How is Ryan feeling ahead of Justin’s court case?
Ryan assumed that, during the aftermath of the attack, Justin would plead guilty to being the person behind the acid attack, particularly because he pleaded guilty to all his other abusive behaviour against Daisy. Ryan thought that Justin would accept what he has done and face justice but Justin does the opposite and pleads not guilty so that comes as a real shock to Ryan and he takes it very personally because he took the major blows of the acid and it has changed his life forever.
As well as the prospect of facing Justin for the first time since the attack, Ryan is still coming to terms with his injuries and being in public places. Does this add an extra element of pain for Ryan, with the trial looming?
Yes, Ryan even says to Daisy that he doesn’t know how he is going to hold it together. He seems to have gone through so much, so fast so it’s a series of blows that has pushed him to the edge. He is really nervous because he hasn’t really been in front of anyone else, apart from his Auntie Carla and Daisy. He has still been very solitary so even coming out of the house is a big deal to him. Standing in front of a court, full of people, and seeing Justin again, feels like he is digging it all up and re-facing the whole thing all over again. He feels completely unprepared for this and he would rather bury his head in the sand and look away but he knows that Daisy is relying on him. And there is a strange kind of connection between the two of them at the moment.
Karen, Justin’s sister, tells Daisy how sorry she is for Justin’s attack and how she hopes he’ll be sent down. But when Carla and Ryan spot Karen in the Rovers, they are appalled. Tell us about that moment.
Ryan sees Karen in the pub and when it seems to him that Daisy is alright with her, he’s confused. He feels betrayed that Daisy would have any kind of rapport with someone that is so directly attached to Justin. At the end of the day, Justin has done terrible things to Daisy but he’s not done anything to the scale of what he has done to Ryan so he feels deceived and blind aggression towards Daisy. He doesn’t blame Daisy for the acid attack but it has happened because of her and so, because she is attached to his trauma in that way, he ends up lashing out at her.
As Ryan leaves for court, Karen admits that she passed on what she gleaned about Daisy’s history of manipulation, to Justin’s lawyer. Why does this distress Ryan so much that he fails to turn up to court?
After everything that has happened, the court case is the final straw that breaks the camel’s back. But Ryan is willing to push himself through it until he finds out that Karen has used what he has said about Daisy against them both. He said what he said in spite and due to having a little bit of animosity towards Daisy. Obviously Karen is there to witness this and so now, not only is Ryan feeling scared and out of control, he now feels like a fool.
Does Ryan feel guilty that Karen has told Justin’s lawyer about Daisy’s manipulative past and how she split Ryan and Alya up?
I don’t think guilty is the right word; he feels foolish. He doesn’t feel like he has much to prove at this point because he has been through so much and he is very aware that people understand that, but at the same time he doesn’t want to trudge through the past and he doesn’t want to relive the experience again, especially in front of people but he is willing to because, despite the little tiff that he’s had with Daisy, he appreciates all that she has done for him and they do have a relationship. Although it isn’t a romantic relationship, she is one of the only people that Ryan feels close to so he is willing to go the distance for her and go to court but what happens with Karen pushes him over the edge.
You say that Ryan has experienced a series of blows that has pushed him over the edge. Is this his breaking point?
Yes, Ryan feels overwhelmed and it has just become too much for him. But it’s not just one thing, it’s the layering of the events that have taken place before this. Before this he has been back in hospital with sepsis and he has confessed his undying love for Crystal and she is not getting back to him so there are so many areas of his life that are just not working.
Is Ryan aware of the repercussions if he does not attend court? What changes his mind?
Yes, he knows there is a chance Justin might walk and actually, he feels like there might be a chance of that anyway now that this new information has come to light for Justin because it gives Justin’s barrister something to run with. Ryan is afraid to be there for that because he just can’t take another hit. He is ready to bury his head in the sand and everyone is telling him that he has to go to court but he’s at the point where he’s happy to shut himself off. Ultimately it’s Ryan’s relationship with Daisy that changes his mind.
What were the court scenes like to film?
It was roasting hot haha! But it was good because it’s Ryan’s first spout of courage and bravery. Ryan’s always had this happy-go-lucky outlook of life and lately we’ve seen that drowned by the things that have happened to him. But when he goes to court, it’s like a little bit of that has come back. He probably doesn’t realise how much of a big step he has taken yet but it may be something that he realises in the aftermath of the trial.
How does Ryan feel coming face to face with Justin again?
It’s a shock to the system but he faces him immediately. He doesn’t look away and he stares him down because he is not afraid of Justin but he is afraid of his own situation. He holds so much anger and resentment towards Justin that he has been waiting for this moment to look him in the face.
When you read the scripts from the scenes where Ryan takes the stand, what were your thoughts?
I really loved the scripts because you see and feel Ryan struggling from the get-go. We had such a short time to learn those scripts but I knew I really wanted to put a bit of time into Ryan’s deposition because the language was just right for a northern lad who is just trying to stumble through what he could remember from an acid attack.
The barrister accuses Ryan of being in love with Daisy and plotting the attack, how does Ryan react?
Ryan feels like he has ruined things. He loses his temper but he’s passionate about what has happened to him because it’s his life; everything about his life has changed because of this. When the barrister insinuates that he is in love with Daisy, there is an element of truth to that and Ryan knows that he does have feelings for Daisy but he’s not even sure what those feelings are. He knows that she is marrying Daniel and he knows that he doesn’t have a chance and he doesn’t think that she would ever be interested in someone like him because of his facial scars but he has feelings there for her. He feels like he has a connection with her and not only does he feel like he has made a fool out of himself in front of the whole court, he feels like he has let Daisy down.
Do you think a relationship between Daisy and Ryan would be a good idea?
In a weird way, I think any relationship for Ryan would be a good idea because he is so isolated right now. After his traumatic experience, Ryan’s natural instinct has been to reach out and grab the relationships around him to try and ground himself. He’s done that with Alya and taken on the heartbreak of that, he’s tried to do the same with Crystal and now she’s not replying so he just feels so alone. He definitely has a thing for Daisy but his confidence is so low and the reality is that he respects Daniel and he thinks that he is a great guy so he just wouldn’t want to get entwined into that in the wrong way. He doesn’t want to be anyone’s enemy, he’s just looking for someone to care about him.
How would Ryan react if he knew Daisy was pretending to be ‘Crystal’?
The thing is, Ryan has had such an intimate back and forth over the past month or so with ‘Crystal’ that he is genuinely starting to believe that in a different world, in a different time or somewhere down the line that there might be something there with her because they have developed an actual relationship. There has been a lot of natural chemistry between them and Ryan is finding joy in investing in their relationship. So to find out that it’s been Daisy the whole time would make him feel humiliated because he has been very raw and ‘himself’ with this person. He would feel so deceived because it’s such a huge lie to play for such a long time so he would feel like he was a toy and that he’s a game to Daisy. He would feel an explosion of contempt for Daisy because he feels like he has lost Crystal and Daisy in one fell swoop.
What can you tease about how the outcome will affect Ryan?
Ryan believes that Justin getting sent down would be the next step in his closure definitely. It has to happen for him to move forward and if it doesn’t happen then I am not sure where that leaves him. It’s going to set him back a long way because he would be left in turmoil over the situation and the injustice of it all. Ryan needs Justin to face justice before he can even face the reality of the aftermath. For Ryan, everything is riding on this trial.
Glenda Young
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