Ryan James Connor is the legal son of Michelle Connor.
Ryan was born to Nick and Wendy Neeson in 1992. A mix-up at Weatherfield General meant that he was switched with the son of Michelle and Dean, who raised him believing that he was theirs biologically. In 2007, Nick traced his now teenaged son and made the Connors aware of the hospital mix-up. Having rejected his biological parents, Ryan resented Michelle - a widow since Dean's death in 2001 - for getting to know her real son Alex Neeson, and briefly fell out with her.
Ryan left Weatherfield in 2010 when he accepted a university placement in Glasgow. Two years later, he was kicked off his course and returned home, hooked on cocaine, although he did manage to curb his addiction. During his time back he dated Tracy Barlow and Katy Armstrong before heading to Ibiza to work as a DJ in 2013. Weatherfield again provided a safety net for Ryan in 2018 when a job in Ibiza fell through and he moved back in with Michelle. This time around, he and Alex (or "Ali") developed a more brotherly relationship.
After a brief romance with Bethany Platt, Ryan had a longer relationship with Alya Nazir, but the pair split up after she was led to believe that he had cheated on her with Daisy Midgeley. In 2022, Ryan helped Debbie Webster in an insurance scam at the Viaduct Bistro, but Ryan was caught and ostracised by his neighbours. The following year, he was the unintended victim of an acid attack by Justin Rutherford, leaving scars both physical and psychological. While dealing with the after-effects of the attack, Ryan began taking steroids and streaming adult content on the Ovidz website in order to regain control of his life.
After his fling with Daisy was discovered by Daisy's partner Daniel Osbourne, Ryan packed up and moved to Glasgow with his girlfriend Crystal Hyde to be resident DJ at a club. However, Daisy remained in his thoughts and less than three months later he ended things with Crystal and returned to Weatherfield. He and Daisy were together for a few months but when it became obvious that she was still hung up on Daniel, Ryan broke it off.
Biography
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1992-2010: Early life and baby swap
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In December 2006, Ryan was caught by Norris Cole vandalising The Kabin. Michelle Connor made him help in The Kabin every night after school for a week. For a time, Michelle dated Sonny Dhillon. After they broke up, Ryan went joyriding in Sonny's car. He was caught by the police, though later released. When he returned to the Street, his uncle Paul Connor smacked him across the face. The reason for this was later revealed to be that Paul caused the demise of Ryan's late father, Dean, due to careless driving. Several months later, Paul died in a car accident after kidnapping Leanne Battersby.
Throughout December 2007, Ryan was stalked by a mysterious stranger who knew him by name. When tracked down, the man, Nick Neeson, explained that he believed Ryan to be his real son, and his own son Alex to be Michelle's after a baby mix-up at the hospital. A DNA test later confirmed this to be the case. Ryan got extremely jealous when his mother started taking Alex out for the day and had a fight with him in January 2008.
The fight resulted in the pair both being hit by a car and suffering minor injuries. Nick wrote Ryan a letter, in which he told him he was sorry for stalking him and hoped he understood why he had to see him. Ryan tore it up before reading it and Michelle picked up the pieces. Inside was a picture of Ryan just after he was born with Nick and Wendy Neeson. Ryan moved in with his uncle and aunt, Liam and Maria Connor in February 2008, feeling excluded because Alex was living with Michelle. After Alex moved out in March, Ryan moved back in.
On 16th October 2008, Ryan attended Tony Gordon's stag party where Tony had plotted to murder Ryan's adoptive uncle Liam after he had discovered his affair with Carla Connor. However, when the group were planning to visit a strip club, Tony sent him home as he was too young and only minutes after Ryan had left, Liam was killed in a hit and run. He was later informed of the news by Michelle.
Ryan briefly dated Sian Powers. They kissed during one of his gigs and started going out. Later, Sian's father Vinnie began threatening Ryan, as he was suspicious that he had been sleeping with Sian after finding condoms in her bag. They later had sex, only to be caught by Michelle. After arguing, Sian left. Her father found out the pair had slept together and sent Sian to Southport to live with her mother Janet. This left Ryan deeply upset.
Shortly after Sian returned, she broke up with Ryan, thinking that he had feelings for another girl. Sophie Webster later found him and tried to give him some advice, however he misread her intentions and made a move on her. After initially lying about the kiss, saying that Sophie initiated it, Sian found out that he tried to kiss Sophie and broke up with him indefinitely, and later that day she began a relationship with Sophie.
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2012-2013: Coke addiction and Katy Armstrong
On 17th July 2012, Ryan returned to Weatherfield after being kicked out of university in Glasgow for a prank involving fire extinguishers. He firstly saw Sophie Webster, who was cleaning No.13 and started a fire which then he got the blame for.
The following month, he took an instant liking to David Platt's wife Kylie and they had a drink in the Rovers which led to Ryan offering her cocaine. Later that evening, Ryan's mother Michelle and her boyfriend Steve McDonald caught him in the toilets snorting cocaine. Michelle and landlady Stella Price called the police on him and he was released following a caution.
Tracy Barlow took a supposed liking towards Ryan which angered Michelle and Steve especially when Tracy continued to take her relationship further with Ryan leading to them having sex. Tracy then faked a pregnancy, confusing Ryan. When Steve requested that she had an abortion, Michelle ended her relationship with Steve. Tracy finally explained that she had faked her pregnancy when Ryan proposed marriage to her. Ryan, Michelle, Steve, Ken and Deirdre Barlow were all hurt and angry. Wanting to rekindle their relationship, Steve came begging back to Michelle and although Ryan explained that Steve should not be with his mother, Michelle eventually gave him another chance. Ryan - hurt that his mother didn't listen to him and that Tracy rejected him - took Sophie to a club in the city.
While at the club, Ryan took cocaine which angered Sophie, and she threatened to call Michelle. Ryan started an argument with another man before leaving, begging Sophie not to tell Michelle. Ryan attempted to play chicken on the road and told Sophie to go home. Not wanting Ryan to get hurt, Sophie talked sense into him and he let her help him. When Sophie tried to go to him, she got hit by a vehicle. The driver called an ambulance while Ryan tried to blame it on him. Once the ambulance arrived, Ryan ran home to tell Michelle what had happened. She and Sophie's parents, Kevin and Sally were all furious with Ryan. Sophie begged her parents not to report Ryan to the police, and soon Sophie made a speedy recovery.
In March 2013, Ryan became the new manager of Prima Doner and quickly employed Katy Armstrong, who was in a relationship with Chesney Brown at the time. Soon, Ryan and Katy began an affair. When Katy's friend Steph Britton became jealous of Ryan, Katy put her off by revealing his drug use in the past. Days later, Ryan and Katy were discovered by Gary Windass in the back of a van. The news hit Chesney and he split up with Katy later on.
Ryan and Katy began frequently clubbing and sleeping together before they became a couple. Months later, their relationship took a turn as Ryan was supposedly texting another woman, Jamie-Lee. However, really they were working together in a club. As soon as Katy saw them together, she got the wrong idea and insulted Jamie-Lee's age before leaving Ryan.
By October, Ryan was jobless so Steve McDonald convinced Ryan to jet off to Ibiza to become a DJ. Michelle was sad to see her son go, but Katy and Steph weren't really bothered. Michelle and Steve bade Ryan farewell as he left in a taxi for Manchester Airport.
He sent a card to his mother, Michelle on the day of her wedding to Steve McDonald in May 2015.
2018 to present: Return from Ibiza
In May 2018, he returned to the United Kingdom from Ibiza in order to attend Michelle's wedding to Robert Preston, however, he met a group of lads on the flight and got drunk at the airport, prompting Michelle to collect him. He was brought to Michelle and Robert's flat at 9 Victoria Court, where he went for a sleep and sobered up.
He attended Robert's stag do at the Rovers Return, in which he got into a conflict with Michelle's biological son Alex (now going by the name 'Ali') who had returned to Weatherfield a few months prior and in that time slowly got to know Michelle.
Ryan began to grow close to Bethany Platt, and in July 2018 began to make out with her. However she panicked and lashed it at Ryan and ran out of the flat scared. Confused he ran after her topless, but retreated back to the flat when her mother Sarah arrived. Sarah confronted Ryan, assuming he was up to no good with Bethany, and hit him causing Ryan to fall and hit his head. He ordered Sarah to leave, but later collapsed from the injury and was discovered by Michelle and Robert, who then called an ambulance.
Ryan claimed that he had forgotten what happened and didn't disclose that Sarah was responsible. Sarah went to visit Ryan to apologise, and explained the situation properly; revealing about Bethany's sexual abuse history after being groomed by her previous boyfriend Nathan Curtis, which left Ryan shocked. Ryan planned to leave Weatherfield as he felt unwanted by Michelle due to Ali's presence, and blackmailed Sarah for £800 so he could return to Ibiza, on the condition that he wouldn't go to the police about the assault. However after a heart to heart to Michelle who stated that she wanted Ryan to stay and he wasn't unloved, he decided to remain in Weatherfield and ended his blackmail plot with Sarah, although she made clear beforehand that she wouldn't give into his blackmail and would simply have denied the assault to the police. Around this time Ryan rekindled his friendship with Bethany.
In March 2023, after the car Daisy Midgeley was going to use to go to her wedding to Daniel Osbourne was stolen, Ryan offered to be her chauffeur. As the pair prepared to leave The Rovers Return to go to the wedding, Ryan noticed a man still in the pub and told him to drink up as he and Daisy had a wedding to go to. However, much to Ryan's surprise, the man was revealed to be Daisy's stalker Justin Rutherford, who attempted to throw acid at her in a revenge attack after she had him arrested. However, to Justin's surprise, Ryan stepped in front of Daisy and was struck by most of the acid. As Ryan collapsed to the ground in agony, Justin fled the scene. Daisy managed to call for an ambulance and took Ryan to the pub's bathroom and used the shower to remove the acid from Ryan. Eventually, paramedics arrived to take Ryan to hospital. Later at the hospital, Ryan was visited by Daisy, who told him that Justin had been arrested.
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Personality
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Relationships
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Background information
Publicity photo of the four Connor family members
Ryan, originally played by Ben Thompson, was introduced as part of the new Connor family brought in to Coronation Street in 2006. The character made his first appearance in Episode 6369 broadcast on 30th August, alongside his uncle Liam Connor (Rob James-Collier). Ryan was the son of Michelle Connor (Kym Marsh), who had debuted in a three-episode stint three months prior before returning regularly, the family unit completed with Ryan's other uncle Paul (Sean Gallagher), who first appeared that September. One of Ryan's first major storylines was his "family" discovering he was not a biological Connor - he had accidentally been swapped at birth with another baby, Alex Neeson (Dario Coates).
In 2010, it was reported by a tabloid newspaper that Thompson had been axed from the programme, and Ryan was to depart for university in Scotland. An ITV spokesperson told Digital Spy that although Ryan was leaving, "[he] hasn't been axed from the show and is still very much a part of Michelle Connor's life. There are plans to see him in future episodes when he returns from university for holidays." [1] Ryan left for Glasgow in Episode 7442, broadcast on 8th October.
Publicity photo of Sol Heras
Publicity photo of Ryan Prescott
Despite ITV's statement it wasn't until two years later in 2012 that the character was eventually reintroduced, now played by Sol Heras and appearing from Episode 7911 on 18th July. Stories following the character's 2012 return included him taking cocaine and dating Katy Armstrong (Georgia May Foote) after breaking up her relationship with Chesney Brown (Sam Aston). Heras related that Ryan's misdeeds earned him real-life abuse: "I get a lot of people shouting at me asking why I'm so mean to Chesney. Guys congratulate me on having a gorgeous girlfriend but other people moan and say I should leave her alone. I was on a golf course recently and the lady behind the bar refused to serve me. She said, 'You're an arsehole. I can't serve you'. She said what I'd done to Chesney and Katy was awful. But as an actor that's the kind of reaction you want and I've been lucky to have so many different storylines." [2] In an interview with This Morning in July 2013, Heras stated a desire for Ryan to redeem himself after his previous behaviour.
That same month and less than a year after his reintroduction, it was reported that Heras would be leaving the show at the end of his contract. Ryan departed three months later in Episode 8226, broadcast on 18th October. The character was reintroduced a second time nearly five years later in May 2018, with Ryan Prescott taking over from Heras. He made his debut as the character in Episode 9464 on 23rd May. Storylines since have included reconnecting with his brother of sorts Alex, now known as Ali and played by James Burrows.
First and last lines
"Taxi never turned up. I waited like... half an hour." (First line, to mother Michelle)
Appendices
(To be completed)
List of addresses
| Address | Duration |
|---|---|
| 12 Coronation Street | 1st January 2007 to 5th November 2007 |
| Rovers Return Inn | 5th November 2007 to 27th February 2008 |
| 7 Coronation Street | 27th February 2008 to 7th March 2008 |
| Rovers Return Inn | 7th March 2008 to 16th January 2009 |
| 7 Coronation Street | 16th January 2009 to 14th August 2009 |
| 18a Victoria Street | 14th September 2009 to 8th October 2010 |
| Glasgow | 8th October 2010 to 18th July 2012 |
| 18a Victoria Street | 18th July 2012 to 2nd October 2013 |
| Ibiza | 2nd October 2013 to 23rd May 2018 |
| 9 Victoria Court | 23rd May 2018 to 13th March 2019 |
| Rovers Return Inn | 13th March 2019 to 14th June 2019 |
| 9 Victoria Court | 14th June 2019 to January 2020 |
| 19a Victoria Street | March 2020 to 24th December 2020 |
| 6 Coronation Street | 24th December 2020 to 10th July 2021 |
| Rovers Return Inn | 10th July 2021 to 3rd August 2022 |
| Chariot Square Hotel | 3rd August 2022 to 21st April 2023 |
| 15a Victoria Street | 21st April 2023 to 26th September 2023 |
| Flat 4, Weatherfield Precinct | 26th September 2023 to 3rd November 2023 |
| 15a Victoria Street | 3rd November 2023 to 20th December 2023 |
| Glasgow | 20th December 2023 to 1st March 2024 |
| 15a Victoria Street | 1st March 2024 onwards |
Employment history
| Role | Institution | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| DJ | Self employed | 25th February 2013 onwards |
| Waiter | Viaduct Bistro | 2nd July 2018 to 30th December 2019 |
| Barman | Rovers Return Inn | 14th February 2020 to 3rd August 2022 |
| Waiter | Speed Daal | 1st November 2021 to 29th July 2022 |
| Head waiter | Viaduct Bistro | 10th August 2022 to 10th July 2023 |
| Waiter | Viaduct Bistro | 18th October 2023 to December 2023 |
| Barman | Rovers Return Inn | 1st March 2024 onwards |