David Neilson has warned online trolling is “dangerous” amid his ‘Coronation Street’ storyline about the impact of online abuse.
David Neilson warned online trolling poses a real danger in the real world during his Coronation Street storyline
The 74-year-old actor, who plays Roy Cropper in the ITV soap, is currently at the centre of a dark plot in the ITV soap, which sees the café owner lock himself away after Internet sleuths begin to berate him after he was arrested for the disappearance of Lauren Bolton, played by Cait Fitton, 22.
When ITV asked about whether online bullying was an alien concept to his character, David said: “It is, he doesn’t understand it. It’s dangerous, and it is dangerous in the real world.
“You know, there are kids taking their own lives because of these sort of morons and bullies, awful people and awful stupidity going on. “It is very relevant in today’s society. It is the online version of mob mentality.
“Like the old-fashioned lynch mob in the village going around to someone’s house setting it on fire or damaging property, but they are nameless and faceless. It is a fictional story but it does relate to things that are happening in the world today.”
The actor was then quizzed on how his character felt after Nina Lucas, played by 26-year-old Mollie Gallagher, discovered the harmful comments against Roy, which David said was a reflection of “a sort of insanity” he is desperate to move away from in reality.
He explained: “That’s the way that wonderful technology can be used by human beings for all sorts of suspect reasons. It’s like graffiti or open day for idiots. Anybody’s allowed on there. Everybody invited, everybody in.
“Like Roy I have nothing to do with social media, like a lot of my generation. So in a way it is quite fascinating to see what is happening to him. I’m playing this like it is a sort of insanity that’s going on and I’m playing against something that I don’t understand, let alone Roy.
“He has only just got a phone and when he finds out about all this craziness on Nina’s phone he simply says he doesn’t want to talk about it.”
David also said Roy wanted to help the police find missing Lauren, even though “his brain is a bit scrambled”.
He added: “He has rules and that is why he wants to help. In a way it makes his life easier because it is black and white but then he will do something that is so bad for him, not on purpose.
“He is being absolutely honest trying to lay out what happened and obviously the police officer is bemused by him, he’s not the normal suspect they interview.”
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