I was lucky enough recently to interview Shayne Ward, who plays Aidan Connor in Coronation Street.
How does Aidan feel initially after having slept with Maria?
He knows straight away that it shouldn’t have happened. The next day it’s a massive shock for Maria. I think she’s always liked Aidan. What hurt her the most was that he was telling her it was wrong and nothing should have happened. He does love Eva, but Maria and Eva are very different. He feels as if he can have a conversation with Maria, whereas he can’t with Eva. Eva is all, babe this and babe that. Eva is being really kind and caring towards Maria, so that makes him feel really bad about Eva, who is a complete innocent in this. Aidan doesn’t want to break Eva’s heart but it seems as though he will.
More than anything though, his mind set is on work – he wants to prove to his dad that he can run the business himself. He wants to be fully committed with his relationship – but his focus is on work.
Aidan totally believes Maria is innocent. Is that because you knew Caz when she was engaged to your sister Kate?
He’s aware of Caz because she was going out with his sister. She’s a bit of a bunny boiler – Aidan knows her better than a lot of people. He knows she’s up to something.
Do you think Aidan has a conscience or does he just do what he wants?
Yes, because he feels guilty from the get go. He can see how Eva is trying to help Maria and comfort her. He feels guilty in all this, because he slept with Maria and now his girlfriend and Maria are getting pally – there’s going to be a lot of awkward scenes in there. He knows Maria and trusts her not to tell Eva. She’s not going to break Eva’s heart by telling her. He does feel a lot for Maria. If she does end up going to prison, he’ll be really gutted.
And Shayne also told me about his personal life too...
I’m going to be getting the most amazing Christmas present ever – I’m expecting a baby in early December. I’m very excited, it’s the best thing ever. Everything is prepared. The nursery is done, we’re just waiting. We’re on countdown - not long to go now. Everyone is lovely. Mikey North (Gary Windass) is expecting his baby too. It’s wicked because I’m joining this Corrie family club, it’s amazing. I’m an uncle thirteen times over – that’s Irish families for you!
And his best Christmas memories?
17th December 2005 – I remember
Over the Rainbow was the final song I sang (on the X-Factor) and it was a brilliant moment for me. It’s nice, because people keep uploading clips from the show itself. It’s weird, it looks dead old now. I get people approaching me who are 18 and they tell me they were seven when I won – it’s crazy. It was one of the most amazing times I ever had – I absolutely loved it on there.
And how do you enjoy being on Corrie? Is it very different from appearing on the X Factor?
It’s so different. The first time I came to do my first scene, I realised I had to look away from the camera. As a singer, you’re taught to look directly into the camera and sell yourself, so it’s really different. I like them both. Singing is a massive passion of mine and I’ll always continue singing regardless. With the acting, I like that it’s a completely different challenge. With a song, you sing it over and over again, but with a script, you do it once and it’s gone, then you have to move onto a different emotion – I love the challenge of that.
Any Christmas disasters?
I once bought a Santa’s outfit from America – I went the whole hog; it wasn’t a cheap one. I dressed up and came downstairs – I had the boots on and everything. I came downstairs and had my nephews and nieces going “It’s uncle Shayne” I was like, “No it’s not! It’s Santa!”
I’m sat down on the couch with all my nieces and nephews around, then all of a sudden I got a weird reaction from the clothing.
I had to take it off – I had a massive allergic reaction. I was itchy and had a rash, I was also sick!
Ruth Owen, twitter: @ruth1722
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