Rob Mallard
Birth nameRobert Stephen Mallard
Birth date19 May 1992 (age 34)
Birth placeManchester, England
OccupationActor
Known forCoronation Street (2016–present)
Years active2003–present

Robert Stephen Mallard (born 19 May 1992) is an English actor from Manchester, England, best known for playing Daniel Osbourne in the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street (2016–present).

Career

On 14 September 2016, it was announced that Mallard had been cast in Coronation Street as Ken Barlow's (William Roache) youngest son Daniel Osbourne, being the third actor to play the role after Lewis Harney and Dominic Holmes, respectively.[1][2] Mallard said, "It feels great to be starting work on Coronation Street and I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone. I grew up watching Coronation Street, so the chance to be in it, especially playing a part like Daniel, is very exciting." Producer Kate Oates said, "Daniel is a different Barlow altogether, more sensitive and bookish, he is clearly a chip off the old block, but there is more to Ken's youngest son than meets the eye. Rob is a talented young actor who is perfect for the role". In June 2017, Mallard won the Best Newcomer award at the 2017 British Soap Awards for his portrayal of Daniel.[3]

Personal life

Mallard is gay. He came out publicly in 2017 in an interview with Gay Times magazine and revealed that his family were supportive of him when he came out to them at the age of 17. He added that he "never planned to keep it quiet" with his only concern being that "if I'm with a female character, will an audience who knows I'm gay in real life believe it? But that was just my own fears because I do believe they will."[4] Mallard entered a relationship with his Coronation Street co-star, Daniel Brocklebank, who played Billy Mayhew, in May 2017.[5] They split up that July, but remained good friends.[6] He began dating modelling agent Matthew Martin in 2023,[7] and in February 2025, he made a cameo in an episode of Coronation Street.[8][9]

During an appearance on ITV's This Morning in March 2018, Mallard revealed that he has an essential tremor, a neurological disorder that causes involuntary shaking. He had previously appeared on the show in January 2018, and after the appearance numerous comments were made on social media about his demeanour, especially his shaking, with some accusing him of being drunk. He said that he had the condition for nearly a decade.[10]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2003Bottom of the NinthFreaky FrankShort video
2004Brass TacksDominickFilm
2013Pound HouseAudience memberUnknown episodes
2015No OffenceNeilSeason 1, episode 6
EmmerdaleConnor Jennsen3 episodes
2016Fresh Meat Dale2 episodes
2016–presentCoronation StreetDaniel OsbourneSeries regular
2020Chapter 2: ZachWalshShort video

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNominated workResultRefs
2017British Soap AwardsBest NewcomerCoronation Street[3]
Inside Soap AwardsBest Newcomer[11]
2018National Television AwardsNewcomer[12]
2019British Soap AwardsBest Male Dramatic Performance[13]
RTS North West AwardsBest Performance in A Continuing Drama[14]

References

  1. ^ "Corrie castings! Who'll be playing Daniel and Adam?". digitalspy.com. 14 September 2016.
  2. ^ "Barlows reunited! First look at Corrie's Daniel". digitalspy.com. 25 October 2016.
  3. ^ "British Soap Awards 2017 Winners: 'Emmerdale' Cleans Up While 'EastEnders' Trails Behind". HuffPost. 3 June 2017. Archived 11 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  4. ^ Harp, Justin (1 February 2017). "Coronation Street's Rob Mallard opens up on his sexuality: 'I never planned to hide that I'm gay'". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  5. ^ Dainty, Sophie (17 May 2017). "Coronation Street stars Daniel Brocklebank and Rob Mallard ARE a couple as they confirm romance". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  6. ^ Hegarty, Tasha (14 July 2017). "Coronation Street stars Rob Mallard and Daniel Brocklebank split up". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  7. ^ Sansome, Jessica (27 February 2025). "Coronation Street star's real-life partner makes 'surreal' debut in soap and fans may have missed it". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  8. ^ "Rob Mallard's real-life boyfriend makes 'surreal' Coronation Street appearance". Metro. 2025-02-28. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
  9. ^ Paton, Ryan (2025-02-27). "Corrie fans only just realise Daniel star's real-life partner made soap debut". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
  10. ^ Lee, Ben (5 March 2018). "Coronation Street's Rob Mallard opens up about health battle on This Morning". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  11. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (31 October 2017). "Inside Soap Awards 2017 shortlist revealed – which Corrie, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks stars are up for prizes?". Digital Spy. Archived 22 October 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  12. ^ Harp, Justin (23 January 2018). "National Television Awards 2018: Find out all the winners from this year's NTAs". Digital Spy. Archived 24 September 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  13. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (30 April 2019). "British Soap Awards 2019 shortlist revealed as EastEnders and Hollyoaks top the nominations". Digital Spy. Archived 6 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  14. ^ "RTS North West Awards 2019". Royal Television Society. July 2019. Archived 27 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 30 October 2019.