CORONATION Street actor Simon Gregson was asked to leave a club after taking off his shirt and dancing topless on furniture at a co-star’s leaving do. And the fun-loving soap star raged at bouncers who tried to boot him out. A witness said: “He was the life and soul of the party but took it a […]
CORONATION Street actor Simon Gregson was asked to leave a club after taking off his shirt and dancing topless on furniture at a co-star’s leaving do.
And the fun-loving soap star raged at bouncers who tried to boot him out.
A witness said: “He was the life and soul of the party but took it a bit far and it annoyed the bar staff and bouncers in the end.”
Simon, 47 — who plays Steve McDonald in the ITV soap and was runner-up on last year’s I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here — had been out for co-star Alexandra Mardell’s leaving bash.
Former Corrie star Katie McGlynn was also with them.
The Sun on Sunday’s exclusive video shows Simon topless and arguing with bouncers as they attempt to pull him down from a piece of furniture.
Read more on Simon Gregson
It shows him with his belly overhanging his dark jeans, rowing with two bar staff, gesticulating at one of them, as they remonstrate with him over his antics.
As some crowd members shout abuse, a bouncer twice grabs his arm as he orders him down at the Albert’s Schloss bar in Manchester’s Deansgate area.
A lip-reading expert said Simon could be seen apparently saying “f**k” and then “f**k you” as the two members of staff try to calm him down. He then appears to say “I will get down” before leaving the stage.
After he had got up with his shirt off, some crowd members booed and one shouted abuse at the actor.
By Michael Hamilton
SIMON Gregson is known to love stripping off — and showed off his body regularly on I’m a Celebrity in November.
He posed with ripped ex-footie ace David Ginola, 55, and joked: “Do we look like twins?”
Simon added: “David is like Superman and I’m more like Winnie the Pooh . . . both have their places in this world.”
The star went topless, in bowler hat and bedazzled feather wing collar to sing with a drag queen at his 45th birthday bash in October 2019.
That was at the New York New York bar in Manchester’s gay village — a favourite haunt of his and wife Emma, 38.
When he was on I’m A Celeb, Emma said: “It’s always been a safe place for Simon to cause mischief on the stage.
“He always ends up dancing on tables and loves stripping off at parties.
“He’s got a thing about being free.”
Simon, who joined Corrie in 1989, and Emma wed in 2010 and have three sons. In 2015, he posted a picture of him and his pregnant wife showing off their bellies.
Above his was the word “beer” while she had “baby” above her bump.
Street veteran Simon — a regular on the cobbles since 1989 — was out to say farewell to Alexandra, who plays his on-screen daughter Emma Brooker.
Earlier in the night, Simon was pictured hugging Alexandra, 28, and her boyfriend Joe Parker.
A source said: “Simon was acting pretty wildly — but more in the sense that he was in high spirits and getting carried away.
“He had obviously had a good night and was out with a lot of the Corrie cast and crew.
“But towards the end of the night Simon obviously thought it was a good idea to jump up for a topless dance. He was on a piece of furniture using it as a type of makeshift stage.
“He seemed to already have his shirt off and was gyrating and showing off his beer belly.
“The crowd were laughing and cheering, with a lot of people egging him on, and most people there saw the funny side. But some clubbers were shouting abuse at him as well, which was unnecessary.
“It was all a bit of a laugh but it’s quite a plush venue and having a topless middle-aged bloke with a pot belly dancing around on stage at the end of the night is not the sort of image they want to project.
“They didn’t seem to care that he was a celebrity and Simon looked pretty angry to be stopped in his tracks by bouncers.
“He thought the staff had failed to see the funny side and seemed to argue with them.
Simon was acting pretty wildly — but more in the sense that he was in high spirits and getting carried away. He had obviously had a good night and was out with a lot of the Corrie cast and crew.
A source
“In the end, after a bit of gentle persuasion Simon did what he was told — although he obviously thought they were being killjoys.
“He was taken down and was then made to put his clothes back on. He was then asked to leave the bar. Simon was being spontaneous but misjudged the situation.”
A bar source added: “Simon is a regular and is in here quite a lot. But on the night in question, he was a bit merry and had to be dealt with as such.”
Ex-Corrie favourite Katie, 28, who played Sinead Tinker until two years ago, was seen getting between Simon and a bouncer in an effort to defuse the row.
She later posted a snap of herself taken at the do wearing a revealing yellow dress and with her arm around Alexandra.
Other stars at the bash included Millie Gibson, who plays Kelly Neelan, Colson Smith (Craig Tinker), Georgia Taylor (Toyah Battersby), Elle Mulvaney (Amy Barlow) and Mollie Gallagher who plays Nina Lucas.
Alexandra posted pictures of the do on Instagram the next day and wrote: “Face ache from smiling and hardly any photos are a sign of a fab night! Can we do it again?
“Huge hugs to everyone who came to say ta-ra for now! Had the best night with you all! Big big love.”
The Corrie crowd were seen in the Alchemist bar in Manchester’s MediaCity earlier that evening — before some of the stars continued on to Albert’s Schloss, which opens until 2am.
Alexandra’s character Emma was introduced to Corrie in 2018 as the secret daughter of Steve and his ex-girlfriend Fiona Middleton, played by Angela Griffin.
Scriptwriters have left a return to the soap for her open.
A Corrie source said: “Steve and Alex got on very well on the set — they worked closely together as father and daughter, and had a few laughs on the way.
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“That is why he was out — and was the life and soul of the party at her leaving bash.”
The Sun on Sunday approached Gregson’s representatives for a comment.
By Laura Armstrong
HE is known to millions as the Street’s favourite cabbie, Steve McDonald.
But the real Simon Gregson was little known to the public. That, of course, all changed when he joined I’m A Celebrity.
His down-to-earth ways and quick wit saw him become a fan favourite.
People warmed to him as he is a normal bloke, who loves his family.
Our exclusive video shows him, like many before him, getting a bit carried away at a boozy leaving do. Is it a good look? No. But his army of fans will forgive him.
