Coronation Street’s Sam Blakeman exposes dangerous cult as Leanne Battersby falls deeper?

Sam Blakeman (Jude Riordan) takes it upon himself to dig into the Altovalent Institute in Coronation Street next week as Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) continues to fall under its spell.

Leanne, as viewers know, has been incredibly taken with cult leader Rowan (Emrhys Cooper) after they met at a seminar at Chariot Square hotel a number of weeks ago.

Rowan’s teachings on reality coding have proven of particular interest to Leanne, with Toyah (Georgia Taylor) and Nick Tilsey (Ben Price) concerned that she’s getting carried away in her admiration of Rowan.

Toyah, who is a trained counsellor, has warned Rowan that his teachings are harmful but, despite her sister’s concern, Leanne can’t get enough and upcoming scenes will see her credit the bistro’s success to the reality coding.

Nick, however, bites his tongue.

Sam, meanwhile, gets on like a house on fire with newcomer Anwen, who is the daughter of a couple that calls at the bistro, with Anwen joining him for a game of chess.

Nick and Leanne are pleased that Sam is making new friends. In fact, Leanne reckons that Sam’s new friend is also a result of the reality coding.

Sam, much like his dad, proves sceptical of such a notion but, in a bid to keep the peace, he offers to read up on the Altovalent Institute.

The question is: will the young lad’s research prove to be exactly what’s needed to open Leanne’s eyes to the danger that Rowan truly poses? Or will he too fall under the manipulative leader’s spell?

Discussing his character’s motivations, actor Emrhys Cooper revealed: ‘Rowan is high up at the Altovalent Institute. He’s charming but not slimy, relatable and down to earth, about as far away from the misty-eyed mystic as you’d get.

‘Rowan’s main role at Altovalent is recruitment. He travels all over to present conferences and seminars, identifying the more “receptive” people and encouraging them into the fold. Once he’s done that, he schools them into how to recruit others.’