Coronation Street fans were taken aback when they discovered Joe Layton’s real voice. The actor first arrived on the cobbles earlier this year and has received overwhelming praise for his powerful portrayal of Weatherfield’s newest villain, Mick Michaelis. Since arriving on the street, Mick has made a name for himself as a real danger to other residents, killing Craig Tinker and most recently, stabbing Kit Green.
Meanwhile, his wife Lou grew closer and closer to Gary Windass before ultimately lashing out which has seen him left in a coma for the past two weeks. Monday’s broadcast brought even more tension on the cobbles as Mick Michaelis made a dramatic escape from prison and headed straight for Weatherfield High.
Following the news that his family was falling apart and Lou was in trouble, the episode followed Mick’s breakout as he was desperate to see his kids and do a runner. He ended up at UnderWorld, where Sally was giving Joanie a tour of the factory.
In the fight to find his daughter, Mick attacked Sarah, locking her and Tim in the office before taking to the scaffolding and stabbing his lifelong enemy Kit Green. In the end, Mick was re-arrested and he is expected to be locked away for a very long time.
The Mick Michaelis star recently appeared on ITV’s This Morning to discuss his whirlwind adventure on the cobbles. The actor has also been nominated for Best Villain at Inside Soap Awards.
Speaking about the role, he said: “It’s a dream, really. When I had the call with the producer, I couldn’t believe how much we were going to cram into six months. As an actor, that’s such a gift to have the opportunity to get in and get out and have that arc as well.”
As the soap star spoke about his role, Coronation Street fans were distracted by the actor’s real accent. After six months of getting to know the Mancunian bad boy, viewers were surprised to see the actor sporting a “posh” accent on live TV.
Taking to social media, one fan said: “How different does Mick sound off-screen?! Very well spoken! Hated his character but great actor.” A second also noticed Joe’s voice: “WOW Joe Layton sounds so different in real life from his character Mick Michaelis.”
More soap fans added to the conversation on X: “Not the real voice I was expecting to come out of Corrie’s Mick’s mouth”, “It just goes to show what a brilliantly versatile actor Joe Layton is” and “Chuffing ‘eck! Joe Layton speaks dead posh!”
Joe teased tonight’s episode, as fans can expect to see a “redemption of sorts.” The actor explained: “He’s motivated by doing what he thinks is right for his family as well.
“So it’s not so much revenge against Kit; obviously he stabs him, so there’s a little bit of revenge, but I think ultimately he wants his kids to have a different life than him. There’s a big abandonment wound for him; we’ve had loads of betrayal, and we’ll see in tonight’s episodes there’s a scene with Brody.”
He also took the time to praise the younger actors for their roles in the powerful storyline. He said: “Can I just say the kids in the show are amazing, working with Savanna (Joanie) and Sally as well? Those scenes on the roof were lovely to do.”