Coronation Street’s Rob Mallard says being ‘honest’ saved career as he almost lost rival soap job over health condition

Rob first arrived on-screen in Corrie as Daniel Osbourne back in 2016 but it wasn’t his first appearance in a soap

**Rob Mallard in Coronation Street as Daniel Osbourne (Image: ITV)**

Rob Mallard, the star of Coronation Street, has said that being ‘honest’ about his health problem likely saved his career since keeping it a secret would have put him at danger of losing his position on a competing soap opera.

Rob became the third actor to play Daniel Osbourne, the son of street veteran Ken Barlow and uncle of serial love rat Adam Barlow, when he made his on-screen debut in the ITV soap opera back in 2016. Fans would be mistaken to believe that Rob has only made appearances in Corrie.

The serial actor previously baffled fans by posting a picture of himself from a different soap opera. He sent the bloody, black-and-white selfie to his thousands of followers in an unusual post. His long hair seemed to be bouncing in an edgier, Elvis-inspired manner as he wore a leather jacket, yet his face appeared to be somewhat beaten and injured, with cuts around his lips and nose.

It was shot when Rob was starring in Emmerdale as Connor Jenson. When Rober Sugden hired the rent boy to entice his father-in-law Lawrence White to bed in September 2015, he made an appearance in the Dales as Connor.

In an effort to do this, he painted false wounds on his face and persuaded Lawrence to accompany him home so he could get assistance. However, Connor became vicious and beat up Lawrence after making a play on Robert’s father-in-law, who was now alienated from him. He then stole Lawrence’s possessions and left the hamlet.

The next year, Rob became Daniel on Corrie and even had an appearance in Jack Whitehall’s Fresh Meat, a comedy on Channel 4. However, Rob has disclosed that he may not have been cast in Emmerdale and would not have been able to join Corrie if he had not been truthful about a medical problem that affected his performance during his audition.

Rob suffers from an essential tremor, which is a neurological illness affecting the nervous system that causes involuntary, rhythmic shaking of the hands but may affect practically any area of the body. The 31-year-old was made aware of his tremor when he was 14 years old, but he didn’t give it any thought until he was in his 20s.

**Rob in Emmerdale in 2015. Photo courtesy of ITV**

Rob recounted this when appearing on Morning Live on Wednesday, May 15: “I went to the doctors and they really didn’t know what it was, so they tested me for almost a year, including thyroid and brain scans. When they returned, they informed me that I had an essential tremor and that there was nothing they could do to help. Please return if your symptoms worsen so we can attempt to manage them.

They informed me that there was nothing I could do, so I attempted to ignore it and push it from my thoughts. I didn’t think I should give this more serious attention until I was in my early 20s and it started to develop and become worse. That’s when I really understood its implications and realized that, in the long run, it may be very degenerative.”

In an interview with Helen Skelton and Gethin Jones, Rob discussed the impact his illness has had on his career, stating: “I did a few Emmerdale episodes before I started Coronation Street. “This is a strange one, but they really like you and would like to offer you the part, but they thought you were very nervous and they were worried about how that was going to work when you are on set,” my agent called me during the audition process.

“At that point, nobody knew what I had, so I had to tell my agent, who then told Emmerdale casting. They asked if I had any coping mechanisms, and I responded, ‘Yes, without a doubt.'” It was only a result of the intense strain of the circumstance. After that, they offered me the position, which is how Coronation Street came to be. That was nearly the last of me, but if I hadn’t spoken the truth, I may not have been hired.”

After appearing on This Morning a few years ago, Rob—who is now a supporter of the National Tremor Foundation for young people—only disclosed his essential tremor to the world. He gave the following explanation: “I simply began shaking when I received a huge adrenaline boost from talking about Coronation Street live on TV.

“When I watched it again, all you could see was the hair trembling. At the time, I also had longer hair and a quiff. Soon after I stopped posting, there were rumors on social media that I was intoxicated, that I was withdrawing from something, or that I was having problems.

Then, I found myself in a situation where I had been keeping this a secret because I believed it would prevent me from working; but, because I haven’t been honest about it, the assumptions have become worse, so I’ve had to make a decision. I returned and disclosed what it was. It’s an important issue, more frequent than you would think, and people tend to believe it affects just the elderly. I’ve found that being open about it has been the best course of action.”