Hearts were breaking for Ryan Connor on Coronation Street as the DJ took the force of a glass of acid intended for Daisy Midgeley on her wedding day. Daisy's stalker Justin Rutherford was lurking in the shadows at the Rovers Return as the pair locked up the pub.
As Justin hurled the acid in Daisy's direction, Ryan stepped in. Daisy dragged Ryan, who was preparing to start a new life in Ibiza, into the shower and cut the shirt from his back as he writhed in agony in harrowing scenes on the ITV soap on Monday night (March 27).
The 34-year-old actor from Stockport, who has played Ryan since 2018, said about the scenes when Daisy got Ryan into the shower: "There was no acting being done. That was me trying to breathe throughout the five or six hours that we shooted it for. It was cold water because we couldn't show steam.
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He explained: "The cold water is to numb nerve endings and cool the acid. You have to go to nearest water source and keep a constant stream of water to allow you to save some of the facial tissue."
Working alongside The Katie Piper Foundation and Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI), the soap decided to tell this story to highlight the devastating impact and long lasting effects of such heinous attacks. To prepare for the storyline Ryan spoke to acid attack survivor Andreas Christopheros, who was left blind in one eye and is scarred for life after having a pint of sulphuric acid thrown in his face in an attack at his home in Cornwall in 2014.
Ryan said: "There were 300 acid attacks in Manchester in 2022 alone. It shows it's way more prevalent than you would expect." And Corrie's makeup team warned of 'sensitive content' as they shared behind the scenes photos and video of their work with Ryan.
"Tonight, Ryan's life changed forever," the team wrote on their official Instagram. And they explained: "This is only stage one …Burn application and bondo designed by @gillywalshy Applied and coloured assisted by @lauraharrisonxx Looking forward to sharing with you what we did next with @davyjonessfx @scottybekismfx."
The soap has also worked with Rebecca Scott, northern based prosthetic makeup artist for TV and film and Davy Jones, an Emmy, Welsh Bafta, double Royal Television Society Award-winning makeup and special effects artist from Merseyside.
On the importance of tackling this storyline Coronation Street Producer Iain MacLeod said: “We were keen to show the long-term reality for people who are subjected to this kind of attack. It is something we might often read about in the papers but perhaps don’t fully understand, in terms of the depth and variety of effects it can have."
"As well as the medical impacts, we explore the social fallout of having your appearance profoundly changed, both in terms of your own ability to process that and how the wider world reacts to you. The story will at times be heartbreaking but we felt it was an important one to tell.”
