Rhydian Chivers was a senior salesman at Double Glammy, a make-up sales company that operated a pyramid scheme that entrapped their sellers by supplying them with high quality products for an initial sale, then forced them to accept lower-quality goods with a watertight contract that meant court action if they either couldn't pay, or sign up other conned victims on to their staff.
Sean Tully had signed up a willing Gemma Winter as she wanted to be able to afford Christmas presents for her children but her stock was stolen from a market set up on Victoria Street when she and Chesney Brown had momentarily left Kirk Sutherland in charge of it. Sean pressured Gemma to pay him his commission money, in order that he could pass it up the chain, but she angrily quit the scheme instead. Sean made a video call to Rhydian, who smilingly boasted about his bespoke suit and came out with a practised corporate-speak about "positive energy", "changing people's lives for the better" and "being on a journey together" but suddenly changed in his manner when Sean asked for more time to pay and told him he'd signed a legally binding contract and Double Glammy would sue if they didn't get their payment.
Some six weeks later, Sean was being given the cold-shoulder by Kirk because of his treatment of Gemma and rang Rhydian, telling him he was leaving the scheme. In no time at all, Rhydian arrived in the street telling him he was only there because he thought he had what it took to get him to the top - with a little bit more time and investment. Asked for time to think about it, they agreed to meet up again the next day. This time, Todd Grimshaw saw and admired the car and Rhydian boasted that he had been able to buy it the previous year, though Abi Franklin recognised it as coming from a leasing company that the garage serviced. Smelling a rat, Todd got Abi to check and found out that the car was only on a three-day lease. He passed on the news to his mother, Eileen, as he thought any warnings would be better coming from her. She did so but Rhydian was too clever with his words. He span a yarn about wanting to change his cars frequently, also, he had already boasted to Sean about another employee who now supposedly lived a high life with six holidays a year and this time seeing that a weakness of Sean was that he thrived on flattery, told him that he wanted him to be front and centre of the season's campaign and asked him to co-host an event in Tameside. To Todd's despair, Sean fell for the patter, hook, line and sinker.
Two weeks later, Sean met up with Sean again, this time in the Rovers, giving him a new target which was four times his previous one, diverting his shocked attention by asking how his new car was doing. Sean spoke of the Manchester city centre apartment he had his eye on though the £360,000 asking price was somewhat beyond his means. Rhydian talked up his abilities and unrealised potential and told him he had a vision of Sean's name on the intercom by the end of the year. Barmaid Daisy Midgeley listened in to the conversation and offered Sean her help after Rhydian had gone, boasting that she could sell cocaine to Columbia and enjoyed ripping people off. She joined him in hosting the Tameside seminar where they signed up fifty-three new customers, double their target, and earning Rhydian's effusive praise when he visited them. He handed Sean a brochure for the Redbank Apartments, saying he knew the agent and he was willing to do Sean a good deal.
Several months later, Sean got a willing and savvy Daisy Midgeley involved as a born saleswoman but was hit by a hard attack of conscience when she in turn signed up his vulnerable friend Carol Hill. He escaped the web that the company and Rhydian enveloped people in by revealing all he knew about its operations to part-time journalist Daniel Osbourne who wrote up a piece about the company, essentially shutting it down.
- The character's first appearance was filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic and was limited to appearing on Sean Tully's laptop to minimise the risk of actors being at the MediaCity studios.
List of appearances[]
2021