sean Gallagher), question Sean about Steve's claim and insist that he tell Michelle, ending her relationship with Sonny.
In June 2007, Sean supports Violet's strong desire to have a baby and agrees to be the father of her child, which is conceived by self-administered artificial insemination. Violet has been told that her chances of conceiving were reduced following an ectopic pregnancy, but she becomes pregnant and Sean accompanies her to her 12-week scan. Sean and the sonographer, Marcus Dent (Charlie Condou), flirt and soon begin dating. They hit a rough patch when Sean tricks Marcus into telling him Violet is expecting a baby boy. Violet had not wanted to know the baby's gender. When Violet finds out from Jason, she is furious and threatens to report Marcus. She later gets back together with Jamie, and argues constantly with Sean during the remainder of her pregnancy as she does not want him to take an active role in the baby's upbringing. However, Sean lends Violet and Jamie money for a flat deposit.
Violet realises she is in labour at the Rovers' on 22 February 2008. Jamie has just left for London and Sean goes after him, but fails to bring him back. Sean supports Violet as she gives birth to their son, Dylan. As he is born, Sean says that he was the first person his son had seen. He 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, names her son "Dylan James Wilson", and puts Jamie's name on the birth certificate.
On 29 February, Jamie, Violet and Dylan move to London. Sean refuses to believe they have gone forever and blames himself. Violet even throws her mobile away so Sean can't contact her. Sean asks Marcus to check hospital records to find them but Marcus refuses, saying he would lose his job if he was found out.
When Sean is jealous of Marcus staying with an ex in London, it becomes clear that it is time to move on. On 3 September 2008, at a party at Liam's, Sean falls for Tom Kerrigan (Philip McGinley), a cousin of Liam's. Sean asks Tom if he minds if he kisses him, Tom declines and Sean storms off. Nevertheless, Sean and Marcus split up a couple of days later.
On 3 July 2009, Sean meets a man called Leon (Andrew Langtree) at the gym, and is soon attracted to him, however, Leon is more interested in Jason.
In 2010, 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 site and sets up a page using Liz McDonald (Beverley Callard)'s identity (Violet would have worked for Liz during her time on the Street). 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. She also has a word with Violet on Sean's behalf, and she agrees to Sean visiting her and Dylan in London.
In 2011, Sean and Marcus will reconcile and have a civil partnership on Coronation Street, the first such event in the programme's history.
Antony Cotton has won a number of awards since the character's first appearance, including a prestigious National Television Award. In 2006 he won an award for Funniest Character at the Inside Soap Awards[2] along with Best Actor at the British Soap Awards in 2007.[3]