Will Mellor is worried he could be abused in public over his 'Coronation Street' role.
Will Mellor
The 44-year-old actor will appear on the ITV soap next month as villainous drug lord Harvey, and he's hoping fans remember his previous roles rather than assuming he's just like the "bad lad" in real life.
Speaking on his podcast 'Two Pints with Will & Ralf', he said: "The character is a proper bad lad, a Salford lad, he’s a bit of a drug baron and he gets young lads involved who haven’t got criminal records selling drugs for him.
“So he’s a horrible person, good to play.
“I’m just glad that people have seen me play other things, because if this was the first thing they’d seen me do they would believe it, they would hate me, people would hurl abuse in the street."
Will - who has previously starred in 'Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps', 'Broadchurch', 'Line of Duty' and 'No Offence' - is already known to soap fans from his role as James 'Jambo' Bolton in 'Hollyoaks' from 1995 to 2004.
He added: "Some people really believe it.
"I’m glad that hopefully people have seen me in other things, and understand that it’s not real, because the character in 'Coronation Street' is really horrible.”
Despite his concerns, Will is excited to be joining 'Corrie' and he admitted being such a nasty character is the perfect way to step onto the cobbles.
He explained: "If you’re going to go into a show like that it’s good to go in and make a splash and play a character that stands out.
“I didn’t want to go in and just be Mr Nice Guy because there’s no impact.”
In the coming weeks, Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) will be seen trying to save her son Simon Barlow (Alex Bain) from an evil drugs gang he has got mixed up in.
Harvey is the boss of the gang, and will pile on the pressure when Simon wants out.
'Corrie' producer Iain MacLeod recently said: "I am so excited to welcome Will into our world.
"He is a fantastic actor who has thrown himself heart and soul into making his character as terrifyingly real as possible."
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