Robert Stephen Mallard (born 19 May 1992) is an English actor from
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, England, best known for playing
Daniel Osbourne in the long-running
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
soap opera ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford.
Origi ...
''.
Career
On 14 September 2016, it was announced that Mallard had been cast in ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford.
Origi ...
'' as
Ken Barlow
Ken Barlow is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'', played by William Roache. He was created by Tony Warren as one of ''Coronation Street''s original characters and December 2020 marked Ken's 60th anni ...
's (
William Roache
William Patrick Roache (born 25 April 1932) is an English actor. He is best known for playing Ken Barlow in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' since it was first broadcast on 9 December 1960. He is listed in the ''Guinness World Records ...
) youngest son
Daniel Osbourne, being the third actor to play the role after Lewis Harney and Dominic Holmes, respectively. Mallard said, "It feels great to be starting work on ''Coronation Street'' and I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone. I grew up watching ''Coronation Street'', so the chance to be in it, especially playing a part like Daniel, is very exciting." Producer
Kate Oates
Kate Oates (born 1979 or 1980) is a British television producer, who was born in Nottingham and graduated from Warwick University. She began her career working as a researcher and editorial assistant for Germaine Greer, before becoming a script ...
said, "Daniel is a different Barlow altogether, more sensitive and bookish, he is clearly a chip off the old block, but there is more to Ken's youngest son than meets the eye. Rob is a talented young actor who is perfect for the role". In June 2017, Mallard won the Best Newcomer award at the
2017 British Soap Awards for his portrayal of Daniel.
Personal life
Mallard is
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
. He
came out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
publicly in 2017 in an interview with ''
Gay Times
''Gay Times'' (stylized in all caps), also known as ''Gay Times Magazine'' and as ''GT'', is a UK-based LGBTQ+ media brand established in 1975. Originally a magazine for gay and bisexual men, the company now includes content for the LGBTQ+ commu ...
'' magazine and revealed that his family were really supportive of him when he came out to them at the age of 17. He added that he "never planned to keep it quiet" with his only concern being that "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." Mallard entered a relationship with his ''Coronation Street'' co-star,
Daniel Brocklebank
Daniel Brocklebank (born 21 December 1979) is a British actor, best known for portraying the roles of Ivan Jones in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' (2005–2006), and Billy Mayhew in ITV's other long-running soap ''Coronation Street'' (2014†...
, who plays
Billy Mayhew
''Coronation Street'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters that appeared in 2014, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by series producer Stuart Blackburn. Shar ...
, in May 2017. The couple split up that July, but remained good friends.
During an appearance on ITV's ''
This Morning'' in March 2018, Mallard revealed that he suffers from an
essential tremor
Essential tremor (ET), also called benign tremor, familial tremor, and idiopathic tremor, is a medical condition characterized by involuntary rhythmic contractions and relaxations ( oscillations or twitching movements) of certain muscle groups in ...
, a neurological disorder that causes involuntary shaking. He had previously appeared on the show in January 2018 where, after his appearance, there were numerous comments made on social media about his demeanour, especially his shaking, with some accusing him of being drunk. He admitted that he has been suffering from the condition for nearly a decade.
Filmography
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mallard, Rob
1992 births
Living people
Male actors from Manchester
English male soap opera actors
English gay actors