Coronation Street's Mick star shares 'hardest thing' about soap life after Craig death

Joe Layton has loved playing villainous newcomer Mick Michaelis - but there was one element of his role which he wasn't "prepared for". The actor was branded the "nightmare neighbour" on the cobbles after going on a spree of violence against multiple characters, including his own wife, during his short stint on the show - and now he's admitted he feels there is a "snobbery" towards soaps in the industry.

The fast pace of the storylines was the toughest thing for him about joining the soap. He revealed in an interview with the earlier this year: "Something that I hadn't been quite prepared for until I started was the pace of shooting and the demands that it puts on you as an actor. I'd be lying if [I said] there wasn't a degree of snobbery in the industry towards soaps. However, having filmed for several weeks now, the more strongly I feel that working on a soap should be mandatory for all actors at some stage in their career.. learning on your feet, surrounded by highly experienced and skilled professionals."

He added that he'd found life on the cobbles "challenging" at times, but that he'd "made peace" with that and believes the experience will help him to grow as an actor.

Meanwhile, the Express exclusively revealed earlier this spring that he'd had to let "judgment go out of the window" about the questionable ethics of the character he was playing.

He told us: "Mick wasn't born bad at all - he's a product of how he's been betrayed, been let down... and has fallen through the cracks."

Joe added that, though killing Craig, almost killing Kit (Jacob Roberts), violently attacking Theo (James Cartwright) and terrifying Bernie (Jane Hazlegrove), had been "intense" and "harrowing, Corrie has a "proud legacy of tackling challenging storylines".

Meanwhile, Mick graduated from drama school just a decade ago, but has already accumulated a string of acting credits.

His first job was New Worlds with Jamie Dornan, whom he described as a "lovely" guy, while he also appeared on an ITV show, The Trouble With Maggie Cole, with Dawn French, among various and shows.

He worked with Jodie Comer on Thirteen, and over in the USA, where he lived for six years, he even acted on Marvel TV show Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.

His latest acting role, his Corrie stint, has brought him "joy" alongside the challenges - and now his time is up, with Joe's last scenes due to air on the soap in July.

He'll follow Craig, whose death scenes were televised last week, with actor Colson Smith telling us, after he'd been on the soap more than half his life.