Corrie scriptwriters struck gold when they created Roy Cropper... and the soap legend is still rewarding them 25 years later.
The anorak and cardigan-wearing trainspotter is back at the heart of a gripping plot that has left soap fans shaken.
And it is actor David Neilson who has, once again, moved viewers to tears with his heart-rending monologue at the bedside of screen niece Nina.
David, 72, has portrayed cafe boss Roy through his many guises down the years – from a nerdy loner and stalker, to a community champion and confidant.
Talking about his quarter of a century on the Cobbles, David modestly puts his success down to “luck”.
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He also addresses Roy’s state of mind as he is faced with the prospect of losing goth Nina – battered senseless, with boyfriend Seb, in a hate crime attack.
Nina is seriously hurt... while poor Seb died in Friday’s moving episode. David says Roy has a “dangerous side” if provoked.
He explains: “Like all of us, really, if something happens to me and mine, I think he is capable of anything. I think he could be quite dangerous.
“I remember him attacking Gary Mallett with a cricket bat. Roy tends to operate out of a moral code which if he didn’t have that he’d just fall apart or go mad. He’d be the dangerous person on the street.
“He doesn’t always want to do what he does but he’s shunted into this situation whereby he inherits Nina and initially they don’t get on, but he took her in.
“So, over this period – and brought into sharp focus by this attack and him sitting by the bed thinking about life and the possibility of her not being there – he feels a tremendous sense of loss and he is sort of dreading what could occur.
“If something happened to your child you don’t even want to think about it, it is just horrible, and you don’t want to go there.”
The storyline echoes the tragic case of Sophie Lancaster, 20, who died in an unprovoked attack near Rochdale in 2007.
Soap bosses worked with Sophie’s mum Dr Sylvia Lancaster to help raise awareness of hate crimes.
David says it has been one of the toughest plots, explaining: “It’s not an enjoyable story, I have to say. When it is work, this is happening to us emotionally, so it can be gruelling.”
Roy has been involved in many harrowing encounters – not least losing his wife Hayley (actress Julie Hesmondhalgh) to cancer in 2014.
But he has been involved in some classic lighter moments down the years too.
And David says he loves how Roy has transitioned.
He chuckles: “People come into the cafe and he gives them all this wisdom! It’s changed because he was this strange guy stalking Deirdre, a real loner and oddball.
"One of the ‘character’ notes was that he ‘just doesn’t get it, he stands too close’.
"Nowadays he’s become this font of all wisdom. He’s turned into Rita.
“But somehow or other he has survived and adapted.
"The time has flown, it has been extraordinary. I have worked with some really good people.”
And David vows to wear the beige anorak for as long as Coronation Street bosses allow.
He adds: “Why am I still here? Well, I’m 72! Probably a lot of it is luck. I enjoy grappling with it – playing a completely different character, with the name Roy Cropper. It’s a very comfortable pair of slippers, I tell you.
“Actor mates have had a really tough time [through the pandemic] and I’ve always felt fortunate.
"I feel doubly fortunate now and desperate for theatres to start working. But it’s been very kind for me. Writers write for me and I’ve got away with it so far.”
David and wife Jane have son Daniel and enjoy being grandparents.
He doesn’t court attention and recalls how Corrie legend Willliam Roache, 89, gave him advice on handling fame.
But he accepts there is a level of responsibility – almost a duty of care towards viewers.
He continues: “I found out very early how much people relate to characters.
“At the weekend we were in the supermarket and somebody was talking and heard something was going to happen to Nina on the show.
"They approached me and it meant something and being an actor in something like this is different to just being an actor.
"There is a public responsibility. When I was first in the show my brother was in hospital and I went to visit him in Leicester.
"Lots of people were in the foyer and this lady approached and said, ‘My husband’s just died’.
“I asked if I could ring somebody for her and she said she was going to go to her daughter’s.
"I gave her my number to say, ‘Ring to say you’re all right’. Eventually her daughter rang to let me know she was okay.
“And I was, like, I’ve just gone to see my brother and suddenly you’re involved in this thing and you’re a face on the telly and something devastating had happened to this person and, obviously, as an actor we feed off that, that is what it is like to lose somebody.
"So, in a way a huge privilege, but also a terrible responsibility.”
Off set, David enjoys a laugh. And in his own times of need he turns to playwright Samuel Beckett for inspiration.
He adds: “I’m a big fan of Sam Beckett, who says I can’t carry on what shall I do? Carry on. You carry on, that’s what you do.”
Or should that be Corrie on? Here’s to the next 25 years, David...
