Cult leader Rowan Cunliffe’s true identity has been uncovered as his blackmail plan backfires.

Viewers have been frustrated to see Leanne Battersby continue to fall prey to The Institute, even revealing her personal and family secrets to Rowan. In his latest con, Rowan promised Leanne the chance to make extra money by investing in a new resource centre.

However, his plan was shut down when Leanne told Nick about the £40k investment. An irritated Rowan suggested Leanne had outgrown Nick, when she told him she wouldn’t be investing.

rowan cunliffe in coronation street
Tonight’s (July 19) episode saw Toyah Battersby trying to find dirt about Rowan online, in an attempt to uncover his secrets.

Meanwhile, after failing to persuade Leanne, Rowan had to find another route getting to his money. Referring to Nick and Toyah’s cheating incident, Rowan tried to blackmail Nick into agreeing to the investment.

“By you giving Leanne what she’s asked for, you’d not only be making her happy, but perhaps you’d be relieving a guilty conscience at the same time?” he suggested at the Bistro. “Let’s hope she never has to find out, for both our sakes,” he added as a warning.

In order to keep his secret, Nick reluctantly agreed to reconsider the investment, but told Rowan he could only afford half of the amount.

toyah battersby, coronation street

Later, Toyah continued to dig for information about Rowan. Rifling through his jacket pockets, she took his driving licence to do a reverse image search.

“You are not gonna believe what I found,” she told Nick, before revealing an article proving Rowan was lying about his identity.

The pair confronted Leanne with the new information, telling her Rowan’s real name is Luke and that he was in prison for aggravated burglary and assault.

Unconvinced, Leanne called the article fake. “No, it is real,” said Toyah. “He’s the fake.”

With the evidence in front of her, will Leanne continue to believe Rowan’s lies?