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| Kirk Sutherland | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Coronation Street character | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Andy Whyment (2000–present) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2000–present | ||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 22 May 2000 (2000-05-22) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Jane MacNaught | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Book appearances | Coronation Street: The Complete Saga (2008) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Spin-off appearances | Coronation Street: Out of Africa (2008) Coronation Street: Text Santa Special (2013, 2015) What Would Kirk Do? (2014–2015)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Kirk Sutherland (also known asMark) is a fictional character from theBritishITVsoap operaCoronation Street. The character first appeared on-screen as "Mark" during the episode airing on 22 May 2000, played by an uncredited walk-on actor. He was renamed Kirk and has been played byAndy Whyment since October 2000.
Whyment resigned fromCoronation Street in September 2003 in order to appear in the latest addition to theCarry On series,Carry On London.[2] However, after the film's scripts were delayed and amidst rumors that it would perform poorly, Whyment pulled out and returned toCoronation Street in a £60,000 deal.[3] In 2012, Whyment said that he was committed to staying withCoronation Street. As he was in his eleventh year of playing the role and it remained "great," he hoped it would be "a job for life."[4]
In 2013, it was announced that Kirk would start a romance withBeth Tinker (Lisa George). Their relationship begins when Kirk rescues Beth from a date and becomes aggressive with her. Talking about the romance, Lisa George said, "Usually the viewers only see Beth as the really gobby person in the factory. But there are some really nice, tender little moments in this storyline, and Beth is quite open and honest with Kirk. I think it's really nice that the audience will get to see that."[5]
Kirk first appears whenTyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall) mistakenly believes that he isMaria Sutherland's (Samia Ghadie) boyfriend. Maria explains that Kirk is her brother and co-owner of Weatherfield Kennels. Kirk becomes good friends with Tyrone andJason Grimshaw (Ryan Thomas) and starts datingFiz Brown (Jennie McAlpine), whom he met at a flat-decorating party. He becomes also friends withLes Battersby (Bruce Jones) acting as best man at his wedding and living with him at some point. Kirk loses the kennels following a lawsuit over the accidentalneutering of a pedigree specimen and proposes to Fiz, but she breaks up with him to be with her first love,John Stape (Graeme Hawley), leaving Kirk feeling broken and humiliated.
After Fiz' mother and Les' wifeCilla Battersby-Brown (Wendi Peters) leaves the street forLas Vegas, Kirk is left to look after her son,Chesney Brown (Sam Aston). Kirk fails to provide adequate care for Chesney, and he is subsequently taken intofoster care. When Fiz returns from a holiday, she is furious but forgives Kirk. She manages to get Chesney home, but she has to move in with them, making Kirk believe she still has feelings for him. Kirk leaves to visit his parents inCyprus for several weeks. Fiz dreads him coming home while she is providing a home for Chesney. On his return, he reveals that he has a new girlfriend calledJulie Carp (Katy Cavanagh), whom he fell in love with in Cyprus. Kirk moves out of the flat as he feels he is in the way of Fiz's life. He moves between Maria's and Tyrone andMolly Dobbs's (Vicky Binns). Kirk applies for a job atUnderworld as a machinist, but loses out toIzzy Armstrong (Cherylee Houston). However, ownerCarla Connor (Alison King) offers him a job as a delivery driver. Kirk soon forms a strong friendship with Izzy and develops feelings for her. WhenGary Windass (Mikey North) is arrested for assaulting a man who was hassling Izzy, Kirk makes a false statement to the police that it was he who committed the crime. Gary, Kirk,Tommy Duckworth (Chris Fountain) and Tyrone later abductLeon Southam (Colin Parry), whose girlfriend,Ruth Walsh (Rebecca Callard), has been bullying Fiz in prison, which leads to Leon going back to prison.
Later, Kirk is put in charge of helping colleague Michelle's sonRyan Connor (Sol Heras) in the packing department atUnderworld, as Michelle is punishing Ryan for an incident involving setting fire toSteve McDonald's (Simon Gregson) house. While left alone, Ryan takes advantage and fakes a severe injury in order to take time off. Michelle andRob Donovan (Marc Baylis) take Ryan to the hospital, but no injuries are shown. However, later, Ryan announces that he plans to sue Underworld. Months later, Kirk meetsBeth Tinker (Lisa George) and begins a relationship with her. Kirk and Beth get married in an 1980s-themed wedding and then spend the night together at a posh hotel as a wedding gift from Carla. In the next year, Kirk accompanies Beth to her school reunion, in which Beth insults Kirk in front of an old school rival. Kirk then moves in withNorris Cole (Malcolm Hebden). Norris is lonely; they become close as they spend several evenings playing board games. Beth eventually wins Kirk back in a plan set up by Chesney and their girlfriend Sinead.
For his portrayal of Kirk, Whyment was awarded "Best Comedy Performance" at the 2003British Soap Awards.[6] He won the award for the funniest character at the 2004Inside Soap Awards.[7] Whyment was also nominated for "Funniest Performance" at the2007Inside Soap Awards.[8] Laura Morgan ofAll About Soap wrote that she "simply could not imagine" Coronation Street without Kirk and his "gormless grin."[9] In 2004, Ian Hyland of theSunday Mirror questioned whether there was a "better comic actor in Britain today than Andrew Whyment."[10] Kirk and Beth's wedding was described as "possibly the tackiest event in soap all year" in theInside Soap Yearbook 2016.[11]