Will Mellor has said he was once slapped in the street by a viewer who appeared to believe his Brookside storyline was real.
The Coronation Street actor recalled the alleged encounter during an appearance on The Lewis Nicholls Show. He said it happened while he was walking to a pub to meet friends.
What happened to Will Mellor?
Will explained that he was taking a shortcut from his estate when an older woman approached him.
“There’s a cut through from my estate to where the pub is and as I’m walking through, there’s an old lady walking towards me,” he said. “And she slapped me so hard across the face.”
He said he then asked her: “What are you doing?”
According to Will, the woman criticised him for leaving a woman pregnant and told him that he should be ashamed of himself. Her remarks referred to events involving Paul Howard, the character Mellor had played in Brookside.
The actor said he told her that the story was fictional, adding that his ear was ringing after the alleged slap. When he eventually reached the pub, Will told his friends: “This woman’s just hit me.”
Looking back, the 50-year-old described it as the moment he understood how strongly some viewers could identify performers with their television roles.
“People believe it, that was my first realisation that people believe what they watch on television, they believe these characters,” he said.
Who did Will Mellor play in Brookside?
Will’s four-episode Brookside run in 1992 placed his character, Paul Howard, at the centre of a plot involving Leanne Powell’s pregnancy and abortion, with Paul leaving her.
He suggests the viewer blamed him personally for Paul’s actions in the soap.
The Brookside appearance came years before Will joined Coronation Street as Harvey Gaskell in 2021.
Will Mellor’s other television roles
Will’s soap career also includes playing James “Jambo” Bolton in Hollyoaks, while he has appeared in EastEnders and was a regular in Casualty.
Away from soaps, he is well known for starring in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps alongside his long-standing friend Ralf Little. His other television credits include Broadchurch, Line of Duty and Mr Bates vs The Post Office, in which he played former subpostmaster Lee Castleton.
Will and Ralf have continued working together through their Two Pints with Will and Ralf podcast and the television series Will & Ralf Should Know Better.
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