As Corrie fans saw Mason Radcliffe brutally st@bbed to d3ath this week, actor Luca Toolan reveals how the dad of a mu4dered teenager helped him do justice to the storyline

Millions of Corrie fans tuned in this week to witness Mason Radcliffe st@bbed to d3ath with a zombie knife and actor Luca Toolan, 20 reveals how much work went into getting the storyline just right.

While preparing for his harrowing scenes, the actor consulted with someone who knows the real-life heartache of losing someone to knife violence.

Luca spoke to Martin Cosser, the father of a mu4dered teenager, to find out more about the devastating effects of knife crime on families. Determined to make his performance authentic, Luca, who played Mason for 15 months, hopes the powerful storyline will shed light on a worryingly growing issue in the UK.

Advised on the plot by knife crime charity, the Ben Kinsella Trust, the cast and writers were told there were 225 mu4ders involving a knife or sharp instrument in England and Wales in the 12 months to June 2024.

Speaking exclusively to The Mirror, Luca says of Mason’s mu4der: ”It’s important that he did d!e and didn’t recover after a st@bbing, because knife crime in the UK is not improving. It’s important as a soap to reflect society and show powerfully the horrors of knife crime today. If one person puts down a knife, then the job of raising awareness will be done. I hope children watching this shocking plot unfold, who are considering carrying a knife, will be put off.”

Abi Webster (Sally Carman) finds Mason Radcliffe (Luca Toolan) bleeding from a stab wound in the children’s play area. ( 
Image:
ITV)
In the build up to his final scenes, Luca got to know Martin, 49, to learn more about his son Charlie, who was brutally st@bbed, aged 17, at a party near Warnham, West Sussex, on 22 July 2023.

His k!ller, Yura Varybus, now 18, was found guilty of mu4der and of possessing a bladed article at Brighton Crown Court last May. Allowing the media to identify him, the judge ja!led Varybus for life with a minimum of 16 years.

“Martin’s story about Charlie is so horrific,” says Luca, who always knew his time in Corrie would be limited. “I wanted to talk to him to learn more and I am really glad I have. As an actor, you are trying to bring everything to life on screen. When you hear stories like Martin’s, it opens your eyes and really makes you realise what a serious problem knife crime is.”

Martin was deeply touched by Luca’s approach, although he says watching Mason’s mu4der on Monday’s Corrie was an awful reminder of what happened to Charlie. Admitting that he and his wife of 30 years, Tara, 48, are still shattered by their loss, he tells The Mirror: “I wish I didn’t have to talk to Luca about what it has been like.

Charlie Cosser was just 17 years old when he was st@bbed to d3ath.

Martin Cosser with his children Charlie, Adam and Eloise.
“But soaps like Corrie are a powerful platform to millions of people and I am very grateful they are running this to raise awareness. I have watched the episodes because they are so vitally important.”

But Martin wishes he didn’t identify so closely with the distressing storyline. “We are continuing to go through absolute hell,” he says. “When Charlie d!ed, Tara and I d!ed. If I didn’t have two other children, I wouldn’t be here. It’s a very dark, lonely place. It’s absolutely destroyed us.”

The couple have a daughter, Eloise, 17, and an older son, Adam, 28, who also has a ten-month-old boy, Albie. “My eldest son is now a dad too,” adds Martin. “But on the day of the birth of our grandson, what should have been the happiest day was the saddest day – knowing how great an uncle Charlie would have made and the fact he is no longer here.”

Despite their pain, Martin and Tara are determined to do everything they can to help cut knife crime, by sharing Charlie’s story. And last April, they launched a charity, Charlie’s Promise, with three important goals – to educate young people about knife crime; support other parents going through a similar horror and to campaign on the issue.

Martin Cosser’s children Charlie and Eloise when they were youngerDon’t Miss
In just eight months, former insurance broker Martin, who is now the CEO of the charity, has spoken to more than 7,000 children, visited prisons and held a meeting with Labour MP Dame Diana Johnson and others, with a view to working together to stamp out knife crime. He vows: “I will continue to campaign on these issues forever more, because what happened to Charlie has destroyed the lives of everyone I love.”

Deeply moved by the father’s story, Luca adds: “Martin’s grief will never leave him. I can’t imagine what it is like to be a parent and lose your child in this way. It’s not only the d3ath of the child but the aftermath too. I am so pleased Corrie is playing the aftermath out and showing the ripple affect across the community. “