Coronation Street’s Todd Grimshaw’s (Gareth Pierce) has become an isolated, broken shell of his former self.
What started as a relationship with an evidently troubled Theo Silverton (James Cartwright), a victim of evil conversion therapy who was adjusting to life as an out and proud gay man has become sheer hell.
Theo kept the extent of his hatred and fury out of Todd’s sight, though it leaked through when he emphatically ordered James Bailey (Jason Callender) to stay away from Todd and made every effort to cut Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank) out of his boyfriends life.
A skilled abuser, though, once Theo’s coercive control gave way to fully-fledged violence, he managed to manipulate his way back into Todd’s life with promises of therapy and change
With Todd firmly within his cruel grasp, Theo expanded his methods of torture. He cheated on him with Pete Lang (Andrew Hayden-Smith), doused him with milk, orchestrated an incident that saw Todd lose his job alongside his friend and support system, George Shuttleworth (Tony Maudsley) before finally ramping his violence up to new extremes by smashing his face into a mirror.
After Todd installed cameras around the flat to catch Theo in the act, and an incident in which Todd tried to shove Theo away that led to his arrest, Theo cleverly painted himself as the victim of abuse by altering the footage, further breaking Todd’s spirit.
‘Obviously what’s very sad about that is that in that moment where he fights back, which, I suppose, some viewers will have been willing him to do anyway,’ Gareth Pierce told Metro.
‘He’s stayed stoic for a long time – he does push back and, sadly, the situation actually gets worse and Todd’s maybe doubly trapped now.’
Billy, one of the few people who’ve witnessed the darker side of Theo was left with a nagging feeling in the aftermath of the incident, leading him to seek advice from Alya Nazir (Sair Khan), though Theo caused more trouble for Todd, leading to him planning an escape.
With Theo’s claws so deeply embedded into Todd, though, he managed to stop him from running with a tearful voicemail. Todd agreed to attend Debbie Webster’s (Sue Devaney) wedding with him in an effort to start afresh, and Theo later snatched Todd’s passport.
At the wedding, however, Theo quickly resumed his abusive ways, first suggesting that Todd avoid champagne, with a pointed reference to ‘what he gets like’. Cowed, Todd exchanged the champagne for orange juice.
Later, James bumped into Todd, resulting in the orange juice soaking his shirt. Furious Theo bristled that it had to be James of all people, though Todd insisted it was his fault, something Billy overheard. Theo demanded Todd clean himself up, and he headed to the bathrooms, closely followed by a worried Billy.
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Viewers can choose one Corriedale scene – how to cast your vote
As if the crossover, explosions and death weren't enough, Corriedale also has an interactive element - and you still have time to get involved!
Fans can vote for one of the following four scenes to appear in the final episode:
- Charity Dingle and Carla Connor
- Sam Dingle and Kirk Sutherland
- Ross Barton and Tracy Barlow
- Nicola King and Roy Cropper
Voting will close 15 minutes before the episode airs on Monday, January 5. You can cast your vote by visiting the Instagram post above. Please note, this feature is only available on mobile.
As Todd washed his shirt in the sink, he darted into a cubicle when Billy entered. Creeping out while thinking that Billy had left, he scurried behind the door again when he realised his ex was still there, but it was too late: Billy had seen the welts and bruises covering Todd’s body. While Todd exclaimed that not only are the bruises his fault, he also promised he could prove it.
In a hotel room, Todd showed Billy the footage from the webcams, again reiterating that everything that’s happened is his fault. Billy noticed the footage had been edited, but a despairing Todd couldn’t bare to see it again and left. Curious, Billy found the original, raw footage in the recycle bin and began to pore through it.
When Todd returned, Billy was broken. Having witnessed the true extent of the abuse and torment Todd is being subjected to, Billy tried his hardest to convince Todd that he’s being gas-lit. Reiterating how Todd only pushed Theo to defend himself, Todd stammered ‘he loves me’.
Devastated, Billy told Todd that what’s happening between him and Theo isn’t love and begged him to listen and to believe that he doesn’t deserve what’s happening to him.
Can Billy be the one to make Todd see just how toxic his relationship is? With Corriedale right around the corner, are things set to get a whole lot worse before they get better?
Our guess? Yup.
