Todd Grimshaw is stuck in a nightmare (Picture: ITV/Metro)
Body-shaming, financial control, humiliation and violent outbursts are just some of the ways Theo Silverton (James Cartwright) has abused boyfriend Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) in Coronation Street.
Theo was introduced to us in March of last year and very quickly caught Todd’s eye. They didn’t begin a relationship immediately though, as Theo told Todd that he wasn’t gay, despite there being obvious chemistry between them.
The reason for Theo’s hesitancy to explore something with Todd was soon revealed, as viewers discovered the scaffolder was put through conversion therapy when he was younger.
Theo was married to a woman called Danielle (Natalie Anderson) and they had children together, but it was meeting Todd that made him confront his trauma and become the person he actually wanted to be.
His relationship with Todd started to blossom and for a little while, things were going relatively smoothly. The couple faced challenges though due to Theo’s complex past but as Gareth Pierce told me last year, Todd believed he could help his partner work through them.
Theo has subjected Todd to months of physical and mental abuse (Picture: ITV)
Fast forward a few months and Todd is now past the point of being able to assist his partner with his problems. Theo has now subjected Todd to continuous physical and mental abuse that has included pouring a whole bottle of milk over Todd’s head, smashing his face into a mirror and more recently, threatening him with a knife.
What’s incredibly important for Coronation Street to do is play this storyline out across a realistic timeframe. As uncomfortable as it is for the viewer tosee Todd face Theo’s violent wrath time and time again, it’s vital to highlight that a victim of domestic abuse sometimes isn’t able to simply pack a bag and leave.
Just why Todd hasn’t left Theo yet was something I was keen to ask Gareth Pierce in our latest chat. He explained to me in great detail that Todd is so trapped in the relationship right now as a result of Theo’s consistent effort to ‘deconstruct’ Todd’s personality, but also isolate him from the world outside their flat.
‘He’s actively cut him off from his closest people, and actively got rid of Billy, something that Todd is entirely unaware of right now’, he said.
Theo is often seen commenting on Todd’s diet and has forced him to take up running (Picture: ITV)
‘He’s making him reliant on fear as well, with the financial control, the body shaming and the fitness bullying. That all serves to deconstruct Todd’s confidence and personality, but it also serves to make him really feel like there’s no way out.’
‘The way we’ve got Todd to think about the ways he’s changed himself, and people’s perception of him, is probably at the root of some of his patience with Theo’, Gareth added.
‘He knows that people can change because he’s managed to do it. I think that it has kept him in the relationship a little longer than maybe the more cynical version of Todd that we remember.
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‘He knows in his heart of hearts that this is far bigger than something that he can fix in this person and get them to somewhere healthier in the relationship. I think it must be dawning on him by this point.’
Theo and Todd are currently separated, following a comment from Theo about them being incredibly unhappy in their relationship.
While viewers watched this moment with relief in their hearts, Todd hadn’t completely freed himself from Theo’s clutches. Gareth explained to me that when a victim of domestic abuse leaves the relationship, the sense of danger doesn’t go away. If anything, it increases even more.
Theo has also taken control of what Todd spends, believing he isn’t responsible with money (Picture: ITV)
‘This space will give Todd time to sit with where he is now and maybe get some perspective. Maybe it’ll create some space for those closer to him like Sarah, George and Summer to potentially influence him as well’, he said.
‘I think we might see some campaigning around him, and they’ll tread carefully in doing it, but maybe they’ll say that this is a good thing — of course not knowing the full misery of what’s been happening.
‘I think there will be a sense that might happen, but of course the space will also give Todd an opportunity to have some sense of loneliness. And again, I think that might be something at the beginning of this relationship that kept him there a bit longer. There was a sense that he maybe feared being left on the shelf, and I think that came back to haunt him a little bit.
Gareth noted: ‘What’s worth talking about as well is that people have seen parallels like this in relationships of their own. When you’re potentially out of the relationship, it can be one of the most dangerous times. I think there’s some real fear and potential danger there as well.’
Theo has gone to great lengths to ‘deconstruct’ Todd’s personality (Picture: ITV)
Whether Todd processes what has happened to him in this period remains to be seen, but something Gareth has thought a lot about is showing the audience just what a devastating impact Theo has had on his character, and how the abuse inflicts Todd’s behaviour, even when Theo isn’t around.
‘I’ve really tried to create a sense that Theo still looms over Todd, even when he’s not in the space. One of the other things that we’ve layered is around taking shoes off going into the flat’, he explained.
‘That was set down as a rule quite explicitly in one episode. Since then, I’ve thought that’s definitely worth holding onto. Other times when he goes to take his shoes off, Todd realises Theo isn’t in the flat.
‘I think Corrie shows the real effect of being beaten down like that over time — the social conditioning. It’s really quite scary and horrible to observe.’
For help and support regarding domestic abuse, you can visit the website for Galop, who support LGBTQ+ people who have experienced abuse. Alternatively, you can find information and aid here.
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