Coronation Street characters who could save Todd from Theo in the aftermath of Billy’s death

Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) is in hell. While initially tumultuous, his relationship with Theo Silverton (James Cartwright) has descended into a nightmarish cycle of coercion, violence and torture in Coronation Street.

Theo was initially presented as sympathetic. He’d undergone sick conversion therapy, which had left him with deep psychological wounds. But early on, there were numerous red flags, with behaviour that couldn’t be simply dismissed by Theo’s traumatic past.

He darkly threatened James Bailey (Jason Callender) to stay away from Todd, historical violent incidents came to light, and he made clear that he wanted Todd to cut ex-boyfriend Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank) out of his life.

Theo’s sinister coercion gave way to physical humiliation in the weeks that followed, with Theo force-feeding Todd a kebab and later pouring a bottle of milk over his head.

As his manipulation and gaslighting stepped up a gear, so did his violence, with Todd ending up needing hospital treatment after Theo smashed his head into a mirror.

When Todd fought back, it was him who ended up arrested and charged, despite the fact it was self-defence. However, with the whole incident having been captured on hidden cameras, Theo edited the footage to make Todd look like the villain.

There was a glimmer of hope for Todd last week when he confided in Billy about how Theo had been treating him and agreed to leave his relationship and stay with Billy.

Tragically, Theo caught onto the plan, and disaster struck when they were involved in a major pile-up on the way home from Debbie Webster (Sue Devaney) and Ronnie Bailey’s (Vinta Morgan) wedding.

With Billy trapped inside the minibus, Theo ensured that he couldn’t escape, before leaving him to die as the vehicle exploded.

In the aftermath of Billy’s death, Todd agreed to go back to Theo, who is more dangerous than even Todd can imagine.

Naturally, fans are clamouring for the day that Todd escapes. Thankfully, executive producer Kate Brooks has promised that Todd will have support in doing just that.

‘There are people starting to look out for Todd and they’ll realise he’s not behaving how he should be behaving and he’s becoming a broken shadow of the person he once was,’ she explained, continuing: ‘It’s how they deal with that, how they rally, how they approach something so delicate and sensitive, which will be how we explore that story further.’

We’re left to wonder, though, who could potentially save him from his current hideous predicament now that Billy has taken the secret to his grave?

Who could save Todd from Theo?

George Shuttleworth and Christina Boyd

Todd has worked for George Shuttleworth (Tony Maudsley) in the undertaker’s since 2020, with the latter slowly becoming a father figure over time. George even nearly became Todd’s actual step dad when he became romantically involved with Eileen Grimshaw (Sue Cleaver), and considered leaving the funeral business to Todd in his will.

Well aware that George is one of Todd’s closest friends, Theo has done everything possible to damage their relationship, making it clear that he doesn’t appreciate George’s presence in their flat and actively attempting to destroy their working relationship.

Thankfully, George and Todd are now back on an even keel, with Todd having gone back to work at Shuttleworth’s.

George’s girlfriend, Christina Boyd (Amy Robbins) had a bad feeling about Theo from the get go. Though gentle George would appear to be no match for Theo, Christina herself is known for a spot of manipulation and has proven herself to be a formidable foe.

Could this unlikely duo be Todd’s salvation?

Sarah Platt

Sarah Platt (Tina O’Brien) and Todd have had an incredibly turbulent past, though these days they’ve formed a firm friendship, and she has stepped in on Todd’s behalf before in the face of Theo’s behaviour, namely when she caught him and Pete looking a little more than friendly in a van. With zero fear, she confronted both, demanding to know if Theo was cheating on her friend.

When Pete compared Sarah to a guard dog, Sarah lost it and squared up to both men, necessitating Todd’s intervention. Theo expertly smoothed things over with her, before demanding Todd cut her out of his life.

‘I think its a case of ‘you’re spending a lot of time with Sarah, I need to get rid of her.’ I think it just occurs to him in the moment, and then he tries to navigate it the way that best suits him as all narcissists do,’ James explained.

Though Theo seemingly placated Sarah, he later turned his anger toward her brother, after learning about Todd’s childhood crush on him. Will Sarah be the one to finally put the pieces together? Could Theo have gravely underestimated her friendship with Todd and live to regret it?

Summer Spellman

Summer Spellman (Harriet Bibby) came into the care of Billy and Todd when her father passed away, with the two effectively functioning as dads for the youngster, with them fighting her grandmother for custody and becoming her legal guardian.

Though their relationship became strained when Todd departed the cobbles, upon his return, they’ve rebuilt their bond. When Todd was forced to hide in his flat as a result of his Theo-inflicted facial wounds, using a rubbish excuse to cancel plans with Summer, she was clearly incredibly concerned that something else was afoot, a theme that’ll continue when she becomes increasingly concerned about Todd’s state.

With a father-daughter like bond, could Summer step up and rescue Todd like he did for her all those years ago?

Now that she is staying with Todd and Theo following Billy’s tragic death, could Summer be set to witness some of Theo’s behaviour first-hand? Metro reader Donna hopes so, writing on Facebook: ‘Now Billy has gone, hope Summer works out what Theo really is.’

‘Summer will see the signs,’ Julie agreed.

Bernie and Dev Alahan

Though previously not connected to Todd and Theo’s plot, Bernie Winter (Jane Hazlegrove) was shaken after overhearing an incident between the couple and calling the police.

Todd and Theo’s flat is also above Dev Alahan’s (Jimmi Harkishin) shop, giving Bernie and husband Dev ample opportunity to overhear Theo’s violence or vile rantings again.

It might be a long shot, but could the Alahans discover the truth and help Todd get away?

Gary Windass

Gary Windass (Mikey North) has worked closely with Theo for a while now, and has witnessed his rage from time to time.

Though they are currently close, could Gary start to suspect something is wrong in Theo and Todd’s relationship?

Metro reader Sandra thinks so, writing: ‘Gary will come to Todd’s rescue.’

The wild cards

Eileen and Jason Grimshaw

We know we’re not the only ones who’d love Todd’s beloved mother, Eileen to come home from Thailand, scoop up her son and rescue him, before dragging Theo up and down the cobbles by his hair like she did nemesis Gail Platt (Helen Worth).

It’d be even better if she brought back his brother, Jason (Ryan Thomas), reuniting the entire Grimshaw clan and providing the supportive framework that Todd’ll surely need post-Theo.

We can dream, right?

Mr Harper

Vincent Harper (John Hollingworth) was the surgeon who sped up from Bristol to perform the operation Shona’s baby needed during her birth.

What instantly stood out to fans was the fact that he seemed to know a lot about Billy, including the fact that he was gay.

Now, Metro readers suspect that the surgeon and vicar had some kind of relationship, and are wondering if this could lead to Mr Harper stepping in to save Todd.

‘If he’s Billy’s ex-partner from years ago, maybe he saves Todd from madman Theo,’ Liz speculated, while fellow Metro reader Mandy agreed: ‘if the doctor was a friend of Billy’s maybe Billy confided in him about what was happening to Todd.’

Billy Mayhew

It’s a long shot, given what happened this week, but some Corrie fans have a theory that Billy will ultimately be the one to save Todd.

Viewers will know that Billy found the unedited footage of the incident that got Todd arrested, which proved that Theo had been abusing him.

Now, Metro readers are speculating that Billy may have sent this footage to someone prior to his death.

‘I think Billy sent a copy of the abuse to Summer or someone else hopefully,’ Joy theorised, while Fiona said: ‘Hoping Billy forwarded the videos to his own email.’

‘Be good if Billy sent his recording to the police and saved him,’ Laura suggested.

Perhaps Billy did keep a copy of the footage that someone will find while going through his belongings following his death. Could he be the one to save Todd after all?

This article was originally published on December 12, 2025.

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