Corrie newcomer Megan has been revealed as the latest villain, with newcomer Beth Nixon playing the coach and schoolteacher. The Driscoll family, new to the street, have yet to find out what has shocked viewers – 15-year-old Will is being groomed.
Beth has been speaking about this new role as well as how she was almost another cobble resident.
‘This is my first TV job, but not the first time I have auditioned for Corrie. I auditioned for the part of Lauren Bolton and then for a girl who was giving Lauren a hard time at the mother and baby unit. My agent called me and explained this role and asked if I wanted to audition.’
Beth also admits to it being ‘super overwhelming’ in The Rovers, ‘because you’ve got loads of crew, and then all the cast in there as well, and you’re like, ‘Oh my God.’ But everyone’s so lovely. You’re all having little conversations and getting to know each other while also trying to film.’
But just who is Megan? ‘She’s very calculated. Everything she does is for a reason, but she’s very good at hiding that. She’s very insecure, but again, she hides it. She’s very confident and charismatic on the outside; she charms people, makes people feel sorry for her, and makes people like her. She’s worming her way into this family; she’s almost like a parasite.’
‘She’s desperate to be loved; she’s desperate to be adored. And her reasons for that will eventually be uncovered, and we’ll dig deeper and find out more about her. But she’s a flawed person. She’s really complex. We can see her slowly worm her way into the family and befriend Eva and Maggie and really get the women on her side. They think she’s good for Will; they think she’s a brilliant mentor.’
While Beth may not have got the role of Lauren, Megan will cross paths with her, and with it, trouble will follow, with Beth stating, ‘So no one is suspecting anything at the moment. But we will see Lauren become suspicious because Lauren has obviously experienced something very similar to what Will’s going through. We get to sort of uncover how truly vile she can be. She will stop at nothing to come out on top and survive, basically.’
Understandably, playing a role like this isn’t for everyone, but for Beth, ‘I guess you kind of have to know the story arc for a character like this. You’ve got to make a decision about whether you want to play that role. My agent spoke to me and said, ‘This is a dark storyline. Are you comfortable playing it?’ And obviously, you do think about it before you say yes, but it’s such a complex character and such a deep storyline that, as an actor, it’s just a dream to play. Because it’s so gritty, and it’s a real-life issue as well.’
Coronation Street continues tonight on ITV1 at 8pm Catch up on ITVX, and for classic visits to Corrie, these episodes air weekdays on ITV3 as well as on YouTube.