Corrie star David Neilson tells John Bishop about audition that changed his life on Three Little Words podcast

John Bishop has been joined by Coronation Street actor David Neilson in the latest episode of his podcast. The actor appeared on John Bishop’s Amazon Prime podcast Three Little Words, which he hosts with Tony Pitts, to share how an impromptu audition took him from a Gasman to one of Britain’s most beloved soap actors.

Neilson is best known for playing cafe owner Roy Cropper in the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street since 1995.As the podcast got underway, John asked: “At what point did you think ‘I’m gonna be an actor’?” to which David replied: “You get the life that’s dealt you. You don’t choose it. It’s just dealt you.”

David admitted he opted for a job at the gas board after leaving school because it came with the perk of being able to drive a van around. He revealed that he didn’t want to become an actor but disliked his career at the time and needed a change.

The actor went on to recall the audition that changed his life forever. “I went and caught a train. I took the Friday off, and I went down. I can point to a day that changed my life. I went in and did the monologue, and they were all laughing, and I was getting a reaction. They offered me a place on the spot. It’s amazing.”

John and Tony invite new celebrity guests onto their podcast every week and have interviewed the likes of Robbie Williams, Tony Bellew, Jimmy Carr and Ian McKellen.

John was joined by good friend Ian McKellen earlier this month as they performed in the Mother Goose pantomime. John was forced to pull out of a run of shows following the heartbreaking death of his mother, Kathleen.

He confirmed that his mother had passed away in a touching tribute shared on social media and revealed that she had watched and sang along to his Mother Goose performance in Liverpool before her death.“Two weeks ago, my Mum came to see me in Mother Goose in Liverpool and joined in the singalong at the end, as I knew she would," he said at the time. “This morning, we said goodbye to her, and we will never hear her sing again."

He added: "As a family, we are heartbroken. She was a mother, a grandmother and a great-grandmother, and she loved us all. Next week she would have been married to my Dad for 62 years, and they had a love and a friendship that was beautiful to be around.

"We want to thank all of the brilliant staff at Whiston Hospital on ward 3C who could not have done more and provided exceptional care for us all. "Anyone who has lost a parent will understand when I say it is a pain like no other. I will never have another mother, but I will be eternally grateful for being lucky enough to have had the one I did. Good night, Mum, you were our sunshine".