Yahoo News Corrie star reacts to Rob Donovan's return
He's baaack! Coronation Street aired an intriguing return for Rob Donovan on Wednesday night (April 19), as Tracy Barlow was seen paying a visit to her killer ex at the disused gym.
Rob has been on the run for a few weeks now and Tracy has thrown caution to the wind by helping him to avoid capture, which finally explains all of her strange behaviour recently.
Digital Spy recently caught up with Marc Baylis, who plays Rob, to get the inside scoop on Corrie's latest big comeback.
How does it feel to be back in Corrie?
"Awesome. It's always great to come back and have a little play, and I do love playing Rob. When I got the call from Corrie's producer Kate Oates, we had a nice discussion about what was next for the character.
"That, for me, is important. I don't want to be going round in circles with Rob. I always want him to be on the front foot and that's exactly what this storyline is."
How did Rob escape from prison?
"It's not that Rob has hired a pneumatic drill, gone through the prison walls and sprinted for his life. It wasn't planned. An incident occurred which involved the police. There was a crash and he seized the opportunity."
As he's been out for a while, could Rob be a suspect in the Ken case?
"Absolutely!"
When you returned to the set, Corrie tried to hide you from paparazzi behind an umbrella!
"We just didn't want people to know too much about the story. It's a shame those pics were taken, because we wanted Rob's return to be a surprise. I feel it's cheated the audience of that moment."
Were you surprised to get the call to come back?
"To be honest, because of the relationship I've had with the show going on for five years now, I do know that anything is possible in Soapland and that's one of the things I love about this job. The possibilities are endless as far as I'm concerned, with Rob's future. So I'd be foolish if I didn't keep an eye on the show to see what's happening. I'm a massive fan."
How long are you back for?
"I'm not back permanently. What will develop from this is that Rob is a very different person to the last time. A lot has occurred over the last 18 months.
"Back then, he was very angry and bitter about the two women that he loved most in his life – one being the sibling, one being the love of his life – being responsible for him being sentenced to prison. The anger that was underneath him revealing that Johnny was Carla's dad is a very different Rob to what we see now.
"The storyline will develop about what exactly has been happening, but he's a very different man. There are similarities to the time when him and Carla were getting closer and when him and Tracy first got together. There's a bit more tenderness and a lot more unearthed about his and Tracy's relationship."
How easy has it been to step back into Rob's shoes?
"Although I've kept up with the show, I don't know where Rob's at, so it was really interesting for me to pick up the first few scripts and we also had chats before about the storyline. But until you see the words printed on the page, you don't know where that person's at.
"I've never found a problem with picking up the character again, but the pressure is whether I can make it real. The first scene you walk in and feel the pressure again. There's a bit of trepidation, but within two seconds you're straight back into it and it's like you've never left."
From the paparazzi pictures we've seen, we know that Rob, Tracy and Amy all end up going on the run soon. What can you tell us about those scenes?
"All I can say about that is that they are some of the favourite scenes that I've ever filmed on Corrie. In fact, through all of this storyline, there is some beautiful material that I really hope gives that other side to this whole set-up. Because it's not the easiest of scenarios they're in, and what we're trying to do is tell the love story.
"It is doomed, so it's a horrible scenario. If you're in love as passionately as they are with each other and it is genuine, the fact you know it can't go anywhere makes it kind of redundant in a way. But the feelings don't stop just because it's redundant, so that's the struggle we've enjoyed playing."
Does Rob have a plan now?
"It's a do-or-die situation that he's in, so it's very much off-the-cuff and minute-to-minute. There's a pace we're trying to tell the story at and a sense of urgency there. Rob is changing his mind all the time as to the right angle and what's the right thing to do. That, for me, is the question Rob always asks himself: what is the right thing to do?
"As we know, a lot of the time he makes the wrong decision! But that gives me something great to be able to play with Kate Ford [who plays Tracy]. We're playing two tainted characters and that gives us a lot of material to work with. There' s a bit of comedy that Rob and Tracy have in there as well."
You say it's do or die, so could this be the last stint for you?
"Who knows?"
What have you been up to since leaving Corrie?
"I've just finished co-producing a feature film, Arcadia, with a director friend of mine. That's a project that's taken up the last two and a half years. I was in it as well. I learnt masses and it's probably the biggest learning curve I've ever had, especially branching into new territory.
"We started developing it as I was playing out the tail end of the Tina story. To be there from concept right through to editing, you can't help but learn a lot. We've finally finished that and it's out now. Another film, called Redcon-1, is out later this year. So it's been nice to try different stuff."
If it was possible for Rob to come back permanently, would you?
"Absolutely. If that's something that would ever be on the table, then obviously I'd handle that conversation as with every other conversation I've had. I love playing the character, I love the show and if the producers and writers feel I have something I can offer to tell good stories on this show, I'm 100 percent behind that."
Do you think Rob still wants a happy-ever-after?
"Absolutely. With Rob and Carla's upbringing, there's never really been any form of stability there or a family unit. So both characters had so much turmoil, they only know what they know which shaped their adulthood. They do desperately want a happy, peaceful life, but because of their baggage, it will never happen."
Has it been bittersweet to come back and not have Alison King (Carla) on set?
"Absolutely. It reminded me of when I first started and I didn't know that she was going on leave. So I had to establish Rob without his closest link there.
"But for me the character didn't really take off until Ali was there, because we could play all the sibling stuff. But I would hope that we can do that at some point again in the future."
Is there anyone else other than Tracy who Rob comes into contact with?
"Well you've seen the pictures with Amy, so there's her. But all of this storyline is not really like being on Corrie, where you can just be around the street and bump into the other characters.
"All of this has been shot on location, bar about four scenes on the street, and we've shot it like a feature film. So far it's been so contained and their love story is the main focus. There's a few other characters in there, though..."
Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on ITV.
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Digital Spy Soap Scoop video – hit play below for all the latest Coronation Street gossip, as Nathan puts his evil plan into action and the Ken Barlow mystery takes even more twists.
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