A soap star has found himself on the receiving end of bizarre “bigotry” claims from disgruntled social media users after suggesting Easter should still be celebrated in schools.
Actor Daniel Brocklebank, who stars in ITV’s Coronation Street as Vicar Billy Mayhew, delivered his verdict on the news that a school in Hampshire had cancelled its annual Easter service out of “respect for diversity”.
Norwood Primary School in Eastleigh, Hampshire, sent a letter to parents informing them that it would neither be holding its “Easter bonnet parade” nor its Easter service ahead of the festival this April.
However, the school will still keep in place its plans to celebrate “Refugee Week” later this year.
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The school’s headteacher Stephanie Mander said the decision had been made out of “respect for diversity”.
She added that “by not holding specific religious celebrations, we aim to create a more inclusive atmosphere that honours and respects the beliefs of all our children and their families”.
Inevitably, the decision angered several parents who flocked to the school’s Facebook page with their verdict – and it also irked the likes of GB News’ own Ben Leo and Miriam Cates.
ITV star Brocklebank decided to use his platform to join the calls against the move, simply typing on his X page: “Dear Schools, Please don’t cancel Easter. Kind regards, Dan.”
Dear Schools,
Please don’t cancel Easter.
Kind regards,
Dan.
— Daniel Brocklebank (@Dan_Brocklebank) March 23, 2025
Despite his post being relatively straightforward and to the point, disgruntled X users took the opportunity to claim the soap star was guilty of “inciting hate” – with others even branding him a “bigot”.
Within the replies to Brocklebank’s post was one such critic who raged at the soap star: “Oh, wow, you’re as insufferable in real life as you are on Corrie!”
Another hit out: “No one is cancelling anything. Stop inciting hate. Stick to acting!”
“Dear Dan, Please don’t jump on the bandwagon,” a third argued. “Easter can be celebrated by children’s families. It’s not a school’s responsibility to hold chocolate & egg hunts to celebrate a man who was allegedly killed 2k years ago but now resides in the sky watching & listening 24/7.”
“I see Dan has been added to the daily culture war outrage grift email list,” a fourth slammed before a fifth ridiculously claimed: “Dan’s a bigot. Pass it on.” (sic)
Brocklebank did receive the support of several other X users, however, who were quick to blast the idea of erasing Easter celebrations and defend the soap star’s seemingly uncontroversial take.
After news of the cancellation of Easter celebrations at Norwood Primary School emerged, the aforementioned former Conservative MP Cates appeared on the People’s Channel to echo the stance shared by Brocklebank.
Cates hit out: “Of course, many people aren’t practicing Christians. But nevertheless, Christianity is absolutely part of our heritage, our constitution.
“If you strip away celebrations like Christmas and Easter, you’ve got to ask what is there left that can count as British heritage?
“So of course, this is utterly ridiculous and it is always Christianity that gets cancelled. It isn’t the other religions, is it?
“This is just an example of woke culture, which is all about getting rid of the majority and imposing minority rule. This is just another example.
“Of course it varies school to school. There are many schools that still celebrate the Christian festivals. There are many schools that still have an absolutely Christian ethos. Lots of schools are run by the church, but whether this is a headteacher overreacting to a parental complaint or an activist teacher, who knows?
“But they do seem to be getting very confused between what is kind of British culture and forcing religion down their throats.”