Coronation Street’s Todd Grimshaw proposed to his boyfriend Theo Silverton on the New Year’s Eve episode amid him being subjected to a torrent of abuse by the builder
21:00, 31 Dec 2025Updated 21:37, 31 Dec 2025
Todd Grimshaw proposed to his abusive boyfriend Theo Silverton on the New Year’s Eve episode of Coronation Street
Coronation Street’s Todd Grimshaw proposed to his abusive boyfriend Theo Silverton on the New Year’s Eve episode of the ITV soap. The long-running character, who has been played by Gareth Pierce since 2020, is currently in a relationship with Theo (James Cartwright) and has become the victim of coercive control at the hands of his boyfriend.
To begin with, the abuse carried out was mostly psychological but then turned physical and the plot formed part of a special episode filmed only with CCTV cameras just before Christmas. Todd has also had milk poured over him, been made to eat his dinner stone cold and just a matter of days ago, Theo drove him miles away and made him walk home in freezing temperatures without a jacket.
Despite this, Todd made plans to pop the question and when they were in the pub together, Theo told Todd to prove to everyone just how much he loved him and he got down on one knee. After making Todd wait as the rest of he Rovers regulars watched on, Theo accepted his proposal and landlady Eva Price offered to host the wedding, whilst Mary Taylor said she would happily be a bridesmaid. When Todd asked Theo if he had done the right thing, he was reassured: “It’s all I want. You, me. Together.”
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Theo accepted Todd’s proposal but then turned nasty
But in typical fashion, things took a nasty turn a short time later when the punters were giving a rendition of Auld Lang Syne as the new year dawned in Weatherfield. For months, Theo has been very jealous of Todd’s best friend Billy and the vicar has become increasingly worried about their relationship. At the party, Theo cornered Todd and said: “What have you been telling Billy? Him and Alya were talking about abusive partners. He clearly meant me and he must’ve got that from you.”
When Todd denied that he’d ever spoken to Billy, Theo didn’t really believe him and coldly said: “Getting down on one knee, what were you thinking? You’ve embarrassed yourself. You can’t help it. Everything has to be about you, doesn’t it? Pathetic!” Theo then re-joined the party and left Todd in despair, as Billy looked on.
Earlier in the week, Todd had indeed spoken to Billy, who caught him making his way home alone as Theo pretended he had simply gone back to the flat to lie down. It was then that Billy gave him a key to his flat in case he needed to escape. On the verge of tears, Todd explained to Billy: “I’ll go back home, and everything’ll be all right… He just gets a bit… he has certain expectations of a relationship, that’s all. And you know what I’m like. I’m selfish and inconsiderate.”
Billy then insisted: “You’re kind, loving, loyal. Theo is lucky to have you,” and placed his keys in Todd’s hands for the “next time” something happens. The recent special episode was filmed entirely from camera footage including CCTV and bodycam. Corrie boss Kate Brooks envisioned a fly on the wall style episode, revealed director Matt Hilton, who told us: “It felt like a really bold idea to show it in this intimate and voyeuristic way. As a fan of true crime I could see how it could work if we did it right.
Todd’s best friend Billy has realised something is not right with the relationship
It didn’t come without its challenges though, with the set having to be adapted and a change to the usual filming methods. Matt shared: “In order to make it look authentic and look like a documentary we had to make the flat feel like a real flat, which involved putting in a full ceiling and all the walls. This changed how we had to shoot the episode fundamentally.
“We couldn’t light the set how we normally would, and we had to record the sound differently, whereas in a normal scene we would use different camera shots to emphasise certain moments of importance.”
“We had to look at using a totally different camera set-up which we hadn’t used before and we weren’t 100% sure would work and with no way to have a backup option, it was pretty much all or nothing. From start to finish everything was different and everything had to be considered in order to make it feel as authentic as possible.”
Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and ITV X. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .