It’s been four years since Pat Phelan was killed off the Coronation Street cobbles for good – though it doesn’t feel like such a long time, with his presence still haunting the street.
Lately fans have been convinced that Fiz’s partner Phill could have a link to him, after they spotted similarities between Phill’s new house and the house Phelan was keeping Andy Carver hostage in.
And actor Connor McIntyre hasn’t been shy in teasing a return to the soap – perhaps as Pat’s long-lost twin.
But what else has the actor been up to since leaving Corrie? From opening up about his horror heart attack to a drastic change of careers, we take a look into the star’s life after the ITV cobbles.
Heart attack horror
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
In 2017, Connor opened up to The Mirror about the “massive heart attack” he suffered years prior – admitting he “should have been gone”.
Speaking to the publication, the Corrie actor said of his 2003 heart attack: “Luckily, I was in Manchester just minutes from the Royal Infirmary, and the NHS did a great job. I had a stent fitted and here I am, still kicking.”
He added: “I have had a near-death experience and that gets your priorities sorted. I have stared death in the face. Life is short.”
The star also expressed his support for the NHS in the face of funding cuts.
Career change
(Image: @dwprescott/Twitter)
Away from his acting career, Connor is actually a painter – which is about as far removed from dastardly killer Phelan as it’s possible to get.
He admitted to PlymouthLive that he was intending to use the cash he’d saved up while murdering the likes of Andy Carver and Michael Rodwell on the cobbles by funding an art studio in Millbay, The Alamo.
He explained to the publication: “I have a large studio which is run by my partner, who is also a painter, and we take in graduates and mentor them – whether that is in visual arts or dramatic arts, because we have a lot of actors who come there too.”
The star, who describes himself as a “painter who does a bit of acting”, explained: “The Alamo is the largest independent lead studio space in Plymouth, possibly the South West, and we don’t get money from anybody.
(Image: Channel 4/The Forge/Stuart Wood)
“And so my time on Coronation Street has also given me a window to other places to talk about these things.”
Recently, Connor has been exhibited in the Funny Weather exhibition at the Plymouth Barbican, with plenty of fans popping in to gaze at his paintings and appreciate his hard work.
But he hasn’t given up acting in the meantime.
Since leaving Corrie, the Liverpool-born actor has starred in Ackley Bridge as Grandad Cooper – a far cry from his Corrie days.
He has also appeared in everything from Casualty to Drop Dead Gorgeous, and made plenty of appearances in The Bill and Silent Witness in the 1990s.
No qualifications
(Image: Mike Marsland/WireImage)
Despite his impressive success, Connor is the first to admit he left school with no qualifications.
He told the Liverpool Echo: “I don’t suppose I was academic, I wasn’t that bright.
“So in short, I seldom went to school.
“I’d hang out, smoking, doing what they do now when they don’t go to school, normal Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn stuff… okay it might not have been that, but it feels like it when you’re that age.”
However, Connor went on to earn an MA in contemporary art practice at the University of Plymouth in 2015.
Soap return
(Image: ITV)
Despite being killed off as Pat, Connor admitted he is open for a Corrie return as Pat’s long-lost twin.
One desperate fan tweeted him: “I’ve said it before. Please bring in Mick Phelan, Pat’s identical twin, hell bent on revenge for the loss of his angelic brother!”
As another posted: “I keep saying this, Bring @connor9mcintyre back as Pat Phelan’s identical twin brother. Nat Phelan.”
A jovial Connor replied with a praying emoji, tagging #Corrie and #MixedPhelans.
Speaking of initially landing the role, Connor said: “The role of Phelan went beyond my expectations. I was only signed for three episodes initially, and if I’d have known at the beginning that we were going to create this villain, it would have been quite daunting!”
Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on ITV
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
