Coronation Street star says Leanne’s cult terror just ‘tip of the iceberg’ as danger worsens

Coronation Street viewers have seen Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) recently getting interested in an organisation called the Autovalent Institute, after going to one of their meetings and talking to their leader, Rowan Cunliffe (Emrhys Cooper).

As this storyline progresses we’ll see Leanne becoming more and more involved with this group, while those around her realise that she’s actually being drawn into a dangerous cult.

Emrhys Cooper, who plays cult leader Rowan, understands this world from personal experience.

‘Growing up in Totnes, Devon, a very new age town and a breeding hub of gurus and holistic doctors, my parents encountered quite a few Rowan types over the years,’ he told Metro.co.uk.

‘I didn’t really understand it growing up but as I got older I witnessed first hand some of the dangers of these type of characters. My mother’s health was severely affected by some very dangerous advice she received, which is still incredibly upsetting to me. My parents did wind up in a cult, but kind of a wellness, fitness, more of a spiritual cult. It presented itself as kind of a work out, feel good, fitness mentally. Only as they got further and further in and gave more money it became more sinister.

‘They got out relatively unscathed but they’ve been in and out of different things, they were always looking for kind of alternative options. They are intelligent people but unfortunately they’re very open-hearted.’

Emrhys described how people like Rowan operate.

‘Rowan is high up at the Altovalent Institute. He’s charming but not slimy, relatable and down to earth, about as far away from the misty-eyed mystic as you’d get. Rowan’s main role at Altovalent is recruitment. He travels all over to present conferences and seminars, identifying the more “receptive” people and encouraging them into the fold. Once he’s done that, he schools them into how to recruit others.

‘Rowan does not view Altovalent as a con. It’s been brilliant for him, and he credits the organisation with totally turning his life around. He was a wild lad in his youth, and when he got into a fight and was arrested, he resolved to change course. It was joining Altovalent that saved him.’

People like Leanne, according to Emrhys, are exactly the type of people who would be targeted by an organisation like Altovalent. ‘People who are susceptible,’ he said. ‘He can see people who are susceptible, they’ve maybe got trauma. He can definitely see that she’s packing a lot and he can see the right buttons to press.’

While coming episodes will see Toyah (Georgia Taylor) confronting Rowan and calling his organisation out as being potentially harmful to people, Rowan is unconcerned according to Emrhys.

‘Rowan isn’t fazed by Toyah’s reaction, he’s used to it,’ he told us. ‘He wholeheartedly believes in the cause and he isn’t thrown easily.’

With his first-hand experience of how cults like this operate, Emrhys said he was ‘dying to find out’ where this story would lead – but there’s much more to come as Leanne gets more deeply involved and others could be affected too.

‘What you’ve seen of Rowan so far is only the tip of the iceberg. He’s very clever and good at what he does and yes, Leanne is in awe of him,’ Emrhys confirmed.

‘There’ll be other residents who are in his thrall and may find themselves in the Institute. After reading the upcoming scripts I am struck with how many similarities and parallels I have to this storyline. It’s art imitating life.’