How did Simon feel when Peter left?
Simon felt quite sad. He was hurt that he left without saying goodbye and he doesn’t really understand why he has gone, he was confused by it. He doesn’t really want to accept that he has gone and he is angry with himself for not being contactable when his dad was leaving. As time goes on he has got a bit hardened to it and has accepted that his dad has gone.
Was that the start of this downward spiral for Simon?
He had kind of started on that track but he didn’t see it as that, he was dressing it up as just hanging out with his mates having a few drinks and his dad leaving just meant that he started to do it more. He realises to some degree what he is doing is not ok or sustainable behaviour but he’s not really caring at this stage.
He's had a lot happen in his life, hasn't he?
He has had so much happen! I think it is the case that with everything that he has been through that he's just trying to get a bit of his own freedom back.
How does he feel about Bobby arriving?
Well, I think he's sort of okay with Bobby moving in but sort of not at the same time. He offers to move out but underneath that offer is the feeling that someone else is gonna come in and push him out of his slot so he might as well leave and get out of everyone's hair and not start causing issues with everybody. It's not great, he feels a bit pushed out.
Do you think he has quite low self esteem and feels as though he's just constantly the one that's pushed? from pillar to post?
Simon's always struggled with self esteem and lacks confidence around people despite the bravado. And especially with girls. He now has the whole situation where Bobby's like really cool and chilled with the girls. And Simon wants to be that sort of person, to have that confidence so the bravado rears its head again and he acts like he is confident and doesn't care but he does.
Does he think that sort of drink maybe gives him that?
Yeah. He feels that drinking gives him the confidence to be around people and lets him say or do things he wouldn’t do normally. But then it also makes him do things he regrets so it is a vicious circle.
In the past, drinking was something that he avoided. He's even tried on occasions to stop Peter drinking. What has changed?
I do wonder if it has always been there, there was that time when he was younger and he passed out through drinking. There was always the possibility with his dad’s addiction that he could go down that road..
Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, research would show that that's not an uncommon trajectory, is it for people, you know, offspring of alcoholics, you know, can kind of go one way or the other?
I read that you can up to four times more likely to become an alcoholic if one of your parent’s is so it is interesting that they are exploring alcohol becoming an issue for Simon. He is not there yet but he is heading down that path for sure unless he gets a grip of it now.
Do you think he's doing that classic thing of ‘I'm not like my dad, I just like a drink’.
I think in a way I think he does realise a little bit of what he is doing but he does say a few times ‘I’m not my dad’ but in a way he is becoming his dad and I think Leanne can see that and is worried he has pressed the self-destruct button.
Is this interesting for you to play? Coming from Peter's troubled background and everything that's happened to Simon, something was going to give at some point wasn't it?
Yes I am really enjoying exploring this side of Simon as he navigated growing up and how his past and his family’s past has shaped him. I am lucky to have had some great storylines with Simon, when we saw his anger and violence towards Leanne, getting mixed up with the drug gang and now this storyline, but it is believable that he would find himself in these situations when you look at his upbringing.
If his dad was there, he would be spotting what was going on, wouldn't he?
I do think Peter would spot the signs and would be the person who could talk to Simon and help him. He had called him out on it a couple of times before he left so maybe had he stuck around Simon would have got his act together before it gets to someone getting hurt by Simon’s actions yet again.
Bobby says he is throwing a party and Simon suggests they invite Lauren, Is he interested in Lauren? I think at this point, there's always been that question of will they ever get him fixed up with a girl?
Yeah. He did kind of have a bit of a thing with Kelly, they had a connection. It's that same dynamic with Lauren, she is also that kid who's sort of been a bit abandoned by her family in one way or another, isn't she? It is interesting that he has gravitated again towards that kind of person. I think is a caring person at the end of the day and he just wants a connection with someone.
What happens with the crash, why does he drive the car when he knows he is probably over the limit?
He has been at the party and has been drinking till the early hours and back at the flat nick asks him to take Sam to his chess competition. Simon is really worried about it and he tries to bat it away saying he is busy. But Nick pressures him by saying that he should do something for his family for once and stop being selfish. Toyah also tells him that he should start showing initiative and helping out. He begrudgingly agrees.
Why doesn’t he tell them that he probably shouldn’t drive as he could be over the limit?
I think it is because he has let them down so much in the past that he doesn't want to own up to being drunk again so he thinks he will just drive and it will all be ok. There is also something about his relationship with ick, he has always wanted a father son relationship with Nick and it hasn’t really happened, and maybe now with his dad gone he is trying to get that.
But can you describe what happens in the crash and how it comes about?
So he agrees to take Sam and gets into the car. Sam is jabbering away about all sorts and then finds a good luck card in his bag from Roy, he starts waving it under Simon's face to show him because he is excited. Simon bats it away and it falls into the footwell. Simon feels bad then that he has been mean to Sam and tries to rush down to pick it up and before he realises what is happening he has crashed into a pole and over some bollards. It is the worst outcome for Simon and it jolts him back into reality. He knows he can’t be found driving the car so having checked Sam is ok he tells him they are going to have to leave the car and walk.
But then he decides to confess to Leanne, what brings that about?
Well Sam kind of drops him in it with Leanne when they arrive at the chess tournament so he has no choice but to tell Leanne about the crash. He is happy for her to think it was a problem with the brakes but when Kevin says the brakes are fine and at that point he knows he has to come clean and tell the truth.
Then he finds out that Sam has collapsed and been taken to hospital? What's going through Simon's mind at that point?
He feels dreadful, Simon's already put this kid through so much. He has already been the catalyst for causing him to have so much heartbreak and struggle. He is the reason in a roundabout way that Sam lost his mum through Simon getting involved with Harvey’s gang
He's got a lot to answer for and now he's put him in hospital.
How would you describe Simon?
He's a broken person. He's not outwardly a villain. He's not this type of person who's all confident, he might come across as confident but he's not. I think he's just a broken individual who really hasn't got anyone properly looking out for him and who has dealt with a lot from losing his mum at such a young age to now being left behind by his dad.
What do you think Simon wants out of life? What is he looking for?
He is looking for someone to take care of him. Someone who's his person that puts him first above everything else, he's never had any. I think he just wants someone to be there just for him to be his person.
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