What happened to Coronation Street’s Rob Donovan?
The evil killer's connection to Carla was not the only thing that kept him running back to the Street
ROB Donovan certainly caused a stir during his time on Coronation Street.
The Corrie character might be locked up behind bars, but his name still gets mentioned on the ITV soap.
Who is Rob Donovan?
Rob Donovan arrived on ITV’s Coronation Street in July 2012 looking for his sister Carla.
He had just completed a stint in prison and wanted the help of his businesswoman sister to turn his life around.
I’ve been lucky with all the Coronation Street storylines I’ve always had. It’s an amazing place to work, but we’ll see.
Rob Donovan Actor Marc Bayliss
He soon joined her at the factory and eventually became a co-owner after steering the ship with Michelle Connor (Kym Marsh) when Carla took some time off to live in Los Angeles.
A charming guy, Rob certainly had a way with the Weatherfield ladies.
Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) became the target of his affections and they soon struck up a romance together and embarked on petty illegal schemes amidst the chaos of their love.
Did Rob kill Tina McIntrye
Evil Rob famously killed off Tina McIntrye (Michelle Keegan) during the soap’s dramatic whodunnit story of May 2014.
When Tina took a dislike to him and Tracy after discovering their illegal ways, Rob realised that he could keep her on side when he discovered that she was having an affair with Peter Barlow – the husband of his pregnant sister.
He used this as leverage on Tina but he eventually changed his mind.
Rob then begged her not to tell Carla about the affair as it would ruin her happiness, despite Tina being keen to pursue a public romance with her illicit lover Peter.
Insisting she was going to expose both the affair and Rob’s scams, the pair came to blows at her home above the scrap yard.
Amid a fracas, Rob pushed Tina and she fell off the balcony and slapped down onto the cobbles next to a skip.
To his horror, she survived the fall and she taunted him that she was going to the police.
In response, he ferociously beat her with a metal pipe, hitting her enough times to ensure she was dead and silent for good.
Rob was eventually imprisoned for the hideous crime.
Did Rob return to the show?
Rob came back to the programme for two further stints following his imprisonment for murder.
Less than a year after his first exit in 2014, he appeared on the soap once again and requested a visit from ex-Tracy who he insisted was being targeted by his cellmate.
Soon after, he requested a visit from Johnny Connor where the secret was exposed that Johnny is actually Carla’s father.
Just under two years later, Rob appeared once again and found himself implicated in the 2017 Who Pushed Ken? storyline, which saw Ken Barlow pushed down the stairs by an unknown assailant.
Rob turned up when Tracy went out searching for answers about what had happened to her dad.
This saw her go to an old gym where she met a hooded figure who turned out to be Rob.
He told her that he was being transferred to another prison after exposing information on a rival inside gang and when the van crashed, the officers believed him to be dead.
He muttered his infamous return line to her: “I suppose a bunk-up is out of the question?”
Tracy eventually called the cops secretly and he was once again sent down.
Who played Rob?
Evil Rob Donovan was played by actor Marc Bayliss, who joined the soap in 2012.
He played the part for two years until 2014, and returned as a guest actor in 2015, 2016, and 2017.
Born on April 3, 1977, Marc is a British stage, television and film actor.
He trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, where he was awarded the Stage Scholarship.
Away from Corrie, and Marc has also held roles in popular shows including E4 hit Misfits, London Kills and the now-axed BBC soap Doctors.
When asked if the door has been left open for his character Rob to return to Coronation Street, actor Marc previously told the Yorkshire Magazine: “Yes, he’s still behind bars. I’ve already been back twice to do some little stints.
“I guess with that we’ll just see what happens. I’m definitely not averse to it.
“I’ve been lucky with all the storylines I’ve always had in there. It’s an amazing place to work, but we’ll see.
“I’ll cross that bridge if and when it turns up.”
