Former CBBC presenter Andrew Hayden-Smith is joining Coronation Street as part of a hard-hitting domestic-abuse storyline.
The Doctor Who and Banana star will play Pete Lang, a business associate of Theo Silverton who is in a relationship with Todd Grimshaw.
That relationship has taken a dark turn in recent weeks with Theo displaying disturbing behaviour and the tension is set to increase next week things when Theo and Pete clash after hooking up.
But it’s Todd who’s set to suffer when he accidentally spills a milkshake in Theo’s car.
Hayden-Smith announced his role earlier this month with a post on Instagram. The image showed the actor in front of the Rovers Return, with the caption, “Off to Weatherfield… BRB. Catch me on the cobbles soon.”
Who is Andrew Hayden -Smith?
The actor made his name as Ben Carter in the popular children’s show, Byker Grove. He’s also had roles in Russell T Davies’ Banana and Cucumber, two connected series that followed the lives of several gay men in Manchester.
And he played freedom fighter Jake Simmonds in three Doctor Who stories: “Rise of the Cybermen,” “The Age of Steel,” and “Doomsday.” Many will recognise him as Hollyoaks detective Gavin Armstrong, a part he played from 2016 to 2017.
In 2005, while working as a presenter on CBBC, Hayden-Smith, then just 21 and not out as gay publicly, was approached by a British newspaper which was planning to run a story about his sexuality.
Speaking to QX magazine in 2018, Hayden-Smith revealed that his boss advised him to do take control of the situation by speaking to Attitude magazine. “So I did it,” the actor said, “and nothing more was said about it. It was great.
“I got lots of nice letters from parents, actually. I think the press can sometimes make celebrities coming out seem like a bigger deal than it is. Most people really don’t care.”
Hayden-Smith has been dating Dan Maton for several years and shared a snap of themselves kissing at Brighton Pride in 2017.
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