Next week on Corrie, with the knowledge that Theo killed Billy, did the weight of this trauma finally push Summer to commit murder?
How shocked were you when you found out it was Theo who was going to die and you were going to be one of the key suspects in his murder?
There were a lot of potential murder victims at the start so when we learned that it was going to be Theo, I wasn’t necessarily excited, but I was definitely happy it was going to put an end to the horror for Summer, and definitely for it to put an end to the fear of Todd being hurt again. There was also the fear of her being hurt, because Theo did threaten Summer a couple of times as well, so I think it gave a definite full stop to that.
I think we’ve seen a lot of level headed Summer in the past, although she can be quite reactive as well. Now that she doesn’t have Billy, and Todd’s been going through what he’s been going through, she’s really had to kind of cement herself and make her own decisions. So I am really excited to see a different side to Summer and for people to question whether or not she could be capable of doing something like this.
Theo had threatened Summer, she’d seen through him, knew what he’d done to Todd and how he possibly had a hand in Billy’s death. Do you think that if push came to shove, she could have been capable of murder?
I think there’s a scenario where she might have felt like it was either her that was going to be hurt, or maybe even killed, or it was him. I think when people are pushed to that point, it’s interesting to see what they will do to survive. It’s no secret that Theo was very threatening, he even said that he was going to bury Summer if she got in his way, so there could have been a moment where she felt like it was either her or him.
This week George finds Summer’s journal, where she describes wanting to kill Theo. When she realises this journal has been discovered, is she panicked?
I think she’s definitely panicked, I mean everyone who was linked to Theo in any way isn’t thinking rationally at all right now. I think everyone is just trying to keep their head above water, stay out of suspicions way. Then with the discovery of this private journal that Summer scribbles her thoughts into, I think she is panicked because she knows that it looks really bad. Whether she’s guilty or innocent, this journal is not a good thing for anybody else to see, because it does implicate her. So I think that she is scrambling and clutching at straws of how to get around this, to get around the fact that they found this journal containing her darkest thoughts.
Lisa takes Summer in for questioning, how does Summer react in the interview room?
I think she’s panicking, there has never been a situation like this that Summer has even been close to. She’s also thinking about Billy, what would he think of me now, that’s in the back of her head, and that makes her panics even more. Whether you’re innocent or guilty, sitting in a police station being questioned over someone’s murder is horrific. So she’s just in panic mode and she knows that there are these things stacking up against her, it doesn’t look good and it’s how she can get around these pieces of what look like evidence against her.
George confronts her, do you think George believes she murdered Theo and how does that make her feel?
I think everyone is suspicious of everyone, because they all knew what Theo was capable of, and it’s a case of what would you do to protect yourself or your family. Everyone’s looking at everyone. So I do think that Summer is aware of what George is thinking, is she capable or murder. I think even that would make you panic, because if your nearest and dearest are starting to question you, and are starting to think that you could be capable of doing such a horrific thing, no matter how terrible Theo was, then that makes you look capable of murder.
It’s a question of how far someone will go to protect their family. Theo stole Billy away from Summer, he’s also taken a part of Todd because he’s not the same Todd as he once was now, so it does boil down to that question of would she kill to protect herself? Summer was threatened, would she do that to protect what’s left of her family?
George goes to the police about his suspicions and Christina lets this slip to Summer. Talk us through her fear and her decision to try to get away?
There are a number of things that are stacking up against Summer and the story that she has told so far. When she knows that the police are potentially on her tail, I think she just isn’t thinking logically and so decides that the best solution for that is for her to just run away. I think she needs to get out of the pressure cooker. Even without Theo’s murder, the last few years on the street have been horrible and traumatic for Summer. Then to pile this on top, I think she just sort of explodes and isn’t thinking logically and feels like she needs to run away.
How exciting is it to be working on a big whodunit storyline like this?
It is really cool. I mean in soap a big who done it theme is always a really exciting one to be part of. Even the episode where it was revealed that it was Theo that died had everyone talking. The amount of people so far who I’ve bumped into who have said, ‘did you do it? Was it you? People really do start to question the characters, and like George who is now second guessing Summer, so is the audience as well.
You see this sweet girl, who you probably would never think is capable of murder, but this changes everything. I literally got a message from my friend saying, her Mum’s text her to say, did Harriet kill Theo? Was it her? So there’s definitely a buzz around the story and it is really exciting to be involved in. It makes people question your character, what they’re capable of doing and that’s a lot of fun.
Are you enjoying getting to work with people/sets that you maybe haven’t worked with before?
Yeah, it’s quite different. Being interviewed by the police, in that police cell environment, it’s a very different sort of scene. When we went into the police questioning rooms, I said I’ve never been in here, and everyone was like, what? But Summer’s such a good character, she’s not really mischievous, she’s not evil, we’ve not seen her seek revenge before. So this is such a flip on its head. She’s such an unexpected suspect in this, but it’s also completely understandable why she’s a suspect, and so she should be.
Catch up on ITVX, and for classic visits to Corrie, these episodes air weekdays on ITV3 as well as on YouTube. Episodes airs at 8.30pm on ITV1