Coronation Street Blog: Todd Boyce interview: Audrey's son Stephen returns

Can you tell us about how your return to Corrie came about?

I watched the show all the time I have ever since I was a kid in Australia it was always on. Then I did it in 1996 and I've never stopped watching. I think I was living in fear that they might replace me and get someone else to play Stephen if I was not available and they needed him to come back. Then in December, my agent said he got a call with an availability check for me to return and was I interested? I said I definitely was and then in January I had a zoom call with Iain Macleod who told me about his plans for the character and I knew it was something I wanted to do, no doubt about it at all, I had a wonderful time last time so I was excited to come back. Stephen is often talked about by Sarah, or Nick or Audrey and I get friends saying to me ‘you were mentioned again last night’ so it felt right to be stepping into his shoes again.

Have you watched any of your old episodes to reacquaint yourself with the character?

Yes, someone told me that the old episodes with Todd and Alma were on at the moment so I tuned in immediately and I just loved it. I watched myself through splayed fingers as I thought I might not have been that good, as I remembered that I felt nervous at the time but then I realised I look ok and it was because I was 26 years younger, haha!! I had to then start thinking who I am now and how I have changed and who Stephen is now. We have all changed a lot, but then I got onto set and it fell into place, the accent came back, it is a little different to mine but it all just came back to me immediately.

What has Stephen been up to since we last saw him?

The beauty of his connections is that we have heard him mentioned and the viewers know he is a successful businessman, he has had companies in Canada and Milan and I have been told that he has been married in the meantime, so it will be interesting to see if she is still around.

So what was it like coming back and did it feel the same?

Obviously, it's a different building. But once you are back working with the people that you know well it all feels very familiar. It is like meeting up with an old friend that you haven;t seen for a while and the years in between kind of disappear.

What is it like being back working with everyone?

It is absolutely wonderful. Everyone is older but the biggest change is Tina and Jack, they were out and about partying, going down to London with all the other young ones back then and now they have children and are grown ups! And doing scenes with Helen and Sue is making me feel very calm, it was a bit scary at first being back but once I started working with them all I felt calm. I also met this Nick for the first time with Ben playing him. He's wonderful, I am very lucky to be back working with such great people.

So tell us a little bit then about what initially brings him back

Sarah gets in touch with him because they are worried about Audrey and her behaviour. She has been drinking a bit and won’t listen to Gail and they think Stephen might be able to help.

What is his relationship like with Audrey?

It is it close even though they live geographically far apart I think. They seem to just click instantly when they see each other. There's nothing remotely awkward about it. I think it's very loving even though he wasn't with her during his childhood. He's quite angry with the rest of the family which is tricky as he hasn't been there. He does say that he feels bad as he hasn’t been around so much. There is a lovely scene we did sitting on a bench and I think that tenderness between them does come across. Sue reminds me so much of my own mother and she is such a brilliant actress but she doesn’t think she is. We get on so well so it makes doing those scenes easy. It is interesting watching that dynamic between Stephen and the rest of the family.

What made you so interested in coming back?

I was interested to see Stephen at this age now and how he has changed and how he would be with the family. And what is interesting is that actually very little changes inside us. And then it's also intriguing because of the dynamic with the rest of the family because he very quickly becomes Audrey's voice and he very quickly steps

into that sort of man of the house role and he's doing everyone a favour because he can. And he's got the money.

So after he has arrived we see he's got a little bit of an eye for the ladies. Is he after romance?

First off quite quickly, there's a bit of a sort of an attraction between him and Elaine. Historically he was a bit of a toyboy and I love the repetition of that, he seems to be attracted to ladies who are a little bit older than him, not as much older as in the past but he definitely isn't after the younger women on the street.

What do you think's behind that? Is he genuine?

I think he's looking for some security. I know someone who lost his mum at a young age and he's always dated older women. There's something of a replacement possibly although he's not lost his mum, Stephen has not had her around, so has he always been looking for something in the women he has dated.

What is it that makes him decide to stick around?

He is worried about his mum and once he is back he just realises, he's got a lot of people here that he has been taking advantage of for so long so he thinks the time has come for him to do his bit. I am excited to see people's reaction and what they think of Stephen and whether they're suspicious of what he's up to. He has an eye for the ladies so that should be fun and there will be friction between him and the wider family, watch this space.

Glenda Young

Novelist published by Headline