Coronation Street's Rob Mallard reveals battle with neurological disorder could end his acting career

Every time Rob Mallard steps into the Rovers Return as his soap character Daniel Osbourne, he has to focus intently on not spilling his pint.

The 32-year-old actor suffers from essential tremor, a progressive neurological disorder that causes shaking. The star has now revealed that his condition is gradually worsening and fears it could potentially end his career.

Rob first noticed a minor tremor in his left hand when he was 14 years old. "It started to get pointed out more often by people at school, friends and family," he remembers. "I eventually went to the doctor to see if I could get a diagnosis," reports the Mirror.

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After a year of tests, his GP diagnosed him with essential tremor, a condition affecting a million people in Britain, but only 15 per cent have even heard about. Rob adds, "He said, 'If your symptoms get bad, we'll see if we can medicate to alleviate them, but there's nothing we can do'."

It wasn't until Rob was in his twenties and performing on stage that the condition began to interfere. "It would distract from the performance," he says.

Beta blockers, typically used for irregular heart rhythms but can also help with tremors, made no difference. "It didn't stop the tremor, but stopped me being able to do my job, because you've got to come into a scene at a certain emotional level."

Since joining the Corrie cast in 2016, he has been developing techniques to manage his condition. "I will practice actions over and over again. Trying to break something down into smaller parts has been the easiest and best way to hide the tremor."

But he says holding a pint is his biggest challenge. "If I'm already in the scene, I'll get them to give me a drink that's two-thirds gone. There's not much chance of me spilling that. But if I come into the scene and order a pint the chances are it'll be up to the top. That's when the issues start."

Rob's condition has worsened so that it now affects both hands, his arms and neck. "Sometimes my voice will shake too," he adds.

People often wrongly assume Rob has been drinking. "Using a chip and pin, and your hand's going and you get a 'look' from the cashier. You don't blame them... my first thought would be, 'Did you drink a bit too much last night?' too."

"If I'm at a table with people, mine will be the plate that looks like a two year old has eaten. I can't use gaming devices either. On Call of Duty, I couldn't shoot straight if you paid me."

"There have been moments, like in the gym, lifting something when somebody has come over and asked me if I was OK because the weight's shaking above my head. I've had to explain it's fine, I've got this tremor."

Coronation Street's Rob Mallard has spoken out about his worsening health issue that is affecting his life both personally and professionally. He shared, "In the last 10 years it has become a lot more pronounced and if it follows that trajectory in my personal life it's going to be difficult and annoying. Professionally it could be career-ending."

Though there have been suggestions to integrate his condition into his character on the show, Rob is hesitant: "It has been suggested that Coronation Street wrap it into the character, which I'm not averse to, but I'd rather not do that now. I don't want it to pigeonhole me."

While he may consider a potential treatment in the future, hes currently dedicated to supporting others through his work with the National Tremor Foundation: "I was embarrassed about it for years," admits Rob. "Eventually I just had to choose to own it."