Coronation Street viewers were heartbroken as they followed youngster Oliver Battersby’s fight with mitochondrial disease.

The little boy, son to Leanne Battersby and Steve McDonald, was born in 2017 as the result of a one night stand between the pair.

But, aged just three, he was diagnosed with a life-limiting disease and sadly died in November 2020, leaving his parents devastated.

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Oliver was actually played by three separate actors during his stint on the cobbles.

To mark two years since the tot left Corrie for good, Daily Star takes a peek into the actors’ real lives.

Soap replacement

The first actor to play young Oliver was Toby Catley, who took on the role in 2017 as a baby.

He shared the role with twins Emmanuel and Jeremiah Cheetham, who took over permanently from Toby that year and carried on the role until Oliver’s death.

The pair were just eight weeks old when they learned they had landed the part of Oliver, after their mum Lia Holmes spotted an advert for a northern soap just a day after they were born.

Eight-week old actors

Speaking to Manchester Evening News, the twins’ mum – and major Corrie fan – Lia explained how she took the twins in for an audition when they were aged just eight weeks.

She said: “The ad asked for two little boys fitting a certain weight and description. It didn't say it was for Corrie, just a 'northern soap’.

“I just sent in a poxy photo and they asked us to come in for an interview.”

Lia said the twins didn’t have to do anything in particular during their audition, but she dressed them up in matching suits and the casting lady “gave them a cuddle and said they were perfect”.

She added at the time: “Because they are babies they don’t expect too much from them.”

But the pair were gradually asked to do more and more on the cobbles, including sprinkling petals at dad Steve’s wedding.

Pub birth scene

In true community spirit, Oliver’s birth scene was screened at the family’s local pub – with the crowd chanting ‘Push, push, push!’ to help Leanne along.

The Commercial marked the twins’ debut performance with the screening, with Lia explaining: “The whole community was celebrating.”

She herself was “jumping around the house” with excitement when she first heard the news that Emmanuel and Jeremiah had landed the role.

Tragic storyline

Mum Lia wasn’t told the outcome of Oliver’s mitochondrial disease battle – but was proud her twins were part of raising awareness of the disease.

She intends to show them the full scenes when they’re old enough to understand to show how they helped inform viewers about the health condition.

Lia and the family also had the support of Simon Gregson and Jane Danson, who she said were “nurturing” towards her little boys.

Vile troll battle

It hasn’t all been easy for Lia and her family, however, as she has had to deal with vile Internet trolls who had a problem with Oliver’s storyline.

Speaking to The Sun, the mum said: “It's been tough, we have had people on social media saying they would never let their sons play a dying child.

“We had family members who said we were tempting fate.”

The Rossendale local said Corrie bosses even offered to find other actors to replace the twins if it was hard on the family – but Lia refused.

She said the scenes were played out “sympathetically” and felt proud of her boys for helping raise awareness for such a good cause.

Co-star mum

In her own life, Lia is no stranger to TV appearances.

She’s made appearances on several shows herself, explaining to The Sun about her sons’ roles: “I once appeared on Take Me Out and I was on Antiques Road Trip, so my mates knew I would be interested."

She even appeared in an episode of Coronation Street, playing one of the nurses taking care of Oliver in hospital.

Strict Covid rules were in place at the time which meant the actors couldn't be touched by anyone outside their bubble.

Emmanuel and Jeremiah appeared in more than 100 episodes of Coronation Street.

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