Coronation Street spoilers follow.
Coronation Street star James Cartwright has explained why show bosses decided to kill off his evil character Theo Silverton.
Theo finally got his comeuppance in Friday’s episode (1 May) as viewers saw Betsy Swain discover his dead body in a grisly storyline twist.
The schemer’s downfall was inevitable, as he’d subjected his husband Todd Grimshaw to months of violent and coercive behaviour behind closed doors, and soap villains can’t stay unpunished forever…
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In an exclusive chat with Soap Scoop, the Inside Soap podcast, James argued that it was a better story choice for Theo to meet a brutal end rather than stand trial for his crimes.
“I join a long line of people who’ve met Corrie’s own brand of justice,” James explained. “I think ultimately, it was always going to be thus. I remember chatting to Kate Brooks, the magnificent producer. Theo was all her doing, really. It was her vision and she’s wonderful.
“When we very first started, she said: ‘Look, it’s either going to be court or Corrie’s own brand of justice’. Then, as it went further on, it was decided that there’s no need for another court case. So off he goes, mate!”
He continued: “With domestic violence, and as gritty as it was, the feeling was: ‘Is there an appetite to relive it all when we’ve seen it?’ I think court cases are only good as a device if there’s new evidence, a shocking witness, or somebody saw something.
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“But actually it’d just be Todd saying what happened, Theo denying it and then reliving all of those awful events. It’s been a brilliant storyline, but also it’s been quite brutal and whether there’s an appetite to relive that when people [at home] are enjoying their corned beef hash, I don’t know!”
The discovery of Theo’s body now kicks off a huge new murder mystery, with several suspects in the frame.
After he made so many enemies on the cobbles, it’d be easier to pinpoint the characters who didn’t want Theo gone…
James confirmed: “I know exactly who’s done it. He’s basically upset everybody on the street. It could be Summer. I killed her dad, that’s motivation! You’ve got George, because Todd’s like a son to him. You’ve seen George punch me already!
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“You’ve got Christina – Christina’s a lunatic. It could be Todd, because he’s just had enough. It could be Carl. There are many, many people it could be on that street, which I think is really exciting.”
James also offered a final tease – with flashbacks so commonplace on Corrie these days, fans may not have seen the last of Theo just yet…
Asked about the possibility, he laughed: “I could not possibly say! I think we’ll have to see what happened, right? How unsatisfactory if we don’t. I think there will be some flashbacks and I think you will find out precisely what happened.
“But all part of the fun is the journey of that. There is so much more to come. Keep watching – it gets juicier and juicier. Theo’s death will affect everybody in a different way.”
Hit play below to listen to the full interview with James on Inside Soap’s Soap Scoop podcast:
Coronation Street airs on weeknights at 8.30pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
Read more Coronation Street spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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