Brian Capron believes Richard Hillman would defeat Pat Phelan in a battle of the ‘Coronation Street’ serial killers.
The 71-year-old star is confident his evil alter-ego would get the better of Corrie’s most recent mass murderer Phelan – who was played by Connor McIntyre – because he would outfox him with a cunning plan, rather than try to physically overpower him.
He said: "It’s mad Richard still gets mentioned in ‘Corrie’ but they’ve just had another famous murderer, Phelan, so perhaps he takes my mantle now.
"Richard’s deviousness might have got to Phelan in the end! He’d be up against Phelan’s brutality but maybe Richard would’ve come up with a plan that wrong-footed him."
Evil Hillman was famously dubbed "Norman Bates with a briefcase" by his wife Gail Platt (Helen Worth) – and Brian has kept hold of his character’s old box-shaped bag.
He said: "I’ve still got that briefcase. Gail’s line calling him ‘Norman Bates with a briefcase’ was classic."
Brian is still amazed that he gets recognised for playing Richard "all the time", including recently while shooting ‘Celebrity 5 Go Caravanning’ in Cornwall alongside Tony Blackburn.
He added to the TV Times magazine: "When we filmed this in Polperro, people recognised Tony and said, ‘You’ve got that murderer with you!’
"I feel grateful for playing Richard because that story was special with so many twists.
"It’s lovely having a little place in soap history."
Brian played financial adviser Hillman from 2001 to 2003, and the character first appeared on the soap as Alma Baldwin’s (Amanda Barrie) cousin.
During his reign of terror, Hillman left his colleague Duggie Ferguson (John Bowe) to die, killed his ex-wife Patricia (Annabelle Apsion), and Maxine Peacock (Tracy Shaw), and he tried to bump off Emily Bishop (Eileen Derbyshire).
If that wasn’t enough, he attempted to do away with the Platt family by driving them into the canal, but they survived, while he drowned.
Brian Capron: Hillman would defeat Phelan in battle
