Playing Corrie bad boy Rob Donovan has taken its toll

“I need to escape the Corrie killer”

In a quiet moment, after Corrie stunner Michelle Keegan plunged off a balcony beside him, Marc Baylis realised his character, Rob Donovan, was about to become Coronation Street’s latest killer.

The bad boy ex-jailbird would finish off Tina with an iron bar on the famous cobbles and the fallout would follow Marc everywhere.

Now, after the maddest couple of years of his life, Marc’s about to bow out of ITV’s blockbuster soap. And he’s told The Sunday Post how he just needs to get a bit of his old life back.

But, surprisingly, Britain’s most wanted man is pretty relaxed and untroubled as he slips into Corrie HQ kindly on his own time for a chat.

“There’s a part of my body and mind that’s desperate to have a bit of a wind-down,” confides Marc, 37.

“I feel so privileged to have had all the material I’ve had in the past two-and-a-half years.

“I’d much rather that than be here for five or six years in the background. But it’s certainly true to say this is the hardest I’ve ever had to work as an actor.”

Taggart veteran John Michie told me recently how, even with all his experience, he’d never appreciated the sheer hullaballoo the show generates.

Being “Killer Karl” took public madness to a whole new level and he welcomed the easier life and pace when he bowed out and moved on to play a surgeon in Holby City. Marc nods, agreeing that there really is no escape.

“I’ve been buttonholed everywhere, from weddings to gents toilets. The reaction to this storyline has been absolutely awesome. I suppose it’s a telltale sign of how it’s got the public hooked that people are badgering you.”

Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne) who’s been in the nick accused of the murder comes up for trial on Monday, October 13.

Marc, who joined in the summer of 2012 as the estranged brother of Carla Connor (Alison King), says: “Rob’s basically been forced by Tracy to go to the trial but he’s wriggling out of it as he doesn’t want to hear the evidence.

“And in the midst of the trial we’ve got the wedding coming up with Tracy running around like an idiot to try to arrange the day of her dreams.”

Soap weddings notoriously go as well as Nigel Farage popping up to share his musings on Scottish independence.

The scenes have already been shot at one of Cheshire’s most prestigious wedding venues, the majestic Capesthorne Hall.

Try wheedling any details from Marc about whether the words “I do” are ever uttered and you’d be more likely to get Simon Cowell to admit he’d rather be on Strictly Come Dancing.

After all, this is the man who knew he’d be a murderer six months before he delivered the messily fatal blow.

“I’ve kind of got used to it now,” smiles Rob. “I hold it all back. It’s nice to throw a few teasers away but if you give away every twist and turn it takes away from the great job the writers have done.”

Burdened with the secret millions of soap fans want to know, Rob did share the inside scoop with one person, girlfriend Adele. She knew him as a jobbing actor, a reliable stage performer who trod the boards for years.

And she, and his supportive family, have been key to providing a protective domestic bubble.

“With any form of high-pressure work you need that behind you,” says Marc.

“You need it to keep your head in order and still be doing a good job without burning yourself out.

“I’ve got a very secure home life. The time constraints have been the thing; that commute up and down the country from London every week.

“But I’ve had a few Sundays recently where I’ve not travelled up to Manchester and that’s already made a huge difference.”

Despite the drama to come. don’t expect to have seen the last of this Corrie bad boy with producer Stuart Blackburn saying he’d like to see both Marc and Chris back.

“I’m happy to step away for a little and cherish the moment, but I’m not averse to coming back,” adds Marc.