As part of our series of 60th anniversary press day interviews, we join ITV journalist Nina Nannar to discuss the coercive control story with actors Shelley King (Yasmeen Metcalfe), Ian Bartholomew (Geoff Metcalfe) and Sair Khan (Alya Nazir)
Worthy of a three-part interview, here is part two and a chat with actor Ian Bartholomew about the coercive control story, joining Coronation Street, and about being a baddie in a continuing drama.
NN = Nina Nannar, IB = Ian Bartholomew
NN - The writing between Geoff and Yasmeen has been extraordinary. Was this a difficult part to play?
IB- It has been a riot and very challenging to play. As Shelley said, people around us have been very supportive and understanding. I would reiterate most of what Shelley has said, it's been a great honour and privilege to be involved in a story like this. It affects so many people - this is what a public broadcaster does. It's important to bring the message out of the shadows and into the light.
NN - Have you known for a while that your story is going to end with some conclusion?
IB -When I first joined, Geoff was a bit of a bumbling idiot, the hospital DJ and amateur magician. He suddenly developed when they decided to turn the storyline and character into something else, that was 6 months in - we have been playing this storyline now for over two years. I think it was pretty much understood, that you play a baddie like this, there is a certain amount of shelf-life and it was not a surprise when we realised we were coming to this conclusion and catharsis for Yasmeen.
NN - What happens when you play a strong scene with Shelley, or Sair maybe. Do you have a cup of tea - how do you decompress?
IB -You have to remember it's not me, its the character. There is a certain amount of overlap because doing it all day every day, especially when you are in a storyline like this it becomes your life - you have to be able to turn off. My wife and kids keep me sane and grounded. Over the years, you develop a technique to be able to deal with it.
NN - As an actor, what was it like to join Coronation Street, was it a sense of achievement to be joining such high-calibre drama?
IB - Gobsmacked that I got the part anyway. I was unsure how long I was going to be here, but I got to this point and, the character has got to this point. It has been a great honour to be here on the 60th anniversary!
Keep 'em peeled for part three of this interview where we get the lowdown from Alya Nazir aka Sair Khan.
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3 comments:
Corrie has always maintained that Geoff's character developing within a coercive control storyline was explored right from the beginning. That never rang true for me and his change of personality seemed to come out of the blue. I think Ian Bartholomew confirms this when he says Geoff was a bumbling character to begin with and then, six months on, they decided to turn the character. It seems to me that if they had planned this storyline to develop as it has, they would have made Geoff more charming. Not so charming that you would immediately suspect he wasn't what he appeared, but charming enough to believe he could dupe people. It really is down to the skill of the actors that it has worked so well. There are plot holes which haven't been explored eg: what was the real reason for Tim's poor literacy skills and the biggest one which a very astute Anonymous has come up with. Is Geoff still actually married to Tim's mother? Why hasn't Imran looked into this? Geoff and Yasmeen's marriage would be annulled. I'm guessing the day will be saved by a knight on a white charger, holding aloft a copy of the hospital's CCTV video.
Do we know what happened to Tess? I might have just forgotten, or is she supposed to be dead too? If so, is it possible that she also left fearing for her life?
There's no way that Geoff could have just wandered into a psychiatric hospital without going through some sort of security.
Elaine's testimony was fantastic!
He used someone else's security pass!
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