Coronation Street’s Leanne Battersby’s real life very famous husband amid her ‘exit’

Coronation Street’s Leanne Battersby could be the next cobbles legend to exit the cobbles as The Institute tightens its grip on her while her part, Nick Tilsley embarks on an affair with her sister, Toyah.

Rowan Cunliffe has been targeting the fan favourite with his ‘self-improvement group’ and working to separate her from her loved ones. However, when sister Toyah suffers complications after being diagnosed with germ cell cancer, Leanne further distances herself from her family under Rowan’s instructions. Meanwhile, Nick remains at her sister’s side.

However, Rowan fears he’s losing his hold over Leanne when she tells him she needs to visit her sister – but he has a chilling plan to blackmail Nick over his affair with Toyah. Nick has already admitted he loves Leanne’s sister. But Leanne is left utterly torn when she’s told The Institute want to fast track her to a higher level, while son, Simon, also urges her to visit him in The Netherlands. Could this be the end of the Corrie stalwart’s time on the cobbles.

Away from the Street, however, actress Jane Danson’s life is much less dramatic with her husband of almost 20 years – fellow soap actor Robert Beck. Jane, who has played the role of Leanne since 1997, has been with Robert for the last 23 years and his also has an impressive acting CV.

He’s also a well known face when it comes to starring in soaps and has some notable credits under his belt. He took on roles in Brookside, Emmerdale, Waterloo Road and had a stint in Corrie in 2008. In recent years, Robert played Fergus Collins in Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks and had a short stint in Emmerdale at the end of last year as villain Damon ‘Harry’ Harris.

However, this isn’t his first time starring in Emmerdale as the actor played a key charcater in the soap for more than 70 episodes in the 1990s. He starred as Bernice Blackstock’s love interest Gavin Ferris in 1999 but the character was caught kissing Jason Kirk amid his engagement to Bernice. When Robert announced he was returning to the Dales, Jane went on to say that she “owes” the soap as she said this is how she met her husband for the first time. The pair met in 1999 at the British Soap Awards but Jane has previously said she had a crush on Robert since she was 15.

The pair were friends for years before things turned romantic but they went on to tie the knot in 2005. They then welcomed their first child Harry a year later and their second son Sam in 2009. Previously speaking with OK! Magazine, Jane said the secret to their relationship was friendship. “Me and my husband have been together for 22 years, and we’re really good friends as well as loving each other lots.” However, the pair have had more than their fair share of heartbreak as Jane has opened up in the past about having a miscarriage.

Jane and Robert discovered they lost their third child at the three-month scan. Jane said in 2018: “It was heartbreaking and it took us a long time to get over it – I don’t think you ever do,. There will always be that sadness there and there’ll always be that desire, but we’re getting older now and the boys are growing up. Sometimes you just have to appreciate what you have.”

The actress took to Instagram in October 2022 to mark Baby Loss Awareness Week as she said: “The pain of having a ‘missed miscarriage’ will stay with me forever. My three months scan showed there was no heartbeat yet my body continued to be pregnant for some time. It was devastating.

“The worst thing that I did was not talk about what I was going through and somehow it made the heartache even more painful. In time I learnt to talk and express just how broken I felt. With the love of my husband @robertbeck529 and support from my friends and family I began to heal. Sending love to anyone suffering.”