A face who may be familiar to some Mancunians is joining the cast of Coronation Street, and will play a role in what is being described as a “shocking storyline”.
The longest-running British soap – which is set in the fictional Manchester town of Weatherfield and has been on our screens for an impressive sixty years – has signed up a former Greater Manchester Police officer-turned actor to appear in some significant scenes this week.
We’ve all heard of life imitating art, but for Oldham-born Daniel Jillings, it’s a case of art imitating life as he takes on the role of PC Brody in Corrie.
He may have been a police officer earlier in his career, but Daniel has been making a name for himself in the world of acting for quite a few years now, and is known for his role as Mick Cooper in the World War Two film Enemy Lines, opposite Ed Westwick and John Hannah, as well as also having appeared in Hollyoaks as Billy Parker, and Doctors and Casualty.
Surprisingly though, assuming the new role of PC Brody won’t actually be the first time Daniel has appeared on Corrie, and it’s also not his first time playing the role of a police officer.
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He also played the role of PC Ashcroft on the ITV soap back in 2012 too.
Away from his television career, Daniel also co-founded the children’s bereavement charity Once Upon a Smile in 2011 with Emmerdale star Danny Miller, and in 2019, the charity opened Manchester’s first dedicated children’s bereavement centre, Sidley House.
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But what can we expect from Daniel’s new Corrie character? And what do we know about the so-called “shocking storyline” he’s set to be a part of?
As some fans may be aware of, it has already been revealed that characters Michael and James Bailey will become victims of an unprovoked racist attack, and viewers will see the siblings test drive a sports car after James is offered £30,000 for his interview after publicly coming out.
A police car then pulls them over and when James questions the officer as to why, the officer arrests James for obstruction and handcuffs him.
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James then trips and injures his leg just as Craig Tinker come rounds the corner to see him in agony.
It’s a case of art imitating life as Daniel Jillings takes on the role of PC Brody / Credit: Twitter (@DJillings) / ITV
Michael’s convinced that they’re victims of an unprovoked racist attack and tries to convince James to make a complaint, yet he refuses – but the pair are then shocked to discover that someone filmed their arrest and posted the video online, leading to James accepting that they should make a formal complaint to the police.
We then see more of PC Brody when he confides in Craig that James and Michael have lodged a formal complaint about the arrest and accused him of racism, and later in the week, PC Brody sidles up to Craig and asks him not to mention the fact that he thought James’s driving was fine and didn’t warrant being pulled over.
But what will Craig do? Viewers will have to keep their eyes peeled as episodes featuring the new storyline begin tonight at 7:30pm.
Featured Image – ITV
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Home Bargains has announced a special two-day closure of all UK stores
Emily Sergeant
Home Bargains has, once again, announced it’ll be closing all its UK stores on both Boxing Day and New Year’s Day this year.
And it’s to make sure staff get a ‘well deserved break’.
After what has been yet another busy year for the retail industry, many workers have been left feeling like they could do with a little extra time off, which is why Home Bargains is following on with what has become a now-annual tradition by shutting up shop on two bank holidays.
All of our stores will be closing for Boxing Day & New Years Day.
Announcing the move in a post on social media, the discount retailer confirmed: “All of our stores will be closing for Boxing Day and New Years Day. We would like to thank all our colleagues for how hard you have worked this past year, and want you to relax and enjoy the Christmas break with your loved ones.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time the retailer has kept its doors shut on bank holidays.
Many shoppers will recall it has made the same decision to give hardworking staff a break every year since 2019.
Explaining a little more about the decision taken to close all its stores, Home Bargains said: “As a family-run business, we know the importance of being together at Christmas with those we care about most, now more than ever.
“This is our way of saying thank you to our colleagues for their continued hard work and dedication.”
Featured Image – Geograph
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Two Greggs in Manchester will be serving their breakfast menu in the evening next week
Emily Sergeant
Who says breakfast has to end at 11am?
In news that’s set to be music to the ears of breakfast lovers in Manchester, Greggs is giving them exactly what they want.
We all know that brunch is a ‘thing’ by now, so now it’s time for brinner to make a name for itself instead, as Greggs has teamed up with Heinz to bring its much-loved breakfast menu back for tea time, kicking off from 4pm onwards.
The move comes as a new survey has found that the majority of Mancs (69%) admit to enjoying eating breakfast food in the evening, saying it’s ‘convenient and comforting’ – even ranking breakfast as a ‘more important’ meal than tea, as well (38% vs 36%).
Two Greggs in Manchester will be serving their breakfast menu in the evening next week / Credit: Greggs (Supplied)
Greggs says it has ‘lost count’ of the amount of customers that have tried to order breakfast items after the usual cut-off time, especially in Greater Manchester.
But luckily for those breakfast-loving Mancs, they can finally get their favourite breakfast and sauce pairing long after the morning rush is over next… but only at two Greggs branches, and only for a very limited time.
On Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 October, the Heinz x Greggs Brinner collab will be available at Greggs St Mary’s Gate and Greggs Oxford Road, from 4-7pm only.
“We’ve lost count of the number of customers who have tried their luck ordering breakfast after 11am, so when Heinz came to us with the idea of making Brinner a reality, it felt like the perfect excuse to give the people what they want,” explained Zoe Harris, who is the Customer Director at Greggs.
“And let’s be honest, a Greggs Bacon Roll just wouldn’t be the same without a squeeze of Heinz Tomato Ketchup.”
Emily Sergeant -
26th July 2021 
