Richard Hillman

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Villain Overview Synopsis Gallery

Evil-doer
Full Name	Richard Charles Hillman
Alias	Richard Hillman "Tricky Dicky" Hillman "Norman Bates with a briefcase" Richard "That Hillman Fella" Mr. Hillman
Origin	Coronation Street
Occupation	Financial advisor
Powers / Skills	High intelligence Criminal intuition Intimidation Vast resources Deception
Hobby	Spending time with his wife Gail Platt and their children.
Goals	Prevent his murderous crimes from becoming public knowledge Kill his ex-wife Gail Platt along with her family (both failed).
Crimes	Fraud Conspiracy Manslaughter Theft Obstruction of justice Kidnapping Murder Assault Stalking Trespassing Arson Breaking and entering Robbery Incrimination Child abduction Attempted uxoricide Attempted familicide
Type of Villain	Homicidal Opportunist

“	I killed for you, Gail! Would any man you've ever known do that? Did Brian or Martin love you that much? They didn't even love you enough to stay with you. They betrayed you, like most men do, with their seedy little affairs. I would never do that to you, if you live for a thousand years, you'll never find anyone who loves you more than me.	„
	~ Richard attempting to justify his actions to his beloved wife Gail Platt.

“	You should have stayed at the party, Maxine.	„
	~ Richard's most infamous quote, and one of the show's most famous lines of all-time, as he is discovered by local resident Maxine Peacock shortly before killing her.

“	This is it! I LOVE YOU!	„
	~ Richard's last words before his death.

Richard Charles Hillman is a fictional character and major antagonist of the British soap opera Coronation Street. He first appeared in 20th June 2001 became the show's main antagonist up until his departure on 14th March 2003, after which the character would serve as a overarching antagonist in the subsequent years on the show itself.

He was portrayed by Brian Capron. 

Development

Introduced as the alleged cousin of Alma Halliwell in June 2001, Richard developed a close relationship with Alma's close friend Gail Platt and they eventually got married in July 2002.

At first Richard appeared to be a successful financial adviser and a family man, but secretly had debt problems and a shady past. Ultimately, despite living the apparent perfect family life with Gail and her children Sarah and David altogether, Richard went to extreme measures to get out of his monetary difficulties - which consequently led to his involvement in the deaths of three people; as Richard left his business partner Duggie Ferguson to die after the latter fell off a bannister and later murdered his ex-wife Patricia Hillman in 2002, before ultimately killing local resident Maxine Peacock in 2003 and managing to briefly implicate Sarah's troublesome ex-boyfriend Aidan Critchley behind the crime. Over the course of these events, Richard attempted to kill Gail's mother Audrey Roberts and her long time friend Emily Bishop; with the former attempt leading to a wedge-issue with Audrey after she discovered his true colours, and the latter attempt indirectly staging the events of Maxine's murder.

Once his deceit and murderous crimes were finally revealed to Gail on the night she and Richard were due to leave Weatherfield to start anew in February 2003, Richard went into hiding and became the most wanted person in the UK. In March 2003, however, Richard secretly returned with the intent of committing suicide and killing his family. After kidnapping Gail and her children alongside Sarah's infant granddaughter Bethany altogether, Richard tried to gas them before driving them into a canal when Gail's ex-husband and David's father Martin discovered this and gave chase. However, although the family managed to escape before being rescued by Martin and his friends, Richard himself died after drowning in the canal and his body was later identified by Gail and Audrey. The follow-up of Richard's death saw Gail being the only person to attend his funeral as a way of closing the chapter on their history. Despite his demise, however Richard's memory cast a shadow over the Platt family for over a decade to come - up to the point where the extent of his villainous deeds caused David to go down a dark path.

Although not the first killer or original villain to appear in the show, Richard Hillman was the first regular character to become a murderer.

Personality

At first glance, Richard Hillman seemed to have it all. A charmingly handsome and rather successful businessman who was adept at forming relationships with whoever he met. He quickly won over Gail Platt and her family, marrying her not long after meeting her. Despite his smooth exterior, Hillman was a ruthless and dishonest opportunist who specialized in conning many elderly people out of their savings through dodgy shares in his property business. His illicit behaviour escalated into murder and attempted murder, killing three people. He left his business partner to die from a fall, then murdered his ex wife in a fit of rage, and ultimately killing Maxine Peacock when she unwittingly walked in on his latest murder attempts. As such he was meticulously malicious with his attempt on Audrey Robert’s life, with a sinister plan to convince her she had dementia. Despite his homicidal tendencies, however, he felt enormous remorse for killing Maxine.

Impact

Richard's storyline would lead to the inspiration of many similar storylines on Coronation Street as well as other soap operas for many years to come.

Richard Hillman made a huge impact on the legacy of the show, with numerous producers and writers looking to replicate his infamous murder storyline with an array of new antagonists on the street. These followed similar patterns, normally with a seemingly normal man who would settle down on the street before his world collapses forcing him to commit murder (or multiple killings) out of desperation and trying to cover his tracks. This character would also typically be romantically involved and may also marry a female street resident, who would be initially oblivious to their husband's true nature. The stories would also have a climactic end with the killer normally being killed off.

Examples of these antagonists include Tony Gordon, John Stape, Karl Munro, Gary Windass and Pat Phelan alongside many more. One could say Phelan himself is probably the most notorious since Richard, due to him clocking up a body count of four victims during his reign of terror, and similarities to Richard himself such as being involved in property development, being involved in debts, and also killing off people in order to cover up his crimes. In 2022 the show reintroduced Richard's former brother-in-law (Gail's half-brother) Stephen Reid to the show, where he became the show's new main antagonist and also a killer, with the story also bearing a lot of similarities to Richard Hillman. Even the producers themselves have compared to plotline to Hillman, with them even jokingly stating Stephen may meet a watery demise in the canal.

Richard's popularity would even lead him to be mentioned numerous times and acting in the role of an overarching antagonist in several stories, due to his death ruling out any chance of a return. This included a storyline in 2006 when the Platt family received multiple cards apparently from Richard Hillman, which turned out to be his unhinged stepson David Platt, who was the most traumatised after nearly being killed by Richard. In 2018 Gail was also apparently contacted by Richard from beyond the grave, although this turned out to be a scam.

Other soaps may have been influenced by Richard Hillman, this includes Doctor Paul Browning and Silas Blissett from Hollyoaks, as well as Lucas Johnson and Gray Atkins from EastEnders.

Victims

Murders

• Patricia Hillman: Hit over the head with a spade.
• Maxine Peacock: Beaten to death with a crowbar

Manslaughter/Indirect

• Duggie Ferguson: Left Duggie to die after he fell down a stairway.

Attempted

• Audrey Roberts: Tried to kill in house fire.
• Emily Bishop: First planned to asphyxiate; later bludgeoned with a crowbar.
• Gail, Sarah, David and Bethany Platt: Attempted to drown in the canal during a murder-suicide bid. They survived and Richard died.

Trivia

• Prior to playing Richard Hillman, Brian Capron played a social worker called Don Worthington between 1981 to 1986.
• The newspapers published claims in 2005 that Richard Hillman would make a reappearance in 2006, and that the body Gail identified wasn't his. However this was false rumour, and although there was a storyline that involved the Platt family being harassed by cards signed from "Richard", this was her son David Platt.
• Brian Capron returned for a cameo in the 2010 Coronation Street DVD film A Knight's Tale as a boatman named Dickie. The character paid homages to Richard Hillman and was implied to be a cousin of the character, with characters Norris Cole and Curly Watts noticing the resemblance between the two.
• Brian Capron briefly reprised the character as part of a Halloween Tour at the Coronation Street set in October 2014.