List of Coronation Street Characters (2009) - Rick Neelan

Rick Neelan, played by Greg Wood, made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 9 November 2009. In April 2012, it was announced Wood would be reprising his role. Rick began appearing from 7 May 2012.

Rick is a loan shark who gives a loan to Joe McIntyre (Reece Dinsdale), who needs money due to being in debt. After Joe fails to pay back the money, Rick goes to his house and Joe gives him his van and promises him he will get the rest of the money. Rick returns numerous times in the following months. He pretends to be interested in buying Joe's fiancee Gail Platt's (Helen Worth) house, before demanding money from Joe. He then pretends to be interested in Joe's daughter Tina's (Michelle Keegan) flat. Joe then threatens Rick telling him to stay away from him and his family, but Rick warns him to have the money soon.

Joe borrows £4,000 from Gail's father Ted Page (Michael Byrne) and gives it to Rick and tells him he will not get anything else from him and that their debt is settled, which Rick agrees with. However, a week later Rick turns up at Joe's wedding and tells him that he wants £500 a week for the next 10 weeks making a total of £5000 and that this is "interest". He also tells Joe that if he doesn't pay up he will break his arms and legs. Two weeks later after Joe and Gail return from their honeymoon Joe is walking home from the pub alone and Rick's car pulls up alongside Joe and Rick has one of his heavies. Rick asks Joe for his next instalment but as Joe is unable to pay Rick and the heavy gets out and chase him. Joe is able to outrun them and hides in the ginnel, whilst Rick looks around for him, unsuccessfully.

A few weeks later, after Joe's death, Rick returns to the Street and threatens Gail on her doorstep, demanding his money. She refuses to give him any money and he leaves. The next day Rick returns again and after visiting Gail, again unsucessfully, he confronts Tina and her boyfriend Jason Grimshaw (Ryan Thomas) at the door of their flat. Jason tells Rick he will not be getting any money off them. Rick goes to the local newsagents, The Kabin, and returns with a newspaper, which he sets alight before putting it through Jason and Tina's letter box. After Jason puts the fire out and runs out into the street, Rick waves at Jason and speeds off in his car before Jason can catch him. A couple of weeks later the police inform Gail and Tina that they are questioning Rick in connection with Joe's death. Later on they confirm that he will to be charged with his previous crimes but that he was not involved in Joe's death.

In May 2012, Rick returns to collect money from a loan that he gave to Terry Duckworth (Nigel Pivaro). Terry owes Rick £19,000 and Tina who is now Terry's son Tommy's (Chris Fountain) girlfriend recognises him. After Rick and two heavies threaten Tina in a new lap-dancing club Terry is planning on opening, Tommy pays £10,000 of the debt with money he had inherited from his late grandfather, before Terry flees, leaving Tommy to pay the rest of the debt.

After asking Tommy to perform a series of crimes to pay back his father's debt, Rick orders Tommy to drop off a bag of drugs in Amsterdam. Tina is outraged that Tommy is working for the man she holds responsible for her father's death and takes the drugs from the car and drives to the local canal. She rings Rick and threatens to throw the drugs into the canal. Rick arrives at the scene, but has kidnapped Tina's friend Rita Sullivan (Barbara Knox) who is due to get married. After a confrontation and stand-off by the canalside in which Rick threatens to throw Rita into the canal, Tina is forced to hand over the drugs and Rick lets go of Rita, picks up the drugs and gets ready to leave for Amsterdam. But unbeknowst to Rick, Tina had already informed the police to his plan and they arrive just as he is leaving, led by Kirsty Soames (Natalie Gumede), and arrest Rick. He is last seen being put into the back of a police van. The next day Kirsty informs Tina that Rick is facing a prison sentence of at least eight years and that they are rounding up his gang.