The soap star is renowned for his role as Daniel Osbourne
Daniel Osbourne has become one of Coronation Street’s most important characters. The fictional teacher is the son of Ken Barlow and was first welcomed to Weatherfield in 1995, before he departed with his mum, Denise Osbourne, just two years later.
Rob Mallard is now firmly established as one of Coronation Street’s most renowned figures. Daniel returned to the Cobbles for a short storyline in 2007 and eventually became a series regular in 2016 after Ken suffered a stroke.
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The Weatherfield resident has been played by Rob Mallard since becoming a Coronation Street mainstay. The soap star has gone on to play Daniel through some of the show’s most dramatic storylines.
Daniel has been embroiled in one of the show’s major storylines as his partner, Bethany Platt, travelled to Turkey for a botched cosmetic procedure. The character, played by Lucy Fallon, travelled overseas to undergo liposuction at a new facility.
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However, she ended up in critical condition after contracting sepsis as a result of a botched procedure, leading to her living with a permanent stoma. Bethany is struggling to come to terms with living with a stoma.
Fans were upset after a heartbreaking scene from the latest episode saw Daniel return home unannounced and see the stoma for the first time. Viewers took to the comments of the clip shared on Instagram and said they have been moved by the way Corrie is shining a light on the subject.
Sophie said: “My heart breaks for her x” Mike added: “It’s such a hard storyline. But you can’t push away the ones who love you.” Leanne said: “Bless her heart.”
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Daniel rekindled his romance with Bethany after a dramatic relationship with Daisy Midgeley. Bethany was moved to go for the surgery after she was concerned Daniel was once again falling for Daisy.
Away from the screen, Rob enjoys a close friendship with Lucy and Daisy star, Charlotte Jordan. On an edition of Lorraine when Daniel and Daisy were dating, Rob gushed over the soap stars’ close friendship and explained it is vital to their on-screen chemistry.
He said: “You do develop a shorthand where you do understand what the person you’re working with needs.” However, Charlotte stepped in to joke her co-star is actually “unprofessional” as she shared a behind the scenes secret.
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She said: “He sounds very professional, but in actual fact what he likes to do is leave me notes on set. Naughty notes that will make me giggle just to see if I can keep a straight face.”
Rob explained the trick is an “old Corrie tradition”. He added: “Apparently Vera and Jack used to have the script dotted around in bits of props and they used to enjoy hiding it from each other so during a take, they’d go into a laundry basked to look for their next line and it wouldn’t be there.”
Away from the screen, Rob’s life is fortunately less dramatic than his onscreen counterpart. The actor does not post regularly on his social media channels and he sparked rumours he has found love again last year with his latest.
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Rob shared a snap with Matthew Martin ahead of the British Soap Awards last year. Fans took to the comments and praised the two as Jayne said: “Handsome couple.” Daisy star Charlotte said: “You sexy b******s xxx.”
Previously, Rob was involved in a relationship with co-star Daniel Brocklebank, who plays vicar Billy Mayhew. The soap stars dated in 2017 and made their red carpet debut together at the British LGBT awards.
Rob won the Best Newcomer prize at the British Soap Awards that year – and said his co-star was “the best thing I’ve taken home this year”. However, the couple split two months after going public with their relationship.
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Rob spoke publicly about his sexuality during an interview with the Gay Times in 2017. He said: “‘I never planned to keep it quiet that I was gay. The only concern I had at first was if I’m with a female character, will an audience who knows I’m gay in real life believe it? But that was just my own fears because I do believe they will.”
Rob has also opened up his battle with essential tremors, a neurological disorder that is often confused with Parkinson’s disease and causes parts of the body to shake. Rob revealed he was first diagnosed with the condition when he was 14, but said his symptoms are getting worse.
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He told ITV in May: “When I was diagnosed it was just my left hand, now it is both hands and I will get it in the diaphragm and I have had the head tremor in the past.
“It was something I didn’t want to talk about, I just wanted to hide it, but I can’t now because it is obvious.” Rob regularly works with the National Tremor Foundation’s official website and is a patron for young people for the charity.
The actor is determined to not let the condition impact him and wants to educate others about essential tremors. He said: “A lot of people assume it is an anxiety disorder, even worse than that they can assume you are in withdrawal from having a drink”