Corrie airs at 8.30pm on ITV1
Summer’s suspicions about Theo, and his possible involvement in Billy’s death, are starting to grow. Does she really think he could be capable of this?
I do think that Summer believes Theo is capable of murder. Obviously recently she’s been grieving for Billy and so has been quite blinded by that grief and unable to see anything else that’s happening. I don’t think she’s seen it in him until this point, but I think when her suspicions do start to come out, it’s like that moment where the penny drops. Suddenly everything makes sense.
There’s been some odd moments that have been glazed over for whatever reason and now she’s seen it she can’t unsee it. She does think he’s very capable of doing what he did.
How worried does that make her for Todd?
I think she’s panicking because she has got this whole weight on her of dealing with Billy’s death and feeling very alone but now she’s worried for Todd too because he might be in a vulnerable position and really, he’s all Summer has left. If anything happens to him, I don’t know what she’d do.
She goes to speak to Todd but is hit by the news he’s moving to Belfast with Theo, how does Summer react?
He’s all she’s got left, so when he says he might be moving away, I think that’s really difficult. She knows Todd like the back of her hand and in that moment she can see that it’s not something that he actually wants to, he doesn’t want to leave Summer, especially in the position that she’s currently in, it’s Theo driving this.
I think it then just hits her like a ton of bricks, it almost confirms her suspicions for her and she can see that this isn’t a situation that Todd doesn’t want to be in. If he does leave, then she can’t even look out for him or protect him in any way. If he moves to Belfast, he’s literally on his own, and that panics Summer.
As Summer, George, Sarah all start to share their concerns for Todd, are they piecing together what’s been happening in the flat?
I think George is the first person to actively say, I think this is happening. Some of them tune into it straight away, others are slightly more sceptical and need to put those jigsaw pieces together a bit more before they come to a conclusion. But the more that they share individual stories about their experiences with Theo, the more they realise this is happening.
Things that felt a bit odd at the time suddenly don’t sit right and the more they share their stories together, the more I think it becomes quite difficult to ignore.
When Todd finally reports Theo for assault how is Summer going to feel, realising this has been going on for so long and the injuries he’s suffered?
I think it’s just heartbreaking for her. She had 3 dads once upon a time who were all very fit, healthy, strong men. Seeing Paul go through his MND journey and become a much weaker version of himself was really tough. Then seeing Billy absolutely fine one day and then losing him the next was another thing. And now the only person that she’s got left is Todd, and again, seeing him in a vulnerable and seeing him hurt is really hard. I think seeing any parent in a vulnerable position is really tough.
I think she feels heartbroken that this has happened and also maybe a little bit guilty that she’s not seen it and been able to protect him. I think she’s a bit disheartened at the world right now.
How impactful is this episode, where we see that sadly Todd’s situation isn’t an uncommon one?
I think it is a really powerful episode. Debbie Oates, who wrote it, did a fantastic job because it really does tune you into the reality of things like this, you think it’s few and far between but sadly it isn’t. We notice throughout the episode Todd isn’t alone in this, we use the colour purple throughout the episode (the colour of domestic violence survivors) to signify other people who may have been in an abusive relationship in the past but are maybe in a stronger position now, having come out the other side of it.
If you tune into that during the episode, I think it is really powerful, seeing those people alongside Todd’s journey as well.
How hard has it been for you to play this storyline, knowing what the viewers know about Theo yet Summer not seeing it?
Yeah, it’s been frustrating because sometimes you want to go just look over there and tune into what they’re saying. I like to think that Summer is quite an intelligent person and quite tuned in to other people’s emotions. But then equally, she’s been going through the most horrible period of her life, so you can’t blame her for not seeing it.
Also Theo is a bit of a master manipulator as well, he controls the narrative and he manipulates situations to make it fit the narrative that he’s trying to put out and people buy into that. The position that Summer’s in at the minute, she can’t question that narrative because she needs support and she needs comfort. She doesn’t look for badness in people either so this is going to be so tough for her.
Have you had people coming up to you saying you need to sort this out for Todd?
Oh yes, constantly, almost since the story began. I went to the dentist yesterday and they were like, we need you to sort things out and I’m like, I’m trying my best.
Are you excited for the scenes where it all comes out and to see Theo exposed for what he is?
Yes, I’m excited to film that moment where he’s actually caught. I think both Gareth and James have played a blinder in this storyline and when I see Gareth’s little face sometimes in scenes, you want to go in and just say stop.
This has been going on for a long time so I think to finally see some justice take place and for Todd to hopefully be able to find himself again, be able to smile, laugh and crack some jokes like the Todd we know will be really nice.
Coming out of this will we see a different relationship for Summer and Todd, he’s become her only father figure but will the roles now reverse as she steps up to support him? Will it strengthen their bond?
Yes I think so. I think Summer and Todd’s relationship has always almost been more like a sibling relationship than a father-daughter relationship, but when it boils down to it, he is always there for Summer and will always back her. He does through this storyline and she does for him as well. But I don’t think it’s as simple as a father-daughter relationship anymore.
I think they both lean on each other when they need to and actually she can become almost maternal to him and then he’s very parental to her as well. It’s lovely to see that when they need each other they can step up and be that for each other.
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