Exclusive: Coronation Street star Will Mellor reveals reason he’ll never appear on rival soap

Will Mellor’s been in three of the ‘Big Four’ soaps – having had roles in Coronation Street, EastEnders and Emmerdale – but told the Mirror he has no plans to join Emmerdale next

Former Coronation Street cast member Will Mellor has revealed that he has no plans to join one of its rivals, despite it being the only ‘Big Four’ soap that he hasn’t yet been in.

The actor, now 48, has starred in numerous shows over the course of his career and joined ITV’s Corrie in 2021. He was cast as drug lord Harvey Gaskell and appeared in 2022 too. More recently, he briefly returned earlier this year.

It marked Will’s third time working on one of the main four soap operas in the UK. He was an original cast member on Hollyoaks, having played James ‘Jambo’ Bolton on the Channel 4 show, and later appeared in several episodes of the BBC’s EastEnders as the character Warren Stamp.

Despite having appeared in three of the so-called ‘Big Four’ soaps, Will shared the Mirror that he has no plans to join the remaining one, Emmerdale. He spoke about his career whilst promoting his collaboration with Smart Energy GB.

Asked if Emmerdale is next on his list, Will told us in our interview: “Not really. It’s not like I have … I go round going ‘I want to do all the soaps’. I’m not a massive fan of sheep and cows either. So being up in the Dales isn’t one for me.”

He went on reveal that he takes roles based on what “feels right at the time” and said that he is content in doing drama projects at the moment. His latest roles include the second series of Channel 5’s the Teacher, set to air later this year.

Will explained to us last week: “To be honest, I do things that … if it feels right at the time, I do it. I don’t sort of set myself out going ‘I want to do this and that’. Obviously, now because of [my role in Mr Bates vs the Post Office] there’s been a lot of drama work being fired my way and I enjoy doing the drama work and playing different characters.”

He said: “So it’s all about the characters for me. I don’t sort of set a plan on what I want to do, other than I really want to stay busy but I also want to play different characters. It’s what’s interesting to me. I don’t like sort of being put in one box to go ‘I’m a comedy actor or I’m jack the lad’.”

Will added that the opportunity to take on a different kind of character was why Corrie appealed to him. He said about the show: “That’s why [the role of Harvey] was appealing to me because I don’t get to play many real bad guys.”

The actor described his character on Corrie as a “test” for him, before sharing his hope that his roles in the future are diverse and surprise viewers. Will teased: “[I will be] hopefully catching people out with the parts that I play.”

Will spoke to us in collaboration with Smart Energy GB, an organisation that helps households and small businesses to understand how smart meters can benefit them. It has partnered with Energy Advice Helpline for a new campaign to raise awareness amid energy bills concerns in the UK.

He said: “I think everybody knows the energy prices [have] gone up and how people are struggling here and there.” Will went to share that he’s found it “very easy” using a smart meter, which measures gas and electricity usage, as well as showing families their consumption and the cost.

The actor shared: “It’s something you can see. And when you can see it, you can make changes to make it better. Technology can be scary, especially for people [of] my age, [as] technology moves so quick, but it was really simple.”

Will said: “I can see what we’re spending, I can see where my budget is and we can accommodate to keep it in budget. I think for people who have got bills that they’re struggling to pay, it can help. Because you can keep an eye on it and you’re not getting shocked by bills at the end of the month.”

He told us that keeping an eye on the data from it stops him “stressing” every month and allows his family, which includes his two children, to make changes to address any increases in usage. Will said: “You can save energy here and there, and now the kids now actively turn things off and unplug things […] It can help you save, even if it’s a little bit, it all helps.”