Former EastEnders villain actor to join Coronation Street and spark theory for new role in Driscoll clan

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Coronation Street is getting a new actor! Aidan O’Callaghan, who many soap opera viewers will recognize, is joining the cast.

The actor first appeared on the soap opera Emmerdale in 2018 as a guest star. At the time, Robert Sugden’s relationship with Aaron Dingle was struggling, and Bernice Blackstock tried to help by playing matchmaker.

Robert and Mike met at a gay bar, and quickly connected after Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick) gave them a little nudge.

However, Robert’s guilt got the better of him and he decided against pursuing anything further.

Four years later, Aidan landed a recurring role on EastEnders. He played Lewis Butler, the charming new manager of The Prince Albert pub.

Lewis first became friends with Ben Mitchell, who Ben’s mother, Kathy Beale, employed at the pub. Their connection then started to become romantic, but Ben was already in a relationship and rejected Lewis’s attempts to get closer after a night out.

In harrowing scenes, Lewis became infuriated and refused to let Ben leave, before raping him.

Once the truth was revealed, Kathy kicked the abuser out of Walford. However, the Mitchells had bigger plans for him – they kidnapped him and forced him into a car. He managed to escape Phil Mitchell’s attempt to restrain him and grabbed a gun.

Okay, so things really escalated. The guy pulled a gun on Phil and Sam – Kim Medcalf is doing a great job, by the way – and a struggle ensued, ultimately with Ben managing to wrestle the weapon away. He then cornered Lewis, got a confession out of him, but surprisingly, didn’t take matters into his own hands. Instead, he did the right thing and turned Lewis in to the police. A smart move, even after all that drama!

A year passed, and even though Ben hadn’t seen any consequences for what he did, he learned that Lewis was now facing charges for sexually assaulting another person.

O’Callaghan is heading back to television drama, with his acting credits showing he’ll be appearing as a new character named Alan in two upcoming episodes of Coronation Street.

The Rovers Return pub is getting new owners – an Irish family! Aaron McCusker and Pauline McLynn, known from the show Shameless, will be playing the roles of Ben, the new landlord, and his mother, Maggie.

Eva Price, played by Catherine Tyldesley, is back, along with her daughter Susie (Aurora Bradshaw). Joining them are his sons, Will (Lucas Hodgson-Wale) and Ollie (Raphael Akuwudike), who viewers will remember from earlier this year.

People are starting to notice that she can be quite harsh and sometimes takes her criticism too far. It’s unclear if she learns from these moments, and we’ll have to see if she changes her behavior.

Consider us intrigued!

But who is Aidan’s character Alan, and what does his arrival mean for the Driscolls?

A keen-eyed fan noticed him appearing in an old family photo that will be shown in the Rovers Return living room.

Could it be that Alan is Maggie’s husband, and we’re about to flashback to Ben’s childhood?

Corrie has previously shown flashbacks to explore characters’ pasts, and they recently did this with Kit Green (Jacob Roberts) in a dedicated episode earlier this year.

Coronation Street has been contacted for comment.

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2025-10-24 13:34