will mellor
Coronation Street’s newest signing Will Mellor talks about walking the famous cobbles and why he always carries a part of his late dad with him
Actor Will Mellor is a rare breed of celebrity – a completely open book who answers every question with total honesty. So, when OK! catches up with him to chat about his new role as drug gang boss Harvey on ITV’S Coronation Street, it’s only a matter of time before he’s speaking candidly about other things close to his heart.
But it’s when he speaks about his late dad Bill, who died in April last year, that Will, 44, understandably gets choked up. However, in a touching tribute, Will explains he’s chosen to wear his late dad’s ring as part of his costume to keep him close at all times.
“The fact I can wear it on Corrie means he stays with me all the time,” the
Two Pints Of Lager And A
Packet Of Crisps star says.
Here, Will, who is married to dancer
Michelle and dad to
Jayden, 17, and Renee,
13, opens up on how the role helped put a smile on his face after a tough year, and whether we’ll ever see a Two Pints reunion.
Hi Will. How does it feel to be part of
Corrie?
It’s been really good. Harvey’s very different to anything I’ve played before, a real nasty piece of work who doesn’t care about anyone. He bullies people and gets what he wants.
Are you ready for fans to hate you?
If people believe it, I’ll be getting abuse in the street, or people whacking me with brollies! Baddies are fun to play, though. It’s something that’s a challenge for me. Also, I want to make a bit of a splash. Whether viewers love or hate him, at least it’ll make a bit of an impact.
Were your family excited?
My mum made a comment about Corrie when I first got an agent aged 12, so she’s actually waited 32 years and finally her son is on Coronation Street. She’s over the moon and so are the rest of my family. We’ve had a really tough year with losing my father and this has been a real boost for us.
We hear your costume includes a touching tribute to your dad…
My dad’s ring. I’ve got it as part of my character in Coronation Street, so I can wear it every day. It was a ring I bought him a long time ago that he left to me. It’s been tough, but when I look at it, it reminds me of the good times.
That’s so lovely…
The fact I can wear it on Corrie means he stays with me all the time. Obviously he can’t see me doing the show, but he would have been
very proud of me.
You come across as very down to earth. How have you kept your feet on the ground?
When I’d just finished Hollyoaks in the late 90s and had a music career going, there was a lot of attention focused on me and my feet left the ground slightly – and I felt it. But someone said to me, who I’d seen a long time before, “You’ve changed”– and that killed me. I was young and started to believe in the nonsense around me. I lost my grip on reality for a few months and it was the biggest learning curve for me.
What did that teach you?
If you’re in the public eye, you’ve got all these things thrown at you. I come from a modest, council estate background, which I’m very proud of, and it was such a change. Just for a split second, I felt myself going away with it. I said, “I’ve got to leave, I’ve got to get out of this hotel.” I stopped everything and went home to my mum. It was the best thing that ever happened to me.
Two Pints Of Lager…
recently celebrated its 20th birthday. How did that feel?
Very old! [Laughs] But at the same time very nostalgic. Me and Ralf [Little] recorded something for it as Gaz and Johnny. It was nice to mark it as it was a big part of my life.
Do you think the gang will ever reunite?
A reunion with the full cast means we have to get everyone back together, and you know how hard that is. I’ve not spoken to Sheridan Smith in nearly five years, so I haven’t got a clue what she’d say. But the clip we filmed was Gaz and Johnny. Johnny was supposed to be dead and the revelation is that he’s not, so is there a chance of having a spin-off with them? Who knows! Let’s just say watch this space – I’m up for it.