Coronation Street spoilers follow, while this article contains discussion of grooming.
Coronation Street star Lucas Hodgson-Wale has revealed he originally auditioned to play a different character on the soap, before landing the role of Will Driscoll. The teenager arrived on the cobbles last year alongside his dad Ben, brother Ollie, Ben’s partner Eva Price, and her daughter Susie, as the new owners of The Rovers Return.
Will has been at the centre of an insidious grooming storyline, which has seen him entering a sexual relationship with his coach Megan Walsh. However, the young actor revealed that had previously sent in a self-tape for a different role.
ITV
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“My agent originally sent in a self-tape for the role of Theo [Silverton]’s son, Miles. I did the tape but wasn’t successful,” Hodgson-Wale said.
The role of Miles ultimately went to Lewis William Magee, but Hodgson-Wale soon got another chance to impress the Coronation Street casting team.
“A couple of months later, I got another request for Corrie and thought, ‘Okay, here we go again!’ I read the script for Will and sent that tape off,” he recalled.
“The funny thing is, I went on holiday to the Dominican Republic literally the day after my screen test. I was sitting by the pool on holiday when my agent called to say I’d got the part. It turned the whole holiday into one long celebration!”
ITV
As for Will’s harrowing storyline with Megan, the subplot is coming to a head in the coming weeks when Leanne Battersby starts suspecting that the sports coach is cheating on Daniel Osbourne. This comes after Sam Blakeman has realised that something is off with Megan, who is bullying him to keep him silent.
Once the truth is out, Ben and Eva will do whatever it takes to protect Will from his coach, who has since become pregnant with his baby. With Megan confirmed as a potential murder victim in the recent flashforward, could the Driscolls’ revenge turn deadly?
Meanwhile, the soap will also revisit Tim Metcalfe’s grooming storyline, with his abuser Trisha Marlow soon returning to the cobbles.
Coronation Street has worked on Will and Megan’s grooming storyline with support from Barnardo’s. Support and information is available via the charity’s website.
Coronation Street airs on weeknights at 8.30pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
Read more Coronation Street spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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