Actor Ryan Prescott spoke with real-life survivors before filming the shocking acid attack scenes in Coronation Street. Soap fans saw his character Ryan Connor hit in the face with the corrosive substance.
Stalker Justin Rutherford (Andrew Still) returned to Weatherfield to attack Daisy Midgeley (Charlotte Jordan) on her wedding day. But his plan went wrong and the acid hit Justin – who was the barmaid’s driver.
Ryan told how he met Andreas Christopheros from Truro, Cornwall, who was left scarred for life after a man hurled acid in his face, also in a case of mistaken identity. Ryan described Andreas as “an amazing guy with a warrior spirit” – but still said he still struggled to understand just how devastating such an attack would be.
He said: “He told me his story. I was in conversation with him, and psychotherapists that had been with him along a very long road of recovery. And speaking with people from the Katie Piper Foundation and all the reading in the world can’t really make you comprehend the reality of violence of this extreme nature.”
Ryan, 34, added: “It’s just one of those things that you can’t comprehend unless you’ve gone through it. You just try your best to engage with all the issues around it.”
Ryan met with Andreas Christopheros, who was left scarred for life (Image: James Dadzitis / SWNS.com)
In “high energy” scenes, Daisy calls 999 and is told to get cold water onto his face so she rushes him into
the shower.
He said: “I completely underestimated the temperature of the water. It was so cold, there was no acting – that was just me trying to breathe throughout the six hours we were shooting it for.
“We couldn’t have any steam so it had to be as cold as it could be.”
On how his character reacts when he gets into hospital, he added: “He’s starting to see that his life is never going to be the same again.”
For future scenes, Ryan will use special prosthetics created by Davy Jones, who has worked on Hollywood films like Pirates of the Caribbean.
Property developer Andreas Christopheros found out in 2020 that the man who left him severely disfigured by hurling acid over him was allowed to walk free.
David Phillips - who had travelled more than 300 miles from his home in Hastings, East Sussex to Truro, Cornwall, seeking revenge - had turned up on the wrong doorstep.
He admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent and was jailed for life with a minimum seven-year tariff at Truro Crown Court in October 2015.
A judge ruled he was a danger to the public after hearing he threw the corrosive liquid as Andreas answered the door believing he was about to collect a Christmas parcel in December 2014.
The incident left Andreas, 35, who lives with wife Pia, 38, in Truro, Cornwall, permanently blind in one eye and with horrendous burns.
Appeal judges later quashed the life term and replaced it with a 16 year sentence.
Andreas said: "He did something which was horrific and stupid and the fact he got the wrong person is all the evidence you need why you don't do something like this.
"He did what he did and the police did their job while the NHS saved my life.
"But then the judges did not do what they should - and give out a sentence to fit the crime.
"I don't shoulder a huge amount of anger towards Phillips. I would like him to pay for crime but my anger is towards the people in the justice system who have let me down."
Andreas said he would suffer from his attacker's actions for the rest of his life. He added: "I am still having regular surgery and routinely will for a very long time.
"In a way the old me died when he threw acid in my face. It is what it is and I am not the sort of person to lie down and be broken by it. But it is fair to say my life up to the point of the attack was completely different to what it is now.
"I have had to rebuild a whole new life since. There is so much less I am able to do. I can't play with the kids as much. I can't go out in the evening.
"It has had a big effect on my life. I am not one to let it break me but life in every single aspect imaginable has been much more difficult.
"The struggle is never going to end - I won't get my eyesight back and I will always have facial scars - there is no way to fully heal them and they are injuries I will carry for the rest of my life.
"But I have an amazingly strong wife and amazing friends - thank god for good friends and family."
