Coronation Street's Mark Baylis is reprising his role in the soap as Rob Donovan with his return set to air in the New Year - and he will cause plenty of chaos for Carla Connor and Lisa Swain
05:45, 27 Dec 2024Updated 07:22, 27 Dec 2024
A Coronation Street legend is set to make a sensational return to the cobbles - and it's not good news for Carla Connor.
Rob Donovan, portrayed by Marc Baylis, first graced the soap in 2012 as Carla's (played by Alison King) rebellious younger sibling. Before long, he became notorious for stirring up turmoil.
Throughout his time on Weatherfield, Rob was steeped in turbulent storylines, ranging from sordid affairs to audaciously attempting to bring about his sister's downfall. His storyline reached a climax when, upon proposing to Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford), he violently murdered Tina McIntyre (Michelle Keegan) to conceal his wrongdoings.
The villain met with justice, receiving a life sentence for murder and appearing intermittently post-incarceration before his last showing in 2017.
Now, it has been revealed that Marc Baylis is slated to return, breathing life once more into Rob next year. The exciting scoop came courtesy of Corrie's new executive producer Kate Brooks. reports Plymouth Live.
She disclosed: "We last left Rob languishing in prison but he comes back to the show, and we think he might be a reformed character. We think he's seen the error of his ways, whether that's the case or not, I don't know."
His unexpected comeback promises to shake things up, especially for his sister Carla. Audiences will remember Carla's budding romance with DS Lisa Swain (Vicky Myers), adding an extra twist to her already complicated life.
Kate disclosed: "But Rob definitely comes back and causes a lot of trouble for Carla and Lisa." She elaborated: "Just when Carla and Lisa think it's safe for them to sit down and watch Netflix, Rob Donovan comes along and kind of scuppers all of that."
Speaking of the upcoming drama, Kate affirmed there will be "twists and turns", adding: "I love Rob and Carla and tapping into their past and their history together. And we really explore that in this story. But there's so many twists and turns along the way. It's going to be eventful for Carla and Lisa let's put it that way."
She expressed her enthusiasm, saying: "It's really exciting. What I like about this story is that Carla and Lisa are finally together and finally united, and then this drops on them and they're a bit like 'How did that happen? ' So it's a real test for their relationship at the early stages, but a good test."
Coronation Street is on ITV at 8pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday and available to stream from 7am on ITVX
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