My parents were in a cult... I have seen what they can do to people

Corrie actor suited to self-help guru role

- NICOLA METHVEN

CORRIE actor Emrhys Cooper - who plays creepy self-help guru Rowan Cunliffe - has told how his hippy parents were sucked in by a real-life cult.

Emrhys says mum Raphaela and dad Christopher were hoodwinked by wellness enthusiasts who tried to separate them from each other and their cash.

His mother also suffered a heart attack after following the advice of a holistic doctor.

The actor grew up in Devon but moved to the US, then returned to play Rowan, who offers Leanne Battersby "support" in the soap.

Emrhys, 39, said: "Growing up in Totnes, a new-age town and a breeding hub of gurus and holistic doctors, my parents met a few Rowan types. I witnessed some of the dangers of these types of characters. My mother's health was severely affected by some very dangerous advice she received.

"She had a prescription for high blood pressure and a holistic doctor told her that he could get her off it with some herbal remedy. She had a heart attack.