Thousands gathered for yesterday's Manchester Pride parade, which contained a touching tribute to Martyn Hett, the PR executive and viral content creator who lost his life in May's terror attack.
Fans of the 29-year-old's hilarious social media feeds will know he was a huge Coronation Street fan who even had Deirdre Barlow's face tattooed on his leg. So it was heartwarming to see the ITV soap paying tribute to Hett by including the #BeMoreMartyn hashtag that went viral after his death on their pride float.
After the parade, Coronation Street actor Antony Cotton paid tribute to Hett from the Manchester Pride main stage, telling the crowd: "We have been very, very lucky today to have some people here with us, and we've been very proud to have the parents and the boyfriend of Martyn Hett. Russell is here and Martyn's parents are here."
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Russell, standing on stage with other Corrie cast members, was then introduced to the crowd to a chorus of cheers, the Manchester Evening News reports.
Antony Cotton then added: "When Martyn left this current world at the Ariana Grande concert none of us ever believed that that could happen. But what we want to say on behalf of the Coronation Street cast and crew is Be. More. Martyn!"
Hett, who "exited like a diva" at a genuinely epic funeral in June, would surely have loved the idea of being celebrated by Coronation Street stars at Manchester Pride. He'd also have been thrilled to see Pride revellers wearing T-shirts emblazoned with his face, and his favourite word: "Iconic."
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