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.
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.
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.
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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Pep Guardiola hints at when Manchester City fans can expect to see their latest arrival
Danny Jones
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has given supporters a rough timeline as to when they can expect to see their new signing, or at least their latest arrival, make his first appearance.
The Blues wrapped up the January transfer window with four major signings: their new attacking number seven, Omar Marmoush (who has already bagged a hattrick on his home debut) promising defensive duo, Abdukodir Khusanov and Brazilian Vitor Reis, as well as their ‘mini-Rodri’, Nico Gonzalez.
However, the club has had another late arrival who was technically signed back at the start of last year but who has spent for the last 12 months or so loaned back to his previous parent club, River Plate in Argentina, waiting to make the move over to the Etihad Stadium – and now he’s here in Manchester.
Speaking on his touchdown in 0161, Pep said Claudio Echeverri won’t be thrown into first-team action straight away but did give a rough estimate as to when City fans could expect him to get involved. You can see him discussing the integration plan in his post-match press conference following the Spurs win.
The mention was only brief but there’s still plenty of reason for Man City fans to be excited by the late January signing.
“Yeah, he [Claudio Echeverri] is going to start to train and mainly will be for the end of the season, maybe the [Club] World Cup and as soon as possible [that] he arrives he can adapt quick for the future.”
As mentioned, the 19-year-old Argentinian attacking midfielder from Resistencia officially put pen to paper with CFG back in January 2024 and was quickly dubbed ‘the next Messi’.
Now, although the football world is often quick to jump the gun with these things and he isn’t the first and certainly won’t be last to be slapped with this premature title, he’s done more to back up these claims since then than he has rubbish them.
Starring at the 2025 Under-20 South American Championships, netting six goals in nine games to finish the tournament as the second highest scorer thanks to notable braces against Brazil and Uruguay as the young Argentine’s finished as runners up.
He also notched 48 senior appearances for River Plate thus far, netting four goals and grabbing eight assists in that time, not to mention having already captained his national team at the 2023 Under 17s World Cup, where he scored another five.
Safe to say there’s plenty of talent to be tapped in this lad.
Once again, Echeverri won’t go straight into the senior set-up for a little while yet, barring a major injury crisis, but he’ll be a more than exciting addition to the City Football Academy and for future first-team lineups for years to come.
Who knows, maybe he’ll be included in an FA Cup matchday squad? Nevertheless, you can expect him to not just come of the bench but hopefully show what he can do at the Club World Cup this summer.
City‘s first fixture as reigning champions of the competition will be against Moroccan side Wydad AC on 18 June 2025.
You can watch Echeverri’s first full interview as a Man City player down below:
The new Man City signing is excited to be finally be part of the club 13 months on from agreeing his contract.
Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025
Emily Sergeant
Rochdale has officially been named Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture for 2025.
Taking over the reins from Bolton – which held the title in 2024 – and following in the footsteps of Stockport before that, which held the title in 2023, and even hosted a massive ‘Town of Culture Weekender’ festival with 50+ free events to celebrate and bring its title year to a close, it’s now the turn of the north-eastern Greater Manchester borough of Rochdale.
Rochdale’s year will build on the town’s already-rich cultural history and international reputation as the home of the co-operative movement.
More than 35 arts organisations will be bringing together an ambitious programme of festivals, exhibitions, events, and performances throughout the year.
Unfamiliar with what the ‘Greater Manchester Town of Culture’ title is all about? It’s an accolade that’s handed out every year to different boroughs across the region.
Bury was the inaugural title-holder 2020 and held onto it in 2021 too due to the COVID pandemic, before being followed by Stalybridge in 2022, Stockport in 2023, and of course, Bolton in the year just gone.
The title celebrates Greater Manchester’s culture and heritage.
As well as getting a new title to shout about, it also sees the towns given a grant from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) culture fund to help develop a programme of cultural events and activities throughout the year.
Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025 / Credit: The Manc Group | Rochdale Council
In Rochdale’s case, you can expect the ‘very best local talent’, as this year is promising to put ‘people power’ centre stage, with residents helping to plan, develop, and deliver a lineup of creative activities, alongside a number of major events.
This includes the popular free days out for families, an exciting new urban arts festival, two different food and drink festivals, a lantern parade, the Ignite Fire Festival, a Pride parade, and so much more.
You can also expect live music performances, a new people’s gallery, and even some major international collaborations that are yet to be announced.
Rochdale is taking over the reins from Bolton, which held the title in 2024 / Credit: Rochdale Council
“Rochdale is a place with a rich cultural history, so it is great to name it Greater Manchester’s town of culture as it’s town hall and town centre enter a new era,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham as the borough was crowned this week.
“Rochdale submitted a fantastic bid for this which, was incredibly exciting and ambitious, while being firmly rooted in its local talent and deep history.
Emily Sergeant -
26th July 2021 
