Rob Mallard interview: Can Daniel bring Phelan down?

Tell us a bit about Daniel’s new job as a journalist for the Weatherfield Gazette.
After his plans of going to Oxford came crashing down around him, Daniel was left with a blank slate and, as devastating as that was, it was a very liberating thing for him.

How is he finding his new job?
Daniel is looking for a story and obviously this story just seems to fall in front of him. Daniel starts with Yasmeen and she puts him in direction he needs to go in.

What is it that makes him think he has a story with Phelan?
When Daniel tries to speak to Phelan, straight away Phelan dismisses him when it's just the two of them. But when there are more people around he's incredibly useful and can’t help enough. The two sides of Phelan makes Daniel think that there is something else going on here.

What has Daniel and Phelan’s relationship being like prior to this?
The interaction that they have had in the past is finding Ken at the bottom of the stairs. Daniel was guilty in that scenario and Phelan’s response was to be suspicious of Daniel. I think they have both underestimated each other and it will be interesting to see if each of them realise how clever the other one is.

Do you think there are similarities between Daniel and Phelan then?
They are both incredibly calculating and they are both social manipulators. They have both learnt how to avoid subjects, for example Daniel had to avoid talking about where his mum was and his homelife. Daniel is very good at recognising if a conversation is about to expose him and he knows how to push it in a different direction and Phelan is brilliant at that as well.

What goes through Daniel’s head the moment Phelan mentions Anna?
The plot thickens. Obviously there is expected to be a lot of people living on that street involved in the scam but I don't think Daniel realises how involved all of his neighbours actually are in this story. The worst thing that Daniel thinks that Phelan has done is scam people so it terms of his threat level, he sees Phelan as an opportunist who tried to make away with a lot of people’s money. He is not yet aware at how much danger he is in.

Why doesn’t Daniel listen to Anna’s warnings to stay away?
Because it is a very dramatic statement that she makes. At first Daniel thinks of it as being more personal gripes between them two and that she's throwing mud at Phelan. Daniel doesn't realise how much danger he actually is in with Phelan.

How much danger is Daniel in with Phelan?
You know when there is a fly that just won’t stop? It’s like that relationship at the minute, Phelan is the waterhog and Daniel is the little blue bottle that keeps flying around his head. Inevitably he is something that needs to be swotted.

At what point does Phelan realise that Daniel is a real threat to him?
Anna gives him Todd and then he goes to the nursing home which lights a fire underneath Phelan. Up until that point Phelan just thinks he is a student writing a little piece and when Daniel goes to the nursing home, Phelan panics.

What’s the best thing about filming with Connor McIntyre?
He doesn’t blink! He is constantly locked in. Connor just stares you down and he has a lot of gravitas as a performer.

Do you think romance is on the cards for Daniel with Cindy?
I am hopeful that it will be because I really liked working with Esther Hall. Daniel doesn’t trust women because he keeps getting hurt by them but Cindy comes in with opportunity for him.

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