PC J. Rowland was on patrol in March 2022 in a car park when he spotted Leanne Battersby alone in her vehicle. Unbeknownst to him, she had made her first drugs delivery for local crime boss Harvey Gaskell, who had been threatening her and her stepson Simon Barlow to comply with his wishes, and she had just finished counting the proceeds of her ill-gotten gains. The officer tapped on the window and showed her his identity badge. He informed her that they had had a number of car-jackings reported to them and asked her if she had spotted anyone acting suspiciously. Leanne maintained her composure and span a yarn that she was a stranger to the area, getting lost after taking a wrong turn when she wanted the M60 and Manchester. PC Rowland helpfully sent her off in the right direction.
In September 2022, PC Rowland was one of the officers who investigated after Aadi Alahan was shot on the roof of a mill on the Boxley Road industrial estate. He had been trying to protect his fiancée Kelly Neelan from gangster Kieron Edgerton. She had offered Kieron £10,000 to shoot Gary Windass in revenge for Gary killing her father, loan shark Rick Neelan three years before. After arranging the hit, Kelly had an attack of conscience and called the hit off, putting herself in danger as Kieron was sure she would report him to the police. He therefore prepared to shoot her but it was Aadi who took the bullet when he ran forward to protect Kelly.
He was taken to Weatherfield General where PC Rowland told Gary and a frantic Dev Alahan that Keiron and one of his heavies had been arrested and the gun they were carrying was being examined by forensics to make sure it was the weapon used in the shooting. Gary was naturally concerned that the police would find out too much and that he would end up being arrested for the murder of Rick, even though that act had been committed in self defence, He was relieved when Rowland told him that they arrested pair were refusing to say anything. Rowland wanted to interview Kelly but, having had enough of the dangerous world that her father had operated in and that she was slowly being ensnared into, she packed and left the area for good.
In April 2023, the officer helped Paul Foreman when a Range Rover he was driving suffered a puncture outside the Weatherfield Precinct, causing an obstruction. In order to help Paul get on his way PC Rowland offered to help him jack the vehicle up and change the tyre. The officer had no idea that Paul had stolen the vehicle to order on the instructions of a crook named Niall Granger as part of an insurance scam when Paul desperately needed the funds he was being paid having lost work due to the onset of motor neurone disease.
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- Credited as "PC Rowland", the character's initial was displayed on his ID badge in his first appearance.
List of appearances[]
2021
2022
2023
2024