Coronation Street’s Rowan Cunliffe (Emrhys Cooper) will leave the soap after seven months on the show.
We were introduced to Rowan earlier this year when Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) attended a self-help class with Simon Barlow (Alex Bain).
What followed next was a plot that saw Rowan slowly manipulate Leanne into joining The Institute. To Leanne, it’s an organisation full of people looking for positivity after experiencing a traumatic event. To Nick (Ben Price) and Toyah (Georgia Taylor) though, the business is completely corrupt.
In the most recent development, Toyah decided to attend a ‘new taster’ class with Leanne, which surprised her a great deal. There, they found Amy (Elle Mulvaney), who looks set to become Rowan’s next victim after Leanne tempted her.
After the session, Leanne was taken aback when Toyah said she can see why the group works. It features CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy), so would be ideal for someone who had been through something difficult and wanted to change.
When they returned home, Nick was surprised to hear Leanne say that Toyah was warming to The Institute. However, when Leanne left the flat, Toyah confirmed her actual plan.
She knew that if she wanted to destroy the group and Rowan, appearing ‘hostile’ wasn’t the right approach. She needed to become someone on the inside, a perfect way to gather vital information.
When it comes to this storyline, suffice to say it was always going to result in evil Rowan’s departure. With actor Emrhys Cooper set to star in a panto production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, it won’t be long until we see the back of his alter-ego – but not before we learn a little more about him, as Emrhys explained to us recently:
‘There’s already been a lot of heated arguments between them [Nick, Toyah and Rowan] and he’s used to people being suspicious of The Institute’ he said.
‘We are going to learn more about his chequered past. I think he’s such a master-manipulator that he can spin it and still work it in his favour, turning his past into what helped him grow into who he is now.’
Adding that there is still ‘a bit more of a journey’ ahead for Leanne, he also told us that Rowan truly believes in what the cult stands for – something which us viewers know little about.
‘I think it’s an interesting duality. He does really believe in it, but at the same time he is taking advantage and he’s aware of that – he’s justifying his actions.’
Elsewhere, Emrhys recently opened up in a column for Metro.co.uk about his journey exploring his sexuality.
He detailed: ‘I was so desperate to be normal and fit in, that I did actually have feelings for this girl. It was a real relationship. We had a really good thing, and I thought that maybe I was bisexual, but I hadn’t explored my sexuality at that point.’
As Emrhys made an exciting move to LA, it was there he started to explore his sexuality, but said it wasn’t ‘in a healthy way’.
‘I still had gay shame, and felt the guilt. I couldn’t do anything sexually without being really drunk, and that went on until I was about 27 through mostly anonymous encounters.
‘I got to the point where I was miserable. I was driving down Sunset Boulevard one time just crying. Things were going well in my career, but I was so tired of living this lie. There were cracks starting to appear.
‘My coming out journey began at 27. I met an amazing man, Peter, who is still a very good friend. He was my first boyfriend and he was very comfortable and stable in his sexuality.’
He added: ‘I am now married to a wonderful man, Donal, and we have been together for seven years, having been wed by ‘Elvis!’ I feel so lucky and privileged, because there are so many people who haven’t had that – I have met my best friend.
‘The person I am now is worlds away for who I was even just a few years ago. Today, I feel fresh and positive, looking after my body and my mind. If I don’t have meditation and yoga in the day, I really feel it.’
