Coronation Street fans will know him as greasy hair guru Rowan Cunliffe, a self-proclaimed prophet of self-improvement.
But for actor Emrhys Cooper, his introduction to the ITV1 soap as the charismatic leader of a sinister cult – part of a dramatic new story set to unfold in the coming weeks – reflects his own upbringing in rural Devon.
The British star, 39, grew up in Totnes with her parents Christopher and Raphaela, new age hippies with an open attitude towards unconventional lifestyles.
But her family life was compromised – almost fatally – after her free-thinking parents turned to a holistic doctor, who advised her ailing mother to avoid conventional medications.
He said Mirror: ‘My mother had a prescription for high blood pressure and a holistic doctor basically told her she could take the prescription off with some herbal remedy, and she had a heart attack.’
Emrhys Cooper says his introduction to Coronation Street as the charismatic leader of a sinister cult reflects his own upbringing in rural Devon.
Coronation Street fans will know him as greasy hair guru Rowan Cunliffe, a self-proclaimed prophet of self-improvement.
Raphaela eventually suffered a serious stroke that left her paralyzed, which Emrhys believes could have been avoided if she had gone back to taking her regular blood pressure medication.
Her parents had another painful encounter with a London-based group, but red flags arose once they began asking the couple for money.
He said: “It was actually a kind of wellness, fitness, more of a spiritual cult.” And as they got deeper and deeper and gave more money, everything became more sinister.’
Worse would come when the group attempted to engage the bewildered couple in a series of strange sexual exercises.
“Basically, the cult tried to separate my parents by doing these quite sexual exercises with other people, which alarmed my dad a little because he had to grope this woman and my mom had to do this with someone else.” he said.
“So they realized this exercise program wasn’t as good as it seemed.”
He added: “They came out relatively unscathed.” But they’ve been in and out of different types of things. They are always looking for alternative options.
“And they are intelligent people, but unfortunately they have a very open heart and have often been taken advantage of.”
The British star grew up in Totnes with her parents Christopher and Raphaela, new age hippies with an open attitude towards unconventional lifestyles.
Meanwhile, the soap is reported to be planning one of its creepiest storylines when they bring back a dead baby for a haunting storyline.
Meanwhile, the soap is reported to be planning one of its creepiest storylines when they bring back a dead baby for a haunting storyline.
Sun has revealed that the new plot will include revelations of a dead baby more than two decades ago, after Toyah Battersby buried the dead child in a park after she was raped in 2001.
While viewers will learn this shocking information for the first time, Toyah, played by Georgia Taylor, is ready to find out where she buried the baby, it will be dug up and she fears her secret will be discovered.
A source told the publication: “Apart from the fact that viewers want entertainment, this is still an incredibly dark and ambitious story, and some long-time fans may decide to pick the holes.”
“It all unfolded on screen, the brutal attack, the aftermath, so now it turns out that she became pregnant from the rape, suffered a stillbirth alone before burying her dead baby in The Red Rec has raised quite a few eyebrows in placing “It’s not going to go down well.”
MailOnline has contacted representatives of Coronation Street for comment.
Toyah, played by Georgia Taylor, is ready to discover where she buried her baby more than two decades ago and fears her secret will be discovered.