Will Mellor Joins Coronation Street!- Corrie Blog Press Day Interview

2021 sounds almost space-age, doesn’t it? I remember watching Back To The Future in the late 1980s, as though it was yesterday, and imagining how futuristic 2015 sounded! A weird start to a Corrie blog post maybe, but I tell you that because it’s one of my earliest TV watching memories. We’ve all got them, haven’t we? Being a Coronation Street fan, we all have those memories of first watching the show, our fave character actors, and maybe wonder what they are doing now? How many of our fave actors in other shows have landed on Corrie? 

There has been a few for me, and as a comedy fan, Red Dwarf’s Craig Charles was a great addition to the cast. Talking of BBC comedies, I cannot believe it was 20 years ago since BBC3 launched Two Pints of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps  (picture above) on its then-new youth channel. Becoming a huge fan, I went to watch it being filmed live at BBC studios, back in 2005. A star was born in (now national treasure) Sheridan Smith, and ex-Hollyoaks actor, Will Mellor, who played a jack-the-lad type in the coming-of-age sitcom. 

It could almost be seen as synchronicity then (these things usually are) as fast-forwarding 16 years and I’m sat at my laptop ready to join another Coronation Street Press event to interview Will Mellor (WM) who is about to make his debut in Weatherfield as the latest bad boy incarnation! Will walks onto the cobbles on March 12th as Harvey, the leader of the local drugs gang that Simon Barlow has got involved with. Harvey piles on the pressure and even Leanne gets dragged into the drug dealing escapades. 

In the role for a short-term period of 4 months, we talked to actor Will Mellor to find out more ; 

Q - Have you ever starred in Coronation Street before? 

WM -  “No I haven’t. I always said if I was asked I would jump at it. It’s something I grew up with an used to joke about it. I would say as a northern actor, I must be the only one who hasn’t been asked to do it! the character is very different - I love this character and I’m very chuffed to be here!”

Q- It’s been 26 years since you were last in a soap (Hollyoaks). Is this the first villain/baddie that you have played? 

WM - "He is a different kind of baddie than any I've played before. I played a baddie in Merlin as a Knight so that was a completely different realm. I was also in Eastenders for about four episodes, playing a guy who tried to rape someone, so that was different. Harvey is a seasoned pro, a bad guy, who's turning normal people into drug dealers; the lowest of the low if you ask me. There’s an arrogance that comes with this character. I don’t want to be stereotypical but you have to be realistic and believable. I want them to see the character and not Will Mellor, that’s what matters to me" 

Q- You are coming into Corrie and Harvey is going to be rubbing up against long-established characters like Leanne Battersby and Simon Barlow. How does that feel? 

WM - "Well, I was a little bit worried, or apprehensive to be honest. People who are die-hard corrie fans believe this show, and care about these characters, it has to be believable, but they must know that it’s not me! But I wouldn’t be doing my job properly if it wasn’t believable! I am expecting to get a little bit of grief but I’m quite glad I’ve done a lot of stuff before, so they know I’m not a drug dealer!" 

Q- You’ve got quite the costume for Harvey. Is that an important part of the role for you, as an actor? 

WM - "Absolutely, as soon as you put the clothes on, you walk differently. Harvey wears a ring and a chain and you immediately get that swagger. I’m also wearing my late dad's ring for the character. I thought it would be nice to incorporate it into the character and that way my dad is with me on set all the time. He was a massive Corrie fan and he would be so proud that I was in the show, so this way he is also in the show with me. Harvey wears a lot of street design and bling, he doesn’t do the suit or drive a Bentley, he is still grafting and dealing. The wardrobe team have done a great job’’ 

Q- Leanne has been through a tough time and thinks she can take on Harvey, but he doesn’t care she’s lost her kid, does he? He has no empathy with these people

WM - ‘’No, it’s all about self-gain for him. What he likes about Leanne and Simon is that they go under the radar. Simon is a young kid, with no criminal record, and if anything goes wrong it doesn’t land on him. That’s the problem with these people. Leanne is vulnerable he tells her she’s got a nice face, and she looks, unlike the rouge’s gallery he’s used too. He even gets her to dress up in a nurse’s outfit, as a frontline worker to deliver drugs, he just doesn’t care. The writing is really good and I don’t wanna be a cartoon baddie, these people are out there’’

                                                                     *****

So, are we looking forward to Will Mellow joining the cast? Does Harvey look like he could be a baddie in the Pat Phelan mould, maybe? What are your thoughts on this Corrie county lines story? I would have loved to have seen Will Mellor act alongside Bev Callard (Liz McDonald) again but it looks like that won’t happen. If you get a chance do check out Bev in ‘Two Pint’s...’ online, she plays quite the part!

Another great Corrie press day! keep your eyes peeled for a new article next Tuesday. 

@rybazoxo cobbles connoisseur 

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