Rob Donovan Robert Darren " Rob " Donovan is the younger brother of Carla Connor who spent time in Strangeways Jail before returning into her life in 2012 . He managed Barlow ' s Buys alongside girlfriend Tracy Barlow . He also acted as a temporary manager of Underworld along with Michelle Connor for a period from July to December 2012 when Carla left Weatherfield with Peter Barlow . Rob was responsible for the murder of Tina McIntyre , one of Tracy ' s ( many ) arch nemeses who had an affair with Rob ' s brother - in - law , Peter . The truth came out on the day of his wedding , and Rob went on the run from the police . He was later arrested and taken into custody , before being sentenced to twenty - five years in prison . Prison wouldn ' t keep Rob down as a year into his sentence he had conducted a revenge scheme involving blackmailing Carla ' s biological father Johnny Connor and getting revenge on Tracy for shopping him to the police . However his attempts proved fruitless as he only alienated those willing to still give him a chance , leaving him to live out his sentence in loneliness . In 2017 Rob broke out of prison and was hidden away with the help of Tracy . Biography . c . 1977 - 2011 : Background . Rob ' s family resided on a run - down council estate . Rob and his sister Carla had a bad upbringing and their mother was a drug dealer . They also had a bad relationship with their abusive stepfather George . Rob and Carla had a good relationship with the Connor family who also resided on the estate , and Rob shared his first kiss with their younger daughter Michelle . When Carla married Michelle ' s older brother Paul and moved away , Rob found himself on his own to support his mother . Some time in the early 2000s , Rob ' s mother got herself into debt with drug dealers . Wanting to help her pay them off , Rob took on the job as a getaway driver in an armed robbery . However he was caught by the police and was sentenced to eight years in Strangeways Jail . During his time in prison he rarely had contact with Carla . When their mother died in June 2011 , Rob contacted Carla to inform her . 2011 - 2012 : Release and reunion with Carla . He was released in July 2012 and tracked Carla down to her business Underworld in Coronation Street . Rob came across Carla ' s boyfriend Peter Barlow giving her a hard time , and stepped in and told Peter to stop having a go at his sister . Later on Carla met up with Rob in the Rovers to catch up , but the reunion didn ' t go well when Rob began to have a go at her for abandoning him and their mother and hardly keeping in contact . He went to stay with Carla ' s friend and ex - sister - in - law Michelle . Within a few days he ' d persuaded Carla to give him a job at Underworld , although lost an order with client Sandy Austin by having a go at her when she complained about the prices , angering Carla . The order was however secured when he won her round when they met a couple of days later . Rob took control of Underworld when Carla left Weatherfield with boyfriend Peter . Rob continued to run the factory with Michelle until Carla and Peter returned from Los Angeles in December that year . She decided that she wanted to return to America to start afresh and planned to sell Underworld so put the business on the market . Rob knew that he couldn ' t make the bid , so he doctored the books so that broker Moira Bayley unvalued the business . Carla once again returned to Weatherfield , planning on staying for good and running the factory again , causing Rob and Michelle concern . When Carla discovered what he had done , she sacked him . Angry and feeling betrayed for the work he had put in , Rob set up his own business and began stealing Underworld ' s clients and contracts . Fed up with his tricks , Carla decided to give Rob his job back , however he wanted a share of the factory . She agreed to give him a 45 % share of the business , much to Michelle ' s dismay . 2013 - 2014 : Teaming up with " Toxic Tracy " . In 2013 Rob started dating Tracy McDonald and gave her a job at Underworld in packing . Prior to their relationship , he had previously dated Eva Price and got her a job as a machinist , but was dumped after being caught cheating with a hotel waitress when he attended a business meeting in Sheffield . In April , Carla bought the rest of the shares of Barlow ' s Bookies from Peter ' s ex - wife Leanne Tilsley hoping to help him to turn the business around when he began having financial problems . She approached Rob for advice , and he planned to modernise the premises and install top of the range TV screens to garner more custom . Peter wasn ' t happy to discover Rob working in the bookies and having carried out alterations . However , Rob took some delight in winding Peter up about it , as business steadily improved . Peter then devised a plan to get his own back ; by being nice to him and playing Rob at his own game , although Peter made Rob work the evening shifts . As Tracy vowed to move in with him , Rob became unsettled and Peter believed that Rob wasn ' t committed to their relationship . In July 2013 , Rob and Tracy took over the bookies ' rent - free for six months when Peter couldn ' t afford to pay out Rob after winning £35 , 190 . As a result , they revamped the premises and reopened as Barlow ' s Buys . In October , Tracy ripped off Dennis Tanner after he ' d pawned Rita ' s engagement ring and subsequently caused a feud between Tracy and Tina McIntyre , who had offered to buy the ring back for Dennis . Despite his arguments with Carla , he cared for his sister deep down and didn ' t want to see her getting hurt . Prior to her wedding to Peter , Rob warned her that she was too good for him but seeing that Peter meant the world to her , he gave her his blessing and wished her the best of luck . Carla asked him to give her away and he accepted . In January 2014 , Rob moved out of his flat in Victoria Court and into 1 Coronation Street with Tracy and her mother Deirdre in a money - saving exercise . The following month , Rob attempted to make more of an effort with his relationship with Tracy especially as he realised that she wanted to spend more time with her daughter Amy . However , through Norris Cole , Tracy soon discovered that Rob had a brief fling with Tina McIntyre , and although he had tried to deny it she kicked him out , much to the relief of a smug Peter . Rob moved into 9a Rosamund Street in the knowledge that his relationship with Tracy was over . Carla attempted to trap Rob into a date with Tina by inviting the pair for dinner at Nick ' s Bistro only for Tracy and Deirdre to walk in , leading to her causing a scene and subsequently attempting to sell his possessions at their shop . After telling Tracy that he wouldn ' t be punished for one simple mistake for the rest of his life . Tracy realised that she did in fact love him and having made up , Rob moved back into No . 1 and the couple announced their engagement in April 2014 . 2014 - 2015 : Killing Tina , downfall and imprisonment . In May , Rob supported his sister after Peter had hit the bottle once again , and discovered that she was pregnant with his child . He started to suspect that Peter was having an affair with Tina , after seeing them meeting secretly on several occasions ; Peter acted shiftily when Rob spotted them . When Peter refused to give Rob answers , he decided to ask Carla about the matter . However she suffered pains and Rob rushed her to Weatherfield General . Although it was a false alarm , Rob decided not to tell her about Peter ' s affair , instead warning him that if he hurt Carla he would kill him . Near the end of the month , Rob and Tracy held their engagement party at the Rovers . Unbeknown to Rob , Tracy slipped out of the pub in order to help Tony Stewart deliver stolen goods to his lock - up . The situation gave Rob an opportunity to call round at Tina ' s flat after seeing that she appeared distraught after walking into the Rovers and overhearing Peter ' s announcement of his wife ' s pregnancy . Rob went to check on Tina and tried to assure her that she was better off without Peter . However Tina was enraged and angry , threatening to tell Carla about her affair with Peter , and said that she would report Rob and Tracy to the police for their dodgy dealings . Worried , he chased her onto the balcony of the Builder ' s Yard where the pair had an altercation . When Tina attempted to leave , Rob pushed her away causing her to fall . Thinking that he had killed her , Rob faked a robbery in the flat , but when he left the property he heard Tina groaning . Despite trying to convince her that she had an accident , Tina still threatened to expose him for his crimes . Desperate , Rob grabbed an iron bar and attacked Tina with it . He returned to No . 1 , however Carla was later arrested as she had also gone to the flat to confront Tina over the affair . Tina survived the bludgeoning and was taken to hospital . Over the next few days Rob was guilt - ridden especially as his sister was being accused of the attack and he tried to pin the blame on Peter . He was also angry when he learned that Tracy was delivering stolen goods during that evening . Tina passed away in hospital on 2nd June , and Rob relayed the news to Carla in the Rovers . Over the next few weeks Rob had attempted to lay the blame on Peter , and tried to convince people he was the killer . On the day of Tina ' s funeral , Rob got into a fight with a drunk Peter by the graveside , which resulted in Peter stating that he and Tina were " even " , which helped put suspicions into people ' s minds that he may have been the killer . Weeks after the event , Peter was arrested and charged on suspicion of Tina ' s murder and held on remand . Rob was relieved when Peter was convicted of Tina ' s murder in October , after spending several months trying to hide his involvement in actually killing her and convincing others that Peter was guilty . However Carla wasn ' t convinced that Peter was guilty . . . this started when Peter ended up in hospital with alcohol poisoning and confessed to Carla that he " believed " she had killed Tina and would cover for her . Rob tried to get Carla to drop the subject , and on the run up to his wedding to Tracy asked her to be " best man " which she accepted . A week after Peter ' s conviction , Rob celebrated his stag night with Carla and she began to work out the truth behind Tina ' s attack . Deducing that Rob and Tracy ' s stories didn ' t add up , she confronted Rob believing he was covering for Tracy and that she ' d killed Tina . Determined and frustrated , Rob told Carla that Tracy was innocent and admitted that she was out delivering dodgy goods with Tony . Not letting things settle , Carla could see that Rob was haunted and scared , working out he was the killer , which he eventually confessed to . Rob told Carla that Tina was determined to send him back to prison , and that she sought to destroy Carla ' s happiness . When Carla attempted to leave the flat , Rob locked the door and took her phone , but seeing that Carla was terrified of him , gave back the phone and a sorrowful Rob told her that he would never hurt her . Carla told Rob to hand himself in , however Rob told her that they should keep it a secret as he had more to live for , and that if Peter was released he would most likely relapse and drink himself to death . On the day of the wedding Carla called the police . Taking Rob into a separate room , a tearful Carla revealed that the police would be there any minute . Distraught and betrayed , Rob made a run for it ( not before telling Tracy he was sorry ) and later in the day booked himself at the Woodland Park Guest House , upset at how his life had fallen apart . He contacted Tracy by payphone and she later arrived to meet him . Although angry at his actions and how things were falling apart , she eventually softened and they decided to run away together . Tracy met Rob at an abandoned warehouse , but the place was surrounded by police and Rob came to the realisation that she had called them . Stunned and distraught Rob allowed himself to be arrested . Despite a tearful Tracy ' s pleas that she didn ' t have a choice , Rob told her that she always had a choice . He was then taken away by police , leaving behind a broken Tracy . Rob later confessed to killing Tina and was charged with her murder . He refused to allow Carla or Tracy to contact him . A month following his arrest , Rob was sentenced to twenty - five years in prison , which was for killing Tina and also allowing Peter to be wrongfully convicted of the crime . 2015 - 2016 : Making contact . A year into his imprisonment , Rob read an article in the newspaper about Johnny Connor ' s involvement with Underworld . He sent out a visiting order to Tracy , and revealed to his cellmate Ian Rigby how he had been unable to move on from his sister and ex ' s involvement in his incarceration . Tracy turned up to visit Rob and wondered why he had chosen to contact her after such time , however Rob confessed to being angry at first but could never stop loving her . Rob also falsely claimed that he didn ' t blame her for him being sent to prison , and before Tracy left he asked if she would come to visit him again , to which she agreed . Tracy also failed to mention that she was in a relationship with Robert Preston . It was clear at this point that Rob showed no love or care for Carla as he had done before , and didn ' t seem bothered that she was involved in a fire at her flat several months prior ( which was indirectly caused by Tracy herself ) , showing that his time in prison had transformed him into a bitter and envious man . Rob sent out another visiting order the following week - this time to Johnny - which caused confusion as neither he or Carla could work out why Rob would want to see him . When Johnny did turn up the next day , Rob revealed that he knew Johnny was Carla ' s biological father , as his mother had told him years ago and that Carla was born nine months after a one - night - stand between them . Rob offered to remain silent on condition that Johnny paid him £10 , 000 . When asked by Johnny why he was targeting him , Rob revealed that he was " bored " . Before Johnny left , he let slip that Tracy was in a relationship with her ex - husband Robert . Tracy continued to visit Rob , where he told her that he could be getting released due to corruption from the officer in his case . Tracy relished at the suggestion that she could have a future with Rob , again failing to mention that she was in a relationship with Robert . Rob used a secret mobile phone to contact Robert , where he informed him that he would be sending him a visiting order . Robert agreed to visit Rob , where Rob told him of Tracy ' s planned infidelity . Robert was at first skeptical , but Rob was able to prove that Tracy had been visiting him . Tracy visited Rob a final time where he revealed that his potential release was a lie and he was actually manipulating her as revenge for ruining his life . Tracy attempted to physically attack him but she was dragged away . Johnny , not wanting to succumb to Rob ' s blackmail , informed Carla himself that he was her real father . Johnny phoned Rob and told him his plan had failed . Carla later visited Rob who tried to carry on his blackmail by threatening to tell Johnny ' s son Aidan and daughter Kate about the one - night stand with Carla ' s mother . The plan once again failed when Carla decided to tell them herself . Before leaving Rob , Carla told him that when he is released to never come looking for her . 2017 : Return to the Street . After weeks of peculiar behavior , Tracy was dumped by her current boyfriend Luke Britton . Tracy then visited Rob , who had escaped from prison and was badly injured , in the abandoned gym blaming him for her and Luke ' s split . Background information . Introduction . Prior to his debut , a brother named " Darren " was referenced by Carla following her arrival in 2006 , and also in interviews by cast members and producers , some of who had expressed interest in seeing her brother . In November 2008 , actress Alison King ( who plays Carla ) also expressed interest in seeing Darren being introduced and speaking of her fictitious relative said " " I think she ' s got a brother who ' s absolutely brilliant with her . I think he ' ll be stunningly charming , but a complete minger inside . He ' ll be as rough as old boots because Carla ' s mum was rough too . Carla ' s from a really rough family , but she ' s tried to put all that behind her . " " She continued " " It ' d be good to have someone there like Darren who wants to sponge off her or embarrass her all the time . Or maybe he just loves her to death and idolises the ground she walks on ? I also think Carla could have a sister that she ' s not spoken to for years . " " Kim Crowther discussed the possibility of introducing Carla ' s brother to " Coronation Street " with her team , although this didn ' t come to pass during her time as producer . In March 2012 it was announced that a casting process was being made for Carla ' s brother with a number of actors being set out , one of them being Jamie Lomas ( who at the time was dating Kym Marsh who plays Michelle Connor ) . Marc Baylis ' s casting was announced in May and on joining the soap he said " " I feel incredibly honoured to be joining the very talented cast of Coronation Street . Rob is an exciting character to play and I am hoping he is going to ruffle a few Weatherfield feathers " " . Rob made his debut in July 2012 , five - and - a - half years after Carla was first introduced . Darren ' s name change to " Rob " caused some confusion among fans who were left to wonder if Carla had another brother . According to an interview given to " DigitalSpy " by producer Phil Collinson , Darren is Rob ' s middle name . . Storylines . In 2014 , Rob was involved in a major storyline in which he brutally attacked Tina McIntyre . A few weeks prior to the airing of the episode , the true culprit was kept under wraps and Rob was listed as one of four suspects along with Carla Connor , Peter Barlow and Tracy Barlow . Rob was unveiled as the attacker on 27th May 2014 when he inadvertently caused Tina to fall from the balcony of her flat , which was then followed by a shock attack which aired during the following episode . Departure and brief return . In June 2014 Baylis confirmed that he would be leaving the show . In the months following Tina ' s murder , Peter Barlow was wrongfully imprisoned for the crime which would leave fans to wonder which one of the men would be found guilty of the heinous crime . Although Peter was found guilty of killing Tina on 20th October , Rob confessed to Carla the following week on 27th . Rob ' s arrest and departure was aired in Episode 8506 on 5th November . Prior to the character ' s exit , Baylis stated he would be open to returning to " Coronation Street " . After the character ' s exit was aired , Baylis praised the scenes and stated that he was glad Rob " " Went out with a bang " " . In August 2015 it was announced that Marc Baylis would be returning to the role later in the year for an " exciting storyline " . Baylis returned to filming in October , with the character ' s return scene airing on 4th December 2015 , thirteen months after his last on - screen appearance . The character appeared for a month , making his final appearance on 4th January 2016 , at the end of his brief storyline . Other information . When Luke Strong ( Craig Kelly ) was introduced to " Coronation Street " in 2009 as a link to Carla ' s past ( and in order to fill in when Alison King went on maternity leave ) some fans were wrongly left with the impression that he was her brother " Darren " . Before his arrival there seemed to be changes in Rob prison status . In June 2011 when their mother died it seemed to be implied that Rob was out of prison . Carla stated that she didn ' t invite her family to her wedding to Tony Gordon - " " even her brother " " , which seemed to suggest that Rob was out of prison in 2008 . However his arrival maintained that he was newly released in July 2012 . Quotes . " Did you speak to your mother like that ? " ( First line , to Peter Barlow ) " Shut up ! " ( before pushing Tina McIntyre of a balcony ) " You ' ll die gobby too ! " ( before attacking Tina McIntyre ) " You had a choice . Like Carla had a choice , always a choice . Why did you do it ? " ( to Tracy Barlow before being arrested ) " I know you Carla . . . you ' re putting on a brave face , but this will eat away at you . I just wish I could be there to watch it happen . " " I suppose a bunk - up is out of the question , then ? " ( To Tracy Barlow upon his return . )