The actor David Neilson has revealed a touching story of how his wife helped him shape the iconic character of Roy Cropper on Coronation Street.

The 75-year-old sat down to chat with ITV's This Morning on the origins of his character and how he was only initially set to feature in six episodes.

Initially, Neilson said he fancied doing the show for about five years, but has now been in it for almost 30 since he began back in 1995.

The character of Roy Cropper was initially introduced as a rather creepy man living in a block of flats near the long-running character Deirdre Rachid.

Neilson even went as far as to describe him as a "Norman Bates character at the top of the house".

However, he later revealed that once his character was decided to be "benign" his wife helped him develop the character to give him more nuance.

David Neilson reveals how wife helped to develop Roy Cropper character

Discussing this aspect with This Morning he explained: "Because my wife was a special needs teacher she said 'He might have Aspergers, he might just actually be very literal and not get it, and it's quite innocent'".

It helped bring about aspects of his character such as his interest in trains and how often he carried about a shopping bag.

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Alongside that, Neilson discussed Roy Cropper's romantic storyline with Hayley Patterson who was the first transgender character in a British soap opera.

Initially, it was meant to be a relatively short story arc and that Cropper wouldn't stick around once he found out Patterson was transgender.

However, Neilson said: "But the casting of Julie [Hesmondhalgh] was brilliant, and also our sympathies are very much with these characters."