Coronation Street star Sean Wilson ‘compared to Jimmy Savile’ after unfounded sex claim
A former Coronation Street star whose ITV comeback was ruined by an unfounded historical sex claim says sick trolls compared him to Jimmy Savile and Huw Edwards.
Sean Wilson, who played Martin Platt on the soap for 21 years, was due to return to the cobbles and was filming scenes earlier this year. However, he was then cut over a police investigation into an alleged indecent assault from 1997.
He recently learned that police would take no further action but the father-of-two has revealed social media users likened him to infamous sex offenders – leaving him worried about going out in public.
Speaking to The Sun, he said he feared TikTok vigilantes and that his partner, Carol Hammond, also felt concerned for her safety.
He said: “I’ve had to watch when we go out, that I don’t stand in the middle of a room, because someone can come at me from behind, some vigilante who just wants to take it out on me, for whatever reason.
“I’ve feared for my safety. It gets very, very, very dangerous. Paranoia would also set in. It only takes one person, you know, that sees these things going out, that the trolls are putting out, to say, I can sort this out.
“To them, I am a Jimmy Savile or a Huw Edwards. Something could have happened at any moment.”
He was set to return to the cobbles after 19 years for a Christmas storyline involving Gail. According to the publication, he had signed a ten-episode contract. He said he “jumped at the chance” to go back to Corrie and that he wanted to be there for Helen Worth’s (Gail’s) final stint on the soap.
Sean felt like he was “rolling back the years” while filming in July but a chilling email on August 1 changed everything. The email reportedly read: “I am writing to request a meeting with you at the Coronation Street studios.
“This is to discuss a historical allegation of a sexual nature which has been made about you in the past few days relating to when you were previously under contract to the programme. We will realise this will come out of the blue for you as it has for us.”
As for what the allegation involved, he said: “I was suddenly confronted with three executives who said they had received an allegation that I had put my hands up a woman’s skirt. They also said police had contacted them and told them they had referred the case to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
“I was in bewilderment. They said they had to cut the contract and protect their cast. I told them I knew it hadn’t happened and I deserved a chance to convince them. But they said once it had become a police matter they couldn’t do anything.”
Sean, whose character married Gail in 1991 before they had a son called David, left the soap in 2005. He described his behaviour as always being exemplary and after the shock allegation, he hired lawyers to fight his case.
Back in October, he gave a voluntary interview at Longsight police station before police confirmed no further action would be taken one month later.
Sean, who turned to cheesemaking after the show, said the unfounded allegation cost him his Corrie contract and that he also paid thousands on lawyers.