Brian Tilsley

Brian Tilsley.

Brian John Tilsey was a character in Coronation Street from 1978 to Ep 2910 - 15 Feb 1989. He was the first husband of Gail Platt. Brian was played by actor Chris Quinten.

Originally Ivy said in 1975 that she was never blessed with children, but when the shows producers decided to make her a regular character in 1979, this "never been able to have children" remark was overlooked when they decided to give her a 21 year old son.

Backstory

Brian John Tilsley was born on the 15th October 1958, the only child of Bert Tilsley and Ivy Tilsley (Nee Nelson). Ivy had a difficult birth and could not have any more children after Brian but was happy that Brian was born.

1978-1989

Brian Tilsley in 1987.

Brian and Gail married in November 1979, and a year later the pair of them had a son together named Nick. But the marriage was far from a blissful one, and they divorced in the mid-1980s and at one point Brian didn't know if Sarah Louise was his as Gail had a fling with his cousin Ian Latimer, son of Brain's aunt Ethel Latimer nee Tilsley. Turned out later on that Brian was the father. In February 1988, Brian and Gail married a second time for the kid's sake, but it proved to be a fatal error as they weren't happy with each other. In June 1988 Ivy Tilsley married Don Brennan and Brian gained a stepfather. In February 1989 Brian and Gail had another argument and he stormed off intending to go into town and pull a girl. When trying to defend a girl outside a night club from yobs, he was subsequently stabbed. An ambulance was called, however Brian died that night. He was buried at North Cross Cemetery.

Legacy

Brian and Annie in 1983. Brian wants to speak to Fred Gee about his car.

Gail was distraught at the death of Brian. Also Ivy Brennan was devastated and this started to affect her marriage to Don Brennan. Ivy became obsessed with the memory of her deceased son. In 1991, Gail remarried to Martin Platt, who had lived in the street the same time as Brian did. Nick saw Martin as a father and called him "dad" in front of Ivy. Ivy said "Martin you mean. Your real dad is in heaven".

Her obsession over her dead son made Don and Ivy drift apart and they split up. Don had affairs, and he even said living with Ivy was like living with "God's Hitman". Ivy died in 1995.

In 1998, almost 10 years after Brian's death, his son Nick was at college and attended a class where a convicted killer called Darren Whateley said about how bad prison was. Darren then mentioned how almost 10 years earlier he stabbed a man outside a nightclub. Darren then said the man was about 30, a car mechanic and had 2 kids. Darren then said that him and his mates were tanked up, and started annoying this woman, and the man he stabbed came to help the woman and that is when Darren stabbed him. Nick then realised that he was attending a class headed by his father's killer. Nick thought of ways to get back at Darren.

Nick set Darren up and used his own wife Leanne Tilsley as a pawn in his game. He put Leanne's life in danger when Darren was released. Darren broke his licence and was sent back to prison for another 5 years.

In July 2016 Brian was mentioned by Gail after her daughter-in-law Kylie Platt was stabbed and died. When supporting her son David, she revealed how tough it was telling Nick about Brian's death and urged him to tell him and Kylie's two children Max and Lily the truth what happened and make sure they understand.

In March 2018, 29 years after Brian died, a psychic claimed to be recieving messages from dead people whom Audrey Roberts was connected with, including her husband Alf and son in law Brian.

Behind the Scenes

• Brian's existence is a major retcon in Ivy Brennan's original early to mid 1970s history, which had mentioned she was childless and unable to have them. In 1975 Ivy actually said she "had no children as she was unable to have them" yet in 1979 her 21 year old son Brian arrived with her husband.

Memorable info

Appearances: 27 December 1978–15 February 1989

Born: 15th October 1958

Died: 15th February 1989

Parents: Bert Tilsley & Ivy Brennan

Siblings: None

Grandfathers: Jim Nelson

Grandmothers: Alice Nelson

Spouses: Gail Potter (1978–1987, 1988–1989)

Children: Nick Tilsley (1980), Sarah Louise Platt (1987)

Grandchildren: Bethany Platt, Billy Platt, Harry Platt

Great Grandchildren:

Aunts/Uncles: Trevor Tilsley, Ethel Latimer, Sheila Nelson

Cousins: Ian Latimer