Just when you thought that Coronation Street’s evil Theo Silverton (James Cartwright) had subjected Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) to every kind of abuse, he finds a new way to hurt his partner…
Everything we’ve seen from Theo so far has been a textbook case of narcissism. All the emotional and physical pain he’s inflicted on Todd, the gaslighting, the coercion, the humiliation, controlling his diet, controlling when he exercises who he sees, and the terrifying domestic violence – he justifies it all by making everything about him.
The only glimmer of hope for Todd was his friend and ex-boyfriend Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank), who recognised the signs of abuse and promised to help get him away from Theo. But after the twisted abuser secretly left Billy to die in the fiery wreckage of the Corriedale car-crash, a grief-stricken Todd was left in dire need of support… which Theo is quick to exploit in order to keep him close.
Now, upcoming episodes will see a chilling escalation in the vile bully’s toxicity as he wields a new weapon to control Todd – money.
This financial abuse will take Theo’s control over Todd to a frightening new level following tensions between the couple at Billy’s funeral.
When Theo barges in to read the eulogy in Todd’s place during the emotional church send-off, the monster can’t resist the opportunity to gaslight his fiancée into feeling responsible for Billy’s death, leaving Todd fuming over his behaviour.
With Todd livid, Theo spies a chance to reassert dominance after rifling through his post and discovering a final demand from a credit card company. Furious Theo berates a mortified Todd, who anxiously promises his controlling boyfriend that the payments are all in hand. Under the guise of being a supportive partner, Theo suggests they open a joint account to keep better tabs on their finances.
At Theo’s insistence, Todd cuts up his bank cards and agrees to use cash from now on in a bid to curb his spending. To rub salt into the wound, Theo humiliates Todd further by handing him some pocket money.
The humiliation only worsens later that week when Theo reveals that he’s off to Doncaster for the day to visit his Mum, leaving Todd with a meagre ten pound note to survive on.
In the café, George Shuttleworth (Tony Maudsley) realises he’s forgotten his wallet and asks Todd to be a pal and get the round in. Poor Todd hands over his only tenner. So when George invites Todd to join him for a drink at the Rovers, Todd has no choice but to decline.
And just when it seems like things can’t get any worse, he receives a text from Theo informing him that he’ll be staying the night at his Mum’s, Todd’s heart sinks. How is he going to survive?
Financial abuse is just the latest in a long line of behaviours designed to keep Todd dependent on Theo – and it all stems from personal insecurity. Coronation Street Executive Producer Kate Brooks recently shared some insight into how guilt over Billy’s death has made Theo even more desperate and dangerous than before.
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‘We’ll see Theo becoming more manipulative, we’ll see him starting to draw and pull Todd back into his fold as Todd needs him and needs that support. He feels like he needs somebody to keep him afloat and Theo is that person. Not only is he an absolute lifeline for Todd, but he proves to be an absolute lifeline for Summer and George as well.
‘Obviously we know what Theo’s like, we know what he’s capable of, we know the hell he’s been putting Todd through, but we also know that Todd is extremely vulnerable and he’s exposed at this point.’
‘So we will see that relationship continue. We wanted to play the truth of this story. It’s not something that’s wrapped up after a couple of months, this is ongoing. As we go into early new year, Todd and Theo are still front and centre of the show as we continue to tell the story about this domestic abuse truthfully and realistically. It’s a hard watch at times, I’m not going to lie, as was proven by the Behind Closed Doors episode, but it’s an important story to tell.’
