Coronation Street spoilers follow.
Coronation Street’s Billy Mayhew gets a nasty shock in the New Year as he discovers the shocking truth about evil Theo Silverton. With fans eagerly awaiting the moment that tormented Todd Grimshaw gets some much-needed support, actor Daniel Brocklebank has spoken about the huge scenes for the first time.
As seen in recently-released spoilers, the drama all plays out during Ronnie Bailey and Debbie Webster’s wedding in early January. When a drink accidentally gets spilled on Todd’s shirt during the party, he heads to the bathroom and takes it off to clear up the mess. Billy then walks in and is horrified to see Todd’s bruises, after Theo’s weeks of violence behind closed doors.
Before this moment even happens, Billy has already started to spot flashes of anger in Theo and is questioning whether the “nice guy” of Weatherfield is really all he seems…
Daniel recently spoke about the storyline in a chat with Soap Scoop, the Inside Soap podcast with exclusive cast interviews every week.
Related: Coronation Street villain Theo set to shock viewers in Corriedale
“Predominantly that storyline is Todd and Theo’s, and Billy is very much a peripheral character within that,” Daniel explained. “But obviously because of Todd and Billy’s history – also with Billy’s ability, he’s a vicar so he will have training in pastoral care – he’s not stupid.
“On screen now, he’s really starting to question not just Theo’s motives, but his personality and whether this person is actually good for Todd.
“I suppose in the long run, although she’s now an adult, Todd and Billy have a child [Summer]. Therefore, anything that’s affecting Todd could ultimately affect her too. But as I said, I think Gareth [Pierce, who plays Todd] has bore the brunt of this storyline.”
Asked whether Billy could be the one to save Todd, he laughed: “Yes, I mean, Billy could put on a cape and wear his pants over his tights! And do some sort of heroic, ‘vicar Superman’ thing. It would be nice.
Related: Coronation Street and Emmerdale confirm another crossover project ahead of Corriedale
“I don’t think there are any residual feelings necessarily between Billy and Todd, but I think when you’ve been that close with someone, you never really stop caring about them. Billy’s a very caring person, so of course he would want Todd to be okay.”
If Billy does plan to help Todd, though, he’d better be quick! It’s no secret that Daniel recently filmed his final scenes on Coronation Street after 12 years and he’s currently working on another project – a stage production of Young Frankenstein at the Liverpool Playhouse.
“It’s been like being shot out of a cannon,” Daniel laughed. “I literally finished filming with Corrie at quarter to one on the 18 November. And by half past one, I was in the rehearsal room with a pair of tap shoes on, singing and dancing.
Related: Coronation Street’s David Platt left “emotional” as show legend returns this Christmas
“So I’ve not even had time to process that I’m not at Corrie anymore. It’s been such a busy time. I only had five days rehearsal. Having not really done theatre since about 2012 and having never done musical theatre, this was like a baptism of fire.”
“Do come and see it – it’s such a fun show,” he added. “I think this time of year, and especially with the state of the world at the moment, people could do with a laugh.
“It is a really fun upbeat production. The score, the songs are fantastic. The dance routines are incredible. And every single cast member is fantastic. It’s such a strong company and they are the loveliest group of people.”
The full interview with Daniel is streaming at the top of the page. And there’s lots more to enjoy too: check out Inside Soap’s full collection of Soap Scoop podcast interviews right here!
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
Read more Coronation Street spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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