Here's what Simon Gregson’s Coronation Street brother Andy McDonald is up to now

1 December 2021, 11:04

Simon Gregson reveals his kids put the pressure on him for I'm A Celebrity

By Heart

@thisisheart

Who played Andy McDonald in Coronation Street and where is he now?

After getting settled into the I’m A Celebrity castle, Simon Gregson has been talking about his Coronation Street past.

And fans of the show will remember he previously starred alongside Nicholas Cochrane who was his onscreen twin brother Andy McDonald.

But who is Nicholas Cochrane and where is he now?

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Who played Andy McDonald in Coronation Street?

Nicholas Cochrane played Andy from 1989 until 1997, and also made guest appearances in 2000, 2004, 2009.

His storylines included dropping out of Sheffield University to marry his girlfriend Amy Nelson, before she got back together with her boyfriend in Trinidad.

He also worked at the Rovers and dated the likes of Paula Maxwell and Anne Malone, the latter of whom he lived with for a while.

In 1997, Andy was caught up in Gerry Turner's armed siege at 11 Coronation Street and soon after he left for a new life in Barcelona, where he became an English teacher.

He briefly returned in 2009 to see Steve's wedding to Becky Granger.

Where is Nicholas Cochrane now?

Now, 24 years since Nicholas left Corrie, he certainly looks a lot different, but he hasn’t left acting behind.

After his time on the soap, Nicholas starred in ITV police drama Heartbeat, where he played golfer Barry Scripps.

Sticking to his roots, the star has starred in many Coronation Street-related entertainment documentaries including Farewell Liz, A Nightmare on Coronation Street, The Kids from Coronation Street, Women of Coronation Street and The Stars of the street 50 years 50 classic characters.

In 2012, the actor then went to Canada to star in a theatre tour called Tales from the Street, which saw him and other Coronation Street stars talk candidly about the soap.

His other TV appearances include Loose Women, South Bank Show, Live and Kicking, To Me To You, Confessions, Win, Lose or Draw and Celebrity Eggheads.

In 2019, Nicholas also played Dean Telford in Doctors.

Aside from acting, he also co-launched a short-lived magazine about soap operas and has also had brief stints on local radio stations in Derbyshire.

Nicholas has also previously turned his hand to TV presenting, with appearances on Granada TV and MUTV where he interviewed footballers Roy Keane and David Beckham.

As for his theatre career, the star went on to work in a nationwide tour of Spring and Port Wine with the Middle Ground Theatre Company and has appeared in a string of pantomime productions

He is currently making his first film, A Study in Red: The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper and lives in Manchester with his wife Denise and their two children.