Frank Bardsley was a short-term boyfriend of Sean Tully in 2022.
Frank first introduced himself to Sean in May 2022 when he was served by Sean in the Rovers Return. Frank explained that he had arranged to go on a date with a man that he wasn't overly keen on and Sean came up with an idea to help Frank give him the slip. When Frank's date Don showed up Sean put on an act and accused Frank of deceiving men with various false identities and for having an undeclared STD. An alarmed Don fled the pub and Frank gratefully thanked Sean. When Frank left Jenny Connor and Daisy Midgeley encouraged Sean to go after him as there was an obvious spark between them. Frank agreed to give Sean his number so that they could see each other again.
Their next date a few weeks later saw Sean's landlady Eileen Grimshaw incorrectly assume that Frank was a door-to-door salesman when he turned up at 11 Coronation Street as he wasn't Sean's usual type. Eileen accompanied Frank and Sean on their date to the Rovers and later introduced Frank to her partner George Shuttleworth who Frank instantly recongised as his old school friend 'Georgie Porgie'. Frank regaled Sean and Eileen with tales about his and George's school days leaving George visibly uncomfortable. George later confided in Eileen that Frank had been a bully and tormented him throughout his school years to the extend that he was too scared to go to school. In order not to see Frank again George returned home.
Against George's wishes Eileen confronted Frank about the bullying and asked him to apologise to George. Frank acted surprised about George's objections toward him and offered to take him and Eileen out for a meal. George feigned ignorance and made out that he barely remembered their interactions at school. During dinner at the Viaduct Bistro George began to wonder if Frank actually had changed but when he caught Frank whistling a song that he used to torment him with in school he accused Frank of doing so knowingly to intimidate him.
A few weeks later Eileen had grown fed up of George avoiding Frank as it was causing an uncomfortable environment. Her son Todd sided with George and suggested that they needed to catch Frank out for being a bully. In an attempt to make Sean see Frank's true colours Todd intentionally spilled ice tea over Frank in the cafe. Frank momentarily lost his composure but caught himself before Sean could notice. When Eileen overheard George and Todd forming another plan to expose Frank she warned the pair to leave him alone as he had clearly matured. However, George later overheard Frank apparently threatening someone over the phone and reported back to Sean about what he had heard. Sean finished with Frank having been moved by George's story, but Frank later won him over by claiming that he had been helping a friend prepare for an acting audition. Having reunited the pair agreed not to let George's persecution complex destroy their relationship.
When Sean's son Dylan Wilson arrived to stay with him Sean worried how he and Frank would get on. Frank took Dylan's impending arrival badly as he wanted Sean to himself and disappointed Sean by turning down his offer for dinner at No.11 pretending that he didn't want to intrude on Dylan's first night. George and Todd were intrigued when they heard about Frank's excuses for missing Dylan's first night. When Frank and Dylan met they had an awkward exchange and Dylan was more interested in visiting George at the Undertakers than stay and get to know his dad's boyfriend. Frank suggested a holiday but Sean wasn't keen when he realised that it would just be the pair of them and not Dylan. Frank mollified Sean by suggesting he and Dylan could have their own father-son holiday instead.
Sean later annoyed Frank when he canceled their date to take Dylan to a football match, but Sean decided to invite Frank along instead. After the match Frank viciously accused Dylan of being spineless for not retaliating against another player and told him that he would be ashamed of him if he was his son. Sean overheard the exchange and furiously ended their relationship refusing to accept Frank's excuse that he had simply been trying to prep Dylan for the real world.
List of appearances[]
2022