Coronation Street's boss has revealed he was concerned Roy Cropper's new storyline crossed the actor's "red line".
The legendary character has been played by David Neilson in the long-running soap since 1995. Nina Lucas bought Roy a smartphone for Christmas and the show's producer told the ECHO and other press he considered hiding from the star when he pitched him the new plot.
Iain MacLeod joked: "I did hear rumours when I first arrived on Coronation Street that David Neilson's one red line was that Roy would never have a mobile phone so when we storylined this I was kind of hiding from David thinking when he reads this script he's going to go mad.
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"In the end he didn't and he obviously appreciates the comedy behind it." Roy has since discarded the smartphone in the show and the producer revealed this decision will leave the character in danger.
Spoilers for tonight's episode show Nina will fall into trouble after Roy arranges to meet her at the bat group meeting in the woods. The meeting gets cancelled but Nina has no way of contacting Roy so decides to track him by foot.
Asha Alahan and Brian Packham join Nina on her search, which takes a dramatic turn when she spots Roy's thermos in the river. The character, played by Mollie Gallagher, requires medical attention after she hits her head on a rock while making her way to the river bank.
Iain said the storyline eventually becomes about Roy's love for Nina and vice versa. He added: "Off the back of this incident Roy decides he does need a phone and then there's this really classic Corrie story about mobile phone addiction."
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