One of Coronation Street’s most well-loved actors has given a heart-breaking update on his health.
Rob Mallard, who takes on the role of the loveable Daniel Osbourne on the ITV soap, currently suffers from a degenerative condition. However, he has since learned that doctors are unable to fully treat the condition and that “nothing can be done” to help him fully recover.
Speaking on BBC’s Morning Live in Manchester, the actor revealed that he was told he had the degenerative illness when he was just 14. Since then, he has gradually been battling essential tremors, with it slowly starting to impact his life.
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Being openly candid to hosts Gethin Jones and Helen Skelton on Wednesday (May 15), he explained how his tremors affect him. He also went into detail about the nervous system disorder, which causes the body to shake involuntarily.
(Image: BBC)
Mallard explained how he first picked up on his tremor when he was still in secondary school. “I went to the doctors and did roughly a year testing things – thyroid, brain scans because they were really unsure what it was,” he recalled.
Rob added: “They came back and said I had an essential tremor and there was nothing they could do for me, to ‘come back if your symptoms get worse and we can try and control them’. Because they told me there was nothing I could do about it, I just put it to the back of my mind and tried to forget about it.”
But despite being told not to think too much about it, Rob soon realised he needed help earlier than he thought. Looking back, he said that it was when his symptoms significantly worsened in his 20s that he realised he needed help.
“That was when I really got the full scope of it and realised it could be quite degenerative over time,” Rob added. He also explained how it affected his career and revealed he had an audition for Emmerdale before he bagged his role on Corrie.
Recalling his time in the village, he explained that during the audition process, producers liked Rob’s acting but felt he was nervous. He added they believed it would cause problems when he got on set.
(Image: BBC)
However, he explained that at that point, nobody knew about his condition so he had to “come out” to his agent about his degenerative condition. They then confessed all to the Emmerdale casting department, who – on the basis of his having coping mechanisms for his pain – gave him the role.
Looking back on the experience, Mallard was grateful for the team for giving him the benefit of the doubt. “So it almost cut me off at that point, so if I hadn’t have been honest about it then I might not have got the job,” he beamed.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
