Chesney Brown

Chesney Brown
Coronation Street character
Portrayed by	Sam Aston
Created by	Chris Parker
Duration	2003—
First appearance	14 November 2003
Classification	Present; regular
Spin-off appearances	Out of Africa (2008)
Profile
Date of birth	26 July 1994
Home	5 Coronation Street
Occupation	Student (until 2010) Market stall holder (since 2010)
Family Mother Cilla Battersby-Brown Adoptive father Les Battersby Half brothers Billy Brown Half sisters Fiz Stape Sons Joseph Brown Nieces Hope Stape Romances Kayleigh Morton (2008) Katy Armstrong (2010—)

Chesney Brown is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor Sam Aston, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 14 November 2003.

Chesney is brother to Fiz Brown and son to Cilla Battersby-Brown. While his upbringing was not as traumatic as Fiz's early years, Chesney was often left home alone and had to put up with the many "uncles" Cilla brought to their flat. Chesney found some stability with Les Battersby, but Les abandoned the family after a few years, with Cilla soon following. An increasingly bitter Chesney was left to be taken care of by Fiz, but her relationship problems often overshadowed her duties as guardian.

He has struck up an on-screen duo with Schmeichel, his beloved pet Great Dane that has been played by several different dogs since the original died. On 14th November 2011 Schmeichel dies after many years of being a member of the Corrie cast.

Storylines

Chesney arrived in 2003 as the brother of Fiz Brown (Jennie McAlpine) and son of Cilla Brown (Wendi Peters). Cilla's boyfriend Les Battersby (Bruce Jones) takes them in and Chesney soon bonds with Les and sees him as the father figure he never had. Chesney also gets on well with Fiz's then boyfriend Kirk (Andrew Whyment) who is also a lodger at the house.

In 2004, Rita Sullivan (Barbara Knox) once clips Chesney around the ear for repeatedly stealing sweets from her shop. However, Chesney falls against some shelving and hurts his head. He isn't hurt badly but when Cilla learns of the incident she spots an opportunity for compensation. She happily makes the most out of her son's injuries. The Battersby-Browns have Chesney checked up at the hospital, with Cilla prompting her son to complain of fake symptoms so that he would be certified with extreme concussion as a result of Rita's 'abuse'. Rita is arrested and charged with assaulting a minor and Cilla sets about trying to ruin Rita's reputation.

Cilla coaches Chesney into saying the 'right' answers and Rita is ordered to pay £500 in damages to the family and £500 in court fees. Disappointed with the court payment, Cilla threatens Rita with civil court action if she does not pay a £3,000 out of court settlement. Rita puts the Kabin on the market and prepares to leave the area, but Les talks Cilla out of the compensation action and Rita stays in her rightful place. Rita continues to hate Cilla, but bears no ill will against Chesney, even taking him in one night when he has nowhere else to go and later employing him to do the paper round.

Chesney attempts to run away after his mum leaves without him but Les takes him back in. He is given a pure breed Great Dane dog, Schmeichel, named after Danish footballer Peter Schmeichel, by Maya Sharma (Sasha Behar). He also makes friends with Sophie Webster (Brooke Vincent).

In 2005, he cons several residents at Easter into giving him chocolate eggs. That August, Schmeichel is run over by a bus driven by Claire Peacock (Julia Haworth), leaving Chesney devastated, but his companion pulls through. Chesney accidentally walks in on Sally Webster (Sally Dynevor) when she is in the shower. Chesney sought revenge on Les, after Les tells everyone about him seeing Sally, which threatens his friendship with Sophie. Nevertheless, Chesney and Sophie have remained close friends.

In 2007, Les leaves Weatherfield to work as a roadie. Aside from the occasional phone call, he has no contact with Chesney. Chesney had often been closer to Les than anyone, and has a hard time adjusting to Les' absence. By the end of 2007, Cilla also chooses to leave Weatherfield. Chesney is upset, but has become used to his mother always putting herself first.

In March 2008, Chesney is taken to a foster home as Kirk cannot take care of him properly. Claire later reveals that she reported them to the Social Services, in Chesney's best interests. Chesney is later enabled to return home after Fiz agrees to move into Number 5, though with much reluctance, as Kirk, who is her ex-boyfriend, is living there.

In July 2008, Chesney is dismayed to see the return of Fiz's ex John Stape (Graeme Hawley) who cheated on her with Rosie Webster (Helen Flanagan). John buys Chesney a bike for his birthday which he rejects when he finds out who it has come from. In a fit of rage Chesney also breaks the wing mirror on John's taxi.

Chesney is horrified to find out that Fiz has been consulting John Stape about his education, and regularly visiting him in prison. This leads to a falling out between the pair, as Chesney is angry that his sister cares more about a "psycho" than she does him. Chesney later finds out that Fiz and John are engaged and, in a fit of rage, he steals Fiz's engagement ring and crashes Rosie Webster's new car, nearly running over Anna Windass (Debbie Rush) in the process. In the end, Chesney goes to John and Fiz's wedding.

In July 2010, Chesney meets Katy Armstrong (Georgia May Foote) and is instantly attracted to her. He has since been seeing her, much to the annoyance of Katie's father, Owen Armstrong. In December 2010, Fiz gives birth early after a Tram Crash, Chesney supports Fiz through the birth.

In January 2011, Fiz and Chesney discover that baby Hope has a hole in her heart and are shocked by this but Chesney comforts Fiz after John goes into hospital after a breakdown. In March 2011, Hope comes home and Fiz tells Chesney he will have to get rid of the dog, so he and Katy move out and Katy suggests they have a baby of their own

While cooking dinner for Chesney, Katy tells a estatic Chesney that she is pregnant with his baby, and they decide to keep it a secret. Chesney begins to grow suspicious of John Stape, so goes to see Charlotte Hoyle's parents, who tell him that John (who they call Colin) was engaged to Charlotte, and he made the decision to switch her life support machine off, much to Chesney's horror. He later confronts John, who denies any involvment in Charlotte's death and Joy Fishwick's suspicious death. John, realising that Chesney is starting to work out the truth, takes him to The Hoyle's house, to sort it out, but it is revealed that John is holding them hostage in their cellar, and before Chesney can run, John ties him up too. John lies to pregnant Katy that Chesney has run away, leaving her devastated.

Chesney manages to untie himself and The Hoyles on 27 May, after the bar they were tied to breaks. They try to break the door down, but John has locked it. Dorothy Hoyle suggests that maybe John has left, but unknown to them, he has dug up the body of Colin Fishwick, which he buried a few months earlier.

Chesney later escapes after his sister, Fiz Stape, works out the truth about John and follows him to the Hoyles, and Fiz reveals to a horrified Chesney that Katy is about to have an abortion, and Chesney races to stop her, he gets there just in time, and he apologises for his absence, and the police arrive to arrest John, who attacks Maria Connor (Samia Smith) while she is looking after baby Hope.

Casting

Sam Aston was chosen to play Chesney after training at a local drama group, Carl Godby’s Theatre Workshop. It was revealed by producers that he was named after 1990s icon Chesney Hawkes.^[1][2]

Aston's siblings have also appeared in the show his sister Emily Aston played Becky Palmer from 1996 till 1997 and his brother Joseph Aston played Tommy Duckworth in 2000.

Character development

Storyline development

In July 2010, it was announced that Chesney will hook up with newcomer Katy Armstrong (Georgia May Foote) in a storyline which will involve the 17-year-old losing his virginity.

A spokesperson for Coronation Street said "We have all seen Chesney grow up so it’s going to be a huge milestone for him and the viewers. We all remember that sweet little kid who first arrived in the Street with his mum Cilla. But that was seven years ago and he’s about to become a man. The storyline will be handled responsibly and the two characters will discuss what contraceptives to use."^[3]

In February 2011, it was announced that Katy Armstrong will decide that she wants a baby with Chesney in a forthcoming storyline. Katy (Georgia May Foote) will make the suggestion of starting a family to Chesney in the weeks ahead - leaving him shocked as he believes they are too young for parenthood.

However, after Katy continues to push the idea, Chesney (Sam Aston) is expected to change his mind and begin looking for a flat that he can rent with his girlfriend.

Discussing Fiz's reaction, a Coronation Street source said "After just having a child herself she knows how hard it is. She doesn't want him ruining his life by becoming a dad when he's still a kid." Whether Chesney and Katy will go ahead with their plan to become parents is currently unclear."^[4]

Reception

Sam Aston was chosen to present the Queen with a bouquet of flowers at ITV's 50th anniversary in 2005. The actor has revealed in an interview that since he has joined the show, he seems to not get much attention from girls. He claims that as Chesney is more of a geeky character, women over 65 stop him in the street and offer to look after him.^[5][6][7] Aston won the nomination for the Best Dramatic Performance from a Young Actor or Actress in 2005. In 2007, he was nominated for Best Young Actor,^[8] though Eden Taylor-Draper, who plays Belle Dingle from Emmerdale, won the award.^[9] Sam was also nominated for the Best Child Actor in 2008,^[10] though yet again did not receive the award.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Coronation Street: Out of Africa

References

1. ^ "Chesney Battersby-Brown". itv.com. 2007-04-16. http://www.itv.com/Soaps/coronationstreet/castandcharacters/atoe/ChesneyBattersbyBrown1.html. Retrieved 2009-02-14. 
2. ^ "Chesney Battersby-Brown". What's On TV. http://www.whatsontv.co.uk/soaps/coronation_street/whos_who/chesney_battersby_brown. Retrieved 2009-02-14. 
3. ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s3/coronation-street/news/a237992/corries-chesney-to-lose-virginity.html
4. ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s3/coronation-street/news/a302629/baby-storyline-for-teen-corrie-couple.html
5. ^ Crawford, Sue (2008-10-22). "Chesney: The only women I meet are 65.. and they just want to adopt me". The Mirror. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news-old/top-stories/2008/10/22/chesney-the-only-women-i-meet-are-65-and-they-just-want-to-adopt-me-115875-20827253/. Retrieved 2009-02-14. 
6. ^ Rollo, Sarah (2008-10-22). "Aston: 'The only women I meet are 65'". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/a133356/aston-the-only-women-i-meet-are-65.html. Retrieved 2009-02-14. 
7. ^ "No romance for Corrie kid". The Metro. 2008-10-22. http://www.metro.co.uk/fame/article.html?No_romance_for_Corrie_kid&in_article_id=367827&in_page_id=7&in_a_source=. Retrieved 2009-02-14. 
8. ^ "Inside Soap TV award nominations in full". The Metro. 2007-07-03. http://www.metro.co.uk/fame/article.html?in_article_id=55625&in_page_id=7. Retrieved 2009-02-14. 
9. ^ Green, Kris (2007-05-27). "The British Soap Awards 2007: The Winners". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/a58280/the-british-soap-awards-2007-the-winners.html?page=2. Retrieved 2009-02-14. 
10. ^ Green, Kris (2008-03-21). "Digital Spy Soap Awards 2008: The Winners". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/a92054/digital-spy-soap-awards-2008-the-winners.html. Retrieved 2009-02-14.