Corrie's `Swampy' makes rivals go green with envy.

The latest character to hit Coronation Street will be an eco-warrior called Spider based on real-life anti-motorway protester Swampy.

But while Swampy is best descibed as cheeky and loveable, Spider is a real hunk.

Actor Martin Hancock, who plays him, is set to win a legion of women fans when he pops up in two weeks as Emily Bishop's dreadlocked great- nephew.

And Weatherfield wild child Toyah Battersby, played by Georgia Taylor, will head the queue.

She even turns vegetarian to win Spider's heart after he moves in with prim and proper Emily - Eileen Derbyshire - to replace Percy Sugden. "He's a loveable rogue who will turn out to be a bit of a handful for Emily," says a Granada TV insider.

Street producer Brian Park is so sure Londoner Martin, 25, will be a hit he has given him a 12-month contract.

Scriptwriters dreamed up the Spider part after massive TV news coverage earlier this year of the protest to stop a second runway at Manchester Airport.

Real-life Swampy - 24-year-old Daniel Hooper - was arrested in the demo.

Article Details

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Author:	May, Fiona
Publication:	The People (London, England)
Date:	Nov 23, 1997
Words:	177
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