Andy Whyment has had a lot to celebrate with his family this week. The Coronation Street actor’s son and daughter both marked their birthdays and the proud dad sent them both separate messages to share how proud he is.
The ITV star is a Coronation Street legend, and one of soap’s longest-running characters. He has played the role of Kirk Sutherland on the Cobbles since 2000. Kirk is the older brother of Maria Connor and former partner of Beth Sutherland.
Kirk first appeared in May 2000 with his younger sister Maria, when he was seen by a jealous Tyrone Dobbs. She explained the mix-up when they next met. After his arrival on the street he quickly became friends with Les Battersby and acted as best man at his wedding to Cilla Brown. Over the years, he has been involved in many different storylines.
While fans may only know Andy from his on-screen counterpart, he leads a very different life off-screen to that of his fictional character. He happily married Nicola Willis in 2007 and the couple have since introduced two children into the world, Thomas and Hollie.
On Instagram today, October 12, Andy posted pictures of his son through the years. He captioned it: “Happy 17th Birthday Tom, enjoy your day. Love you son.”
Best friend and fellow Coronation Street colleague Alan Halsall replied “Happy birthday Tom”, with a car emoji and praising hands emoji. Sally Metcalfe star Sally Dynevor wrote “Happy Birthday Tom” and Tanisha Gorey, who plays Asha Alahan on the soap added “Happy Birthday.”
Earlier this week, Andy also celebrated his daughter’s birthday. He said: “Happy 15th Birthday Hollie, we love you very much. Enjoy your day.” Birthday messages were sent to Hollie from other Coronation Street stars and fans of the Kirk Sutherland star.
Alan Halsall has been a constant point of support for Andy over the years, and the role is reversed. While they have appeared on screen for over two decades together, their relationship off screen is extremely close.
Andy was sharing a flat with his co-star, Alan Halsall, when he met Nicola and she hilariously admitted it took a few months for her now husband to stop acting “like an idiot”. She said: “He was single and sharing a place with Al. He was just giving it big time and not doing what I wanted him to do.”
The Corrie star spoke in an interview with OK! Magazine in 2017 about his wife and said he is a lucky man. He said: “I’ve been punching above my weight for years – she’s gorgeous! I’m a very lucky bloke.
“We’ve been together 14 years and we just don’t argue. We get on so well.” Andy regularly shares an insight into his happy life on social media as the family regularly enjoy luxurious trips abroad together.
“Earlier this month, they enjoyed a trip on MSC Cruises as Andy said: “Some pictures from our 10 nights onboard @msccruisesofficial Orchestra visiting more new places making memories together.”
The family recently returned from a trip to Paphos together as they “made more memories” as a family. Whenever he has time away from the Cobbles, Andy tries to go on holiday with his family as much as he possibly can.