Corrie star Emhrys Cooper defends cult leader Rowan after fans beg bosses to axe storyline
Corrie’s Emhrys Cooper has dished the dirt on his character Rowan Cunliffe, amid the controversial cult storyline.
The actor, who marched into Weatherfield earlier this year as the mysterious boss of a dubious “self-improvement group” called The Institute, that has been busy fleecing the vulnerable out of their money.
It didn’t take two shakes for Leanne Battersby (played by Jane Danson) to fall under the cult’s spell, much to the worry of her Nick Tilsley (Ben Price) and sister Toyah Habeeb (Georgia Taylor). The group’s been stirring the pot, isolating Leanne from her nearest and dearest and whipping up a creepy AI version of her late son for her to chat to.
Climbing the ranks whilst blind to Rowan’s dodgy dealings, Leanne’s been sucked right in. To add to the drama, Corrie youngster Amy Barlow (portrayed by Elle Mulvaney) got curious about the crowd. Rowan turned on the charm, convincing Amy to fork over her £40,000 inheritance windfall to the collective.
But after a “malware session” at the cult – that saw members shout abuse at a blindfolded Amy – she changed her mind about The Institute and investing. And just when Amy thought she’d hit rock bottom, she was told that getting her money back would be difficult because it had already landed with The Institute’s parent company.
And the storyline itself has ruffled plenty of feathers too. Voicing their annoyance on Twitter, one fan blasted: “I’m sorry but the Coronation Street cult storyline just has to end. It’s gone completely beyond the joke. It’s one of the worst things ever.” Another frustrated viewer declared: “Hurry up and end this storyline it’s absolute garbage.”
But now, actor Emhrys has spoken out in defence of his character Rowan, revealing that the dude was “brainwashed” himself. Hitting the sofa on This Morning last Wednesday (September 4), Emhrys confessed: “I think he [Rowan] went through a lot, and struggled with a lot of issues in his twenties, and discovered the The Institute.”
“And it did save his life so he’s been essentially brainwashed. But I like to think there’s some good in old Rowan, that he does want to help folks, but yeah, hes chasing that cash.”
