Oozing an enigmatic charm, roguish arrogance, and ever ready in a stylish suit, Corrie's Adam Barlow has always had a way with the ladies. Ever since arriving back on the street in a flashy sports car and swigging whisky, the Scottish offspring of Weatherfield's Cockney wideboy Mike Baldwin has had a string of flighty romances, including Rosie Webster and Angie Appleton.
Before his most recent departure, the flame of flirtation began to burn with Sarah Platt. As her relationship with the skint builder/murderer, Gary Windass crumbled, in swooped the debonair solicitor to rescue this damsel in distress.
On set and inside studio one of the ITV Corrie lot, I'm sitting in the Rovers Return ridiculously excited to hear about what is coming up in one of my favourite storylines of 2019 so far.
Entering the Rovers Return studio set, (the ridiculously handsome and tall) Sam Robertson is suddenly accosted by a room of swooning lady journalists (you can well imagine). Placing my smartphone (makeshift dictaphone) on the table, Sam did say hello to yours truly too, and in an interview of frank honesty and genuine warmth, you can see why this fella may have a few female fans off-screen.
As Adam and Sarah become ever closer, we talk about the obviously roaring on-screen chemistry with the equally gorgeous Tina O'Brien (Sarah Platt).
'You work with actors sometimes off-screen and we have a laugh but on-screen, the chemistry may not be there. I don't really know Tina off-screen but the producers/writers obviously see something between us because it's there. You can't put your finger on it,' he adds 'But Mikey (Gary Windass) is a great friend and we hang out a lot off-screen'
So what does Sam think about the relationship between Adam and Gary? ' It's a really tricky one, as a fan myself, I can see that Gary is a bit of a failure but there's a lot about Gary that Adam doesn't know about yet' adding 'Soon, Adam does find out more about him and the gears shift in the relationship but he's still quite wary of him.'
As we know, the apple has never fallen far from the tree with Adam's arrogance. How does Sam feel about that part of the character?
'There was a scene recently where he was on the phone talking about rating himself as a gorgeous handsome solicitor' he adds 'as we went to the scene I wasn't in a great headspace and didn't feel it, but sometimes they let me play it down but sometimes you just go with it', he adds ' he has had self doubt in the past but Sarah has given him confidence through the roof'
'It's been great watching classic Corrie on ITV 4 at the moment' adds Adam ' Because I'm watching Mike do his thing as I'm watching Adam do the same. I'm trying to find that balance of confidence and smooth, there was a lot more fragility to Mike Baldwin than people remember'.
Does that have an effect on how you play Adam?
'Yes definitely, to try and find the right balance, and watching what he was doing has helped.'
How does it feel to be back following your recent break?
'I was due at a friend's wedding in Australia, so I asked for an extended break and had 10 weeks off. I was very lucky and welcomed back by all of the guys. I needed a fresh perspective and headspace -the break was really appreciated'.
Going back to current storylines, and with Gary due to be arrested this week, has Adam any clue about Gary's guilt?
I think Adam's mind is very much open, I think he would be surprised as anybody if he found out Gary was behind the factory roof sabotage'
Do you think Adam vs Gary will be a good match going up against each other?
'Well Iain (MacLeod, Corrie producer) pitched it as Ken v Mike with Adam as Mike and Gary being Ken but the reality is that Gary is probably a lot more sinister than Ken ever was.'
Do you think Adam and Sarah will be cemented as a proper couple?
'It was kind of suggested but due to my break it was engineered quicker on-screen so instead of 6 months, it's happened over 3 months instead. We've filmed a few scenes at the Barlows and the Platts as a couple so it's official now' adding 'I think the connection between Corrie's family No.1 and family No.2 has been a long time coming'.
With the chemistry being obvious between the two, does Sam think that kids are on the card for the couple?
'I felt natural when acting with baby Susie (Eva's baby) and I discovered a different side of Adam. I enjoyed it.'
At this point, Mikey North has just arrived on set for his interview, as Sam is discussing the steamy relationship between himself and Sarah Platt.
'I am still here you know' laughs Mikey.
It will be interesting to see whether this is Mike v Ken with Sarah as the modern Deirdre perhaps.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments section.
Keep watching Corrie for the summer storylines and plenty of more summer press day interviews still to come with myself and Emma Hynes.
Read my other press day interviews with the Corrie cast here.
TA-RA
I am @rybazoxo on twitter, your cobbles connoisseur and writer of Wednesday's episode reviews.
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