Coronation Street actor James Cartwright, who plays Todd Grimshaw’s abusive boyfriend Theo Silverton, has opened up about how he and his family are struggling with grief this Christmas, after the loss of three beloved family members.
‘Very sadly, this year, we’ve lost both our dogs’, he said.
‘And last year we lost my grandad, who was my best friend, just before Christmas. The house will fill very empty, so to combat that, we’re going out for Christmas dinner for the first time ever.
‘We’ll wake up in the morning with all the family, we’ll open our presents, we’ll get our best suits on, and then we’ll go out for something to eat. Mum will have an egg nogg, Dad will have a sparkling water and me, my brother and sister will probably get giddy on buzzballs.’
James shared his cherished memories of Christmases with his grandad ‘My favourite memories are from when my dear grandad was still with us. To me those were the best Christmases because it was a full dinner table and lots of laughter.’
Dealing with grief is a difficult process at the best of times, and it can be especially different during Christmas time. James reveals some traditions in the Cartwright household that never fail to bring the festive cheer.
‘Every Christmas Eve, we sit down and we watch Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Very unusual I know but we watch it every year, I don’t know how it happened, but we all laugh our heads off every year, even though we know what’s coming.
‘There was one particular year where it was suggested a change of title and there was near mutiny in the Cartwright Household, and you realised how strongly these things are sort of embedded for no reason. I don’t know how that’s happened but there it is’.
Whilst James Cartwright certainly comes across as a lovely bloke, his character is anything but.
Viewers have been horrified by the physical and emotional abuse Theo has inflicted on Todd, isolating him from friends and family with gaslighting and coercion.
Like all bullies, Theo lashes out as a coping mechanism for his own insecurities, the wife he’s lost, the job he’s lost, the child he no longer has access to – all due to his own bad decisions. Sounds like Theo’s definitely on Santa’s naughty list this year.
‘If you spoke to Theo, nice list.’ James laughs.
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‘If you ask the general British public, naughty list. I was in my local Sainsburys the other day where I always have a bit of banter with the women on the checkout and I was doing self-service when she said come here, come here, I can’t believe Sandra’s not in.
‘Then she pulled an umbrella out and just spanked me on the bottom as she went, “That’s from Sandra. You leave Todd alone.”
You tell him, Sandra!
