Coronation Street Blog: Beth Nixon interview: Playing Coronation Street's new villain

Coronation Street viewers were shocked on Wednesday night when they discovered that the newest member of the Driscoll family, 15 year old Will, is being groomed by his coach and school teacher Megan.

Here actress Beth Nixon talks about getting the controversial role, her thoughts on the character and how she could have ended up playing another Corrie resident at the centre of a grooming storyline.

How did you get into acting?

I struggled a bit with the academic side of things at school but I took drama for my GCSE, got an A, and then went on to college. I had an amazing tutor at college too, Dave Moore, who gave me all the drama schools I should apply for; he was really switched on. That's kind of how I got into acting, and I just stuck with it. From the age of 14, that was what I knew I was going to do.

Where did you go to drama school?

I went to the Arden School of Theatre in Manchester. It's a really amazing school; they focused on working-class actors and nurturing them. They offer free auditions as well. They're amazing at teaching screen acting, and all the tutors are still working actors. I just had the best experience there. I graduated in 2021, just after COVID.

What was your first job out of drama school?

A McDonald's advert for Switzerland! I played one half of a couple in the advert, it was during Covid so they needed real couples so myself and my then partner got the job. We flew out to Switzerland. What a fabulous job. It was brilliant—three days in Switzerland—it was amazing.

I also did some work with Rochdale City Council on educational resources. I did a play with Shooting Fish Theatre, which was amazing. It was with underprivileged children from Grantham, in Lincolnshire—kids who, like me, probably didn't have much insight into the arts. They got to write the script for the show, working with Neil Alderton. They were part of the creative and rehearsal processes as well.

How did the role of Beth come about?

This is my first TV job, but not the first time I have auditioned for Corrie. I auditioned for the part of Lauren Bolton and then for a girl who was giving Lauren a hard time at the mother and baby unit. My agent called me and explained this role and asked if I wanted to audition.

Did you know the story arc?

Yes, I guess you kind of have to know the story arc for a character like this. You've got to make a decision about whether you want to play that role. My agent spoke to me and said, "This is a dark storyline. Are you comfortable playing it?" And obviously, you do think about it before you say yes, but it's such a complex character and such a deep storyline that, as an actor, it's just a dream to play. Because it's so gritty, and it's a real-life issue as well. So, pretty much straight away, I was like, "I want to audition." I did the tape, went to a chemistry test, and tested with a few different Wills. And then, a week later, I just got the call. I think I had a feeling because I'd never come for a recall or a chemistry test before; that was my first time doing that. And I guess third time lucky.

Who was the first person you told?

My boyfriend Ethan. I rang him straight away, and I was like, "Guess what?" And then he started crying, so then it made me start crying. Then I rang my mum Karen and she was so excited for me. She is a big soap fan and I always watched Corrie with her growing up in York so it was a huge deal for us both.

How was your first day?

It was just weird. It was just bizarre. We had a scene on the street; I think that was the most pinch-me moment. I had a scene with Cath and Aaron, so that was crazy. It's kind of like an out-of-body experience. To be working with people you've watched and admired is incredible, Cath's brilliant, such an amazing actress, and I watched and adored Aaron in Shameless. But then when you meet them, they're just real, normal people. I feel so blessed and lucky to be able to work with them, because what a family to come in with. And going forward I get to work with Rob Mallard who has taught me so much. And to start with Lucas who is also new to it all was a real help and a great way to settle in.

What was it like sort of finding yourself at the centre of this big, loud, family and in the Rovers?

It was super overwhelming in the Rovers because you've got loads of crew, and then all the cast in there as well, and you're like, "Oh my God." But everyone's so lovely. You're all having little conversations and getting to know each other whilst also trying to film. When you're filming with like 10-plus people, things are bound to go wrong, so you kind of have a laugh with each other in that way. That also puts you at ease and makes you realise it's okay to make a mistake. Being in the Rovers is just fab, and I think I'm quite lucky with my character because she's hiding this massive secret. I'm not coming in as a loud, confident character. She's keeping herself in the background, so for me as an actor, as Beth, that allows me to enjoy it and sit back and kind of watch people. And I've just, for the first two days, I was just watching Corrie on set.

How would you describe Megan?

She's very calculated. Everything she does is for a reason, but she's very good at hiding that. She's very insecure, but again, she hides it. So she's very confident and charismatic on the outside; she charms people, she makes people feel sorry for her, she makes people like her. She's worming her way into this family; she's almost like a parasite. But as an actor, I obviously need to find that humanity in her and make her a rounded character. She's not a one-dimensional character. She's not just this evil person. She has all these other things going on—all these life experiences she's had, which have led her up to this point. The audience doesn't know, the other characters don't know, but she knows. So, there are all these things I've decided in my preparation. She's very insecure. She's desperate to be loved; she's desperate to be adored. And her reasons for that will eventually be uncovered, and we'll dig deeper and find out more about her. But she's a flawed person. She's really complex as an actor you've got to delve deep and find a reason for why a person, a "villain" as such is a loose term, behaves in that way,

Does she plan to stick around in Weatherfield?

She's a maths teacher and PE coach, she coaches Will and does athletics on the side. She meets Daniel when she's in Weatherfield training Will, and then he gets her the job at Weatherfield High. So she eventually moves to be closer to Will and becomes a PE teacher.

We are going to see a relationship of sorts develop with Daniel. Is that calculated on her part?

I think she's calculated with it because, one, it's a good cover story. But two, she's also able to make Will jealous and further manipulate him, further deepening his obsession. But I think that over time, she does develop some kind of feelings for Daniel and she does get emotionally involved with him, and it's not just a cover like she's telling Will. But obviously, she's just getting herself into more and more of a mess because if she does eventually develop feelings for Daniel, she can't then leave Will because it's all going to come out, and she needs to silence him, keep him quiet. So she's kind of spinning all these plates and having to juggle all these different things, which adds to her stress. She's like a duck, calm, cool, collected on the surface, but underneath she is going crazy.

What do you think that she sees in Will? What's going on in her head that she feels it's okay to have a relationship with this child, basically.

I think that she is probably quite narcissistic. She's a narcissist. Obviously, because Will's 15, he thinks she's the best thing since sliced bread. He thinks she's gorgeous, funny. Obviously, she has money because she has a job, so she spoils him; she buys him Xbox games. And he knows that if he were to tell his friends, they would probably either think that's wrong or they would think he's lucky. She adores being adored. That's her main drive in life. Because without external adoration, she will crumble. I think she's very insecure and probably hates herself. So having that absolute adoration, being Will's absolute world, that's what she sees in him. She doesn't necessarily see his positive traits for who he is as a person, but she sees how he makes her feel. Will is the perfect target. He's been uprooted from his life in Hull; his birth mum's not around. So he's probably not got the most stable environment. His family are distracted with the pub and everything going on there. So she has found the perfect victim in Will.

What are we going to see?

We can see her slowly worm her way into the family and befriend Eva and Maggie and really get the women on side with her. They think she's good for Will; they think she's a brilliant mentor. So no one is suspecting anything at the moment. But we will see Lauren become suspicious because Lauren has obviously experienced something very similar to what Will's going through. So she knows what to look for; she knows the signs and she spots them on the street. So Megan changes tack and decides to use Daniel as the cover-up. We get to sort of uncover how truly vile she can be. She will stop at nothing to come out on top and survive, basically.

Have you done any research for the role?

The writing is brilliant and the research team have been working with Barnados, so much of the work has been done for me but I have read newspaper reports about court cases involving female teachers that are very similar to what Megan is doing. There have been a few high profile cases, every situation is different but it brings it home that this is something that is happening in the real world. Hopefully someone who doesn't realise what is happening to them, that they are being groomed, might see this storyline and realise that what that person is doing is wrong and illegal.

Glenda Young

Bestselling novelist published by Headline