It's Roy v the online mob

Storyline has echoes in real life, says star

- NICOLA METHVEN 

For decades Roy Cropper has been the kind-hearted oddball of Coronation Street - but he is about to be falsely accused of murder.

And actor David Neilson hopes the shocking storyline helps to shine a light on the bullies of social media.

David, 74, compared today's keyboard warriors to the "old-fashioned lynch mob in the village".

In the soap, 18-year-old Lauren, played by Cait Fitton, has disappeared and Roy, who has taken in waifs and strays for years, falls under suspicion.

The storyline has echoes of Roy's arrival on the cobbles in 1995. He was branded "Creepy Cropper" as locals realised he was stalking Deirdre Barlow, played by the late Anne Kirkbride.

But viewers and characters alike soon realised Roy's heart was in the right place.

David says he has enjoyed being taken back to the early days of his character by the plot.

"It is reminiscent of that early Roy when people were suspicious of him," he says. "And this will be used against him."

It took a while for Roy to become the much-loved character he is today. David recalls: "When I first came into the show, I heard a couple chatting and one said: "There's that weirdo from Coronation Street, and I thought, 'Wow'.