Roy Cropper/Coronation Street

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Originally, Roy was intended as a psychopathic, villainous character whose tenure would last for only six episodes.[6] Neilson described the character as "scary",[6] and "a bit like Norman Bates in [the horror film] Psycho".[4] However, Neilson felt compelled to reinvent Roy as a sympathetic character, socially inept, rather than menacing. His pestering of neighbour Deirdre Rachid and his unusual behaviour could be explained by Asperger syndrome—a disorder which Neilson has since attempted to portray in the character. This ultimately extended the character's screen life, turning him into a fan favourite.[6] Misunderstood, he was almost evicted from his flats for his behaviour towards Deirdre, though he was actually only showing concern for her welfare. He was summed up by the character Mike Baldwin as “a bit of a nutter, but harmless enough”.[7] Although it has never been officially confirmed on-screen, it has indeed been suggested by critics that Roy has Asperger syndrome, due to his obsessive compulsive tendencies and because of his literal interpretations and miscomprehension of nuances and subtleties.[8][9]
Described as "remarkably intelligent, but socially naïve", the character is a fan of buses and trains, wears a beige anorak, scarf, woollen gloves and clutching a nylon shopping bag with a set of keys taped to the handle.[10][11] Actor David Neilson has since revealed that his character's "infamous old shopping bag", complete with attached keys, were props that he introduced. The bag and keys belonged to Neilson's mother, who died shortly before he took on the role in 1995. He has commented, "My mum sadly passed away just before I started on the show and I wanted to carry something of hers. I also wanted to add my own props and develop the character. The bag carries nothing more than my script."[11]
Despite Roy's initial "creepy" persona,[11] viewers were eventually shown a different side to the character. He was converted from a creep to an eccentric;[12] A quiet and shy intellectual man, with few social skills and a penchant for trivial information, but underneath it all, a man with "a heart of gold".[7][10] He has been described as compassionate, moral, sensitive and full of integrity; taking in waifs and strays and helping his neighbours whenever possible.[13][14] Commenting on his character, Neilson has said, "Roy is absolutely his own person and hugely honourable. Some people think he's simple. He's not. He's a very complex man with hidden depths. And there's lots more to explore...There's something tragic about Roy. I think there is a big black cloud that follows him around and one day it is going to really dump on him."