Coronation Street star Luca Toolan, who plays Mason Radcliffe, has revealed the real-life influences behind his character.
Fans of the soap will know that Weatherfield bully Mason has been involved in an evil campaign against Liam Connor, enlisting Liam's former friend Dylan Wilson to abuse their classmate online and in person.
Chatting to Digital Spy and other media, Toolan said he never witnessed bullying at his all-boys' school, but took inspiration for Mason's character from events he saw outside of the classroom.
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"I went to an all-boys' school so to be honest the only things I did see would be outside of school, which is where I took a lot of the influence for Mason," Toolan said.
He continued: "In the area we used to hang out there would be some lads that would sort of resemble Mason, but we were usually the ones running away so I think when you see that and it's so imprinted in your mind and you grew up on shows that show that – I think that did help me quite a lot with that character.
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"There's human beings, and obviously I won't name them, who I use and I remember their mannerisms and how they speak and the way they come across and use that for Mason."
Asked if being close friends in real life with Charlie Wrenshall and Liam Mccheyne makes it easier to film bullying scenes, Toolan said: "Way easier. I don't think you can do those types of scenes if you're not close, because without that trust you can't unleash fully.
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"Especially in the scenes where you see me getting physical or pulling out a knife or getting up in Charlie's face, you wouldn't be able to feel that trust and fully let go. So I think it's very important for our relationship as a trio, but also the performances and what you see on screen, to have that bond.
On preparing to get into character, Toolan added: "For the heavy scenes, more so with Charlie because me and Liam haven't had as much friction, we will separate and not speak to each other."
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
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