Coronation Street Blog: Gareth Pierce interview: More trouble for Theo and Todd

We've seen Theo’s behaviour patterns worsen towards Todd in recent weeks and are now at the point where the goalposts are constantly changing in what’s acceptable within the relationship. How is Todd coping with Theo's erratic behaviour?

Gaslighting is a word that’s banded around fairly frequently these days, but that's definitely what has started to happen here and is in full flow by this point in the story. Todd's really had what is normal behaviour in the relationship adjusted for him, by a lot of Theo's micro aggressions and also Todd’s kind of acceptance of elements of it. So we're in the eggshells phase of the relationship now, where Todd has really anchored his own moods to what mood he's going to get from Theo day to day. He's trying constantly to anticipate things that Theo might get riled about to avoid a situation like the kebab scene where it really boiled over.

Do you think Todd's subconsciously taking these steps or do you think he does have an awareness that this isn’t right but he's trying to block it out?

I think it's a little bit of both. Todd is a sufficiently clever character that there will be ways that he knows that he's not in a healthy relationship. But I think that some of the self improvements he’s made over the last couple of years have led him to feel like there's hope for change in other people as well. I guess that part of him is overriding his instinct at the moment, and he's adjusting and making room for Theo to, possibly move the relationship to a healthier place. But from an objective perspective, we as the audience are going to be saying, no, you're well past what's acceptable and you need to be putting some clear lines in place.

Do you think he's actually scared of Theo?

Definitely, that kebab moment was genuinely scary for Todd, and he's tried to communicate that to Thea. There's definitely a sense now that Theo is a more physically imposing character than Todd is as well so he's definitely scared of him physically but there is still love there somewhere in the relationship and Todd feels like he can maybe anticipate or fix Theo.

How does Todd react when he recognises Pete, the contractor that Theo is having trouble with, as the man he found with Theo in their flat? Does that turn the tables a bit?

Yeah, definitely, it's such a soup by that point. There's been quite a lot of steps in the last couple of weeks of what Todd is expected to just accept as part of his relationship with Theo. Finding out about Owen, his previous partner, although Todd doesn't know the full extent of the dysfunctionality and some of the similarities in that relationship the audience do. For Todd even just the new information that Theo has had relationships with a man before is a revelation to Todd, because at the beginning Theo very much painted it to him as though he’d been a closeted, married, straight man, all these years but this is me, living my truth self and you're the one that's made me see the light. Todd felt a certain amount of privilege in that and maybe that is one of the factors making him fight more for the relationship. But actually we've now got the situation where Todd's discovered that Theo's slept with Pete and weirdly, in that moment, Todd ends up kind of accepting it and becoming ashamed of his own behaviour in the aftermath. That kind of jealous, sly, slighted Todd that emerged in the Mr and Mrs quiz in the Rovers means Todd is sufficiently ashamed to see that version of himself reemerge, that he somehow gets to a place where he wants to climb down on his own behaviour. So he accepts what Theo has done, which he probably shouldn't have.

It’s very messy as you say, then just when you think things are starting to calm the next day, Todd goes out in the car to help Sarah and Harry has this big spill on the seats. How is Todd feeling at this point, knowing he's pretty much treading on thin ice already?

It's just horrible, I think the audience will already be noticing the ways that Todd is briefly relaxed with his friends and his close confidants like Sarah, George, Billy and then when Theo enters the room straight away he's back in that tense people pleasing, anticipatory kind of headspace. It’s that horrible feeling, like when you go into school and you haven't done your homework and you have that feeling in the pit of your stomach. It takes you back to childhood, when there he was doing Sarah a favour, having fun with his mate of so many years and then in that one moment that Harry spills the milkshake, suddenly he's thinking oh no, what's this going to do for me and my domestic situation, and what's Theo going to be like when he finds out? Because Todd’s in that eggshells phase, he's having a dysfunctional reaction to that as well, he's thinking I've got to cover it up, I've got to find a way to get this repaired without him even finding out. So then you've got Todd lying within the relationship and acting in an unhealthy way because the unhealthy relationship has altered what's normal and acceptable behaviour.

He manages to get the spill sorted and then he scrapes the car. Is this just the worst feeling for Todd as he knows what’s coming with Theo?

He has that sort of false hope, when in that initial moment of the milkshake discovery, Theo is much more affable than Todd's expecting him to be because Sarah is there and Harry's there. Todd thinks maybe it will be all right. But then obviously he gets home and realises that it was very much that quintessential narcissistic behaviour of Theo, in that he's all smiles and presenting, one face to Todd’s friends publicly, but then as soon as that door closes, the mood shifts.

Todd's expecting Theo’s reaction here to be explosive after scraping the car, can you tell us just how extreme his reaction is and why this is another worrying step forward into this abusive relationship?

It’s going to be another spike in that constant vibrating mood there is in that flat now. That flat is such a tense space for Todd, whereas it's his new home, it should be one of the few places where he feels entirely relaxed. That’s a horrible situation to be in anyway and it causes great stress and anxiety. There’s a moment where Todd thinks that maybe he's been able to get everything sorted and repaired and that it'll be smooth sailing but then sadly in that moment of real tension, he finds out that it's not all okay and we have one of those real upsurges in fury that we know you can get from Theo. It’s shocking and it's very much directed at Todd.

Why do you think Todd is letting these boundaries get blurred with what is and isn’t acceptable within their relationship?

Todd wants to seem like he’s the reasonable one. So he’s been the victim of some pretty expert gaslighting, because anger and frustration have become off limits for Todd. When he finds out about Owen, the infidelity with Pete, Theo’s violent reaction to the car - he doesn’t want to mirror Theo’s behaviour in how he responds.

On a personal level, obviously you have a fondness for your character, how hard are you finding it to play? Do you feel desperately sad for him and for other people in similar relationships?

Yeah, definitely. You get a glimpse of that tension and stress that sadly some people are living for real day to day. That is very sad and really does remind you of the importance of Corrie covering a subject like this. I'm reasonably good at being very committed to what I'm playing, when I'm acting, but equally kind of packing it away and going back to my daily family life in between. So I think I'm managing that fairly well. I've got other very close friends within the cast who have played big, intense stories before so I’m surrounded by great actors and generous people generally. I feel like I can see the way that you navigate playing a storyline like this truthfully while also protecting yourself and your own genuine stress levels as a person. James and I still try to have a lightness between scenes and a laugh at things but then I think it's important that we are aware of the seriousness of the story that we're covering as well. So yeah, it's still doing my usual routines, really. I like going running and climbing, a bit of cycling, a bit of swimming and nice family time. I try to keep it very simple these days and I think that helps to manage your energy and your stress levels when you’re working more intensely on something like this.

Glenda Young

Bestselling novelist published by Headline