Coronation Street is set to welcome back one of its biggest villains when Rob Donovan (Marc Baylis) makes his return on Thursday.
The character, who is the brother of Carla Connor (Alison King) and the long-lost father of Bobby Crawford (Jack Carroll), has been in prison for the last decade and was last seen on screen in 2017.
With his sister Carla currently in need of a kidney transplant after the damage caused by her recent case of sepsis, Bobby visits Rob in the hope he will agree to be a donor.
Bobby’s visit marks the start of a whole new era for Rob, so if you need of a refresher of the story so far, here’s what you need to know…
Who did Rob Donovan kill on Coronation Street?
Back in 2014, Rob killed Tina McIntyre (Michelle Keegan).
Michelle played barmaid Tina for six years and was later joined by her dad Joe McIntyre (Reece Dinsdale), who soon became Gail Platt’s (Helen Worth) fourth husband.
During her time on the street, Tina was in a relationship with David Platt (Jack P Shepherd) and blamed Gail when her dad died faking his own death in a boating incident.
She was also surrogate for Gary Windass (Mikey North) and Izzy Armstrong (Cherylee Houston) and had relationships with a string of Weatherfield men – including married Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne).
How did Tina McIntyre die in Coronation Street?
A number of key suspects were unveiled ahead of the shocking episodes; Carla, Rob, Peter and his sister Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford).
On the evening of her Rob’s engagement party to Tracy, Tina planned to run away with Peter, which was halted when his wife Carla announced her pregnancy in the Rovers.
When Rob called round to the builder’s yard flat to check on Tina, she told him about her plan to report his dodgy dealings in second-hand shop Barlow’s Buys to the police and expose her affair with Peter.
During the heated confrontation, the pair ended up on the builder’s yard balcony and within minutes she’s been pushed off onto the cobbles below.
Fearing she would still live to reveal his dastardly act, Rob then proceeded to brutally bludgeon her over the head with a metal pole to silence her once and for all.
Rob has been serving a 25 year stretch ever since, bar a brief spell when he escaped prison and went on the run to Humberside with Tracy and her daughter Amy Barlow (Elle Mulvaney).
Recent scenes showed Rita horrified to learn about Bobby’s parentage, as she considered Tina the daughter she never had.
How did Bobby Crawford learn about Rob Donovan’s crimes?
Arriving on the street just after Christmas 2023 when his mum kicked him out, Bobby confronted his aunt Carla and soon moved in with her.
Up then, he’d been led to believe that his father Rob was wrongly imprisoned after acting in self defence, but after a conversation with Rita Tanner (Barbara Knox) and Mary Taylor (Patti Clare), his interest was piqued.
Confused why they were so disgusted to learn who his dad was, Bobby turned to Carla for the truth.
Carla was then forced to reveal all, leaving Bobby shocked.
Has Rob Donovan changed upon his return to Coronation Street?
Well, this is the million dollar question. However, actor Marc Bayliss, who plays Rob, seems to think he is ‘a very different person’.
‘It’s been seven years since we last saw him. That’s a lot of life. It’s a lot of time to be in the prison system as well,’ he teased.
‘Whether his core nature has changed or not, whether he’s made changes for the greater good, is yet to be seen.’
He continued: ‘He’s not had the easiest of times in prison, as I don’t think anyone would do for that amount of time, particularly someone who did what he did to a young woman. It’s not something that he’s had an easy journey with, and it’s something that he has huge regrets over with the way that everything played out.
‘‘We do get to see some of that on screen, as well as Rob’s genuine feelings. But with Rob, there are always motives to make his life better than what it is, and that may well get him into trouble yet again.’
Marc added: ‘There’s a darker side to Rob than I’ve known before, and we get a window into, I would say, a man who needs more support than he’s getting.’
