David Neilson has become a firm fan fave after playing Roy Cropper in Coronation Street for almost 30 years.
Roy started out as being Deirdre Barlow’s oddball neighbour, who was almost a little creepy.
He eventually bought Alma’s share of Jim’s Cafe, changed the name to Roy’s Rolls and met and married Hayley.
He is now beloved by all of his neighbours and the Corrie fans.
Bad times
But poor old Roy’s having a tough time at the moment, thanks to his involvement with Lauren Bolton, who’s gone missing.
Roy’s found himself arrested for Lauren’s murder, and is now suffering the suspicion of internet sleuths and armchair detectives, as well as his neighbours.
It’s a big story for the Corrie legend, but David Neilson says he’s ready for it!
“It’s a compliment but at the same time a responsibility,” he says. “I do like when Roy is doing bits and pieces in scenes with other people and I get to spend time with my family and see my grandchildren but you never know when things are suddenly going to get busier and I’m prepared for that.”
While we all know everything there is to know about Roy having watched him on our screens for three decades, we know a lot less about the national treasure that is David Neilson!
Here’s the lowdown on everything we know about David Neilson‘s life off screen.
Where and when was David Neilson born?
David was born in Loughborough, Leicestershire in 1949 and recently celebrated his 75th birthday.
He loves football and he is a Leicester City fan.
David Neilson before Coronation Street
When he was starting out in showbiz and studying at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, David took on all sorts of jobs including selling ice cream and pulling pints. He had small parts in Z Cars, Casualty, Heartbeat and Bergerac.
He even appeared on Stars in Their Eyes as Roy Orbison, and had a small part in EastEnders as a property buyer called Mr Walker.
And then, in 1995, he landed the role that would make him a household name – Roy Cropper in Coronation Street.
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Creating a character
With Roy being more than a little strange in those early days, David was keen to make the character his own.
He added some personal touches including Roy’s trademark shopping bag!
The bag belonged to David’s mum, Phyllis. Sadly she passed away shortly before he got the part in Corrie, but when Roy began turning up on Deirdre’s doorstep asking if she needed any shopping, it gave David an idea!
He dug out the nylon tote bag his mum had used, and it became part of Corrie history!
David’s wife and children
David has been married to Jane for approaching 50 years. She was also in showbiz for a while, but left the acting world to become a special needs teacher working with people with autism.
In fact, back in 1995 when David was creating the character of Roy it was Jane who suggested he could perhaps be neurodiverse and struggle with social norms.
“It’s never mentioned in the story though, and it shouldn’t be – Roy is a human being, and a label doesn’t help him,” David told The Mirror a few years ago. “But it gives him reasons for his behaviour and gives me something to play. I enjoy idiosyncrasies in people and Roy is full of them.”
David has a son, Daniel, and two granddaughters.
Does David live in Manchester?
Although Coronation Street is filmed in Manchester, and many of the cast live locally, David and wife Jane actually live a little bit further away!
They left rainy old Britain several years ago and now live in Barcelona in Spain for some of the year!
The pair love the Spanish lifestyle and both speak the language, plus spending a lot of time abroad means David can leave Roy behind and avoid the downsides of being a regular character in Corrie.
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The couple moved their in 2002 after their son went to university there. David even has a degree in Spanish from the Open University.
He revealed to The Mirror in 2009: “I need to get away from Roy and be myself and they don’t know Roy in Barcelona.
“If I’m in Spain for a few days I forget what I do for a living, which is the important thing.
“It means when I come back and someone shouts ‘Roy’, for a moment I forget they’re actually talking to me. And it’s only a couple of hours on the plane so I can commute to Manchester easily enough.”
Sounds perfect to us!
Coronation Street usually airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV.
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