Alex Bain interview: Simon finds himself in serious trouble

Simon Barlow has become a pillar of support for his family in recent months. Supporting Leanne as she struggles to cope after Oliver's death, and Peter's relapse, has left Simon feeling isolated. Actor Alex Bain spoke to us about how Simon lands himself in serious trouble as the pressure on him builds. 

At such a young age, it's not been easy for Simon to support the Barlow clan, and it's taking its toll on him. "Simon has had a lot to cope with," said Alex. "Obviously, he knows how serious and upsetting everything is, so I think he understands that people need time to grieve, they need time to mourn, but I do also think that he feels very alone and isolated- almost like nobody is there for him."

In amongst his loneliness, Simon thinks he has found a good friend in the form of Jacob. "I think [Simon] just sees him as somebody who cares, someone who'll listen to his problems," said Alex. "He listens to Simon and I think on top of that, Jacob will see Simon's vulnerability."

As viewers have seen already, Simon went to make his first delivery for Jacob, putting on the facade that he has extensive experience in this field. "He's a bit of a wild child, but he's never done anything as serious and as dangerous as this, and I think he wants to try and show a bravado of: 'I know what I'm doing', and the drop goes wrong," said Alex. When Simon dropped off the drugs, the buyer fled without paying, running over Simon's loaned bike in the process. "I think he's worried, very worried after that point." 

As much as Simon may regret getting involved with Jacob, he also uses this as a way of feeling less alone. "He uses this, and he feels like he has friends," Alex told us. "He's always been on the wrong end of everything, really. He's never really had people who are friends who are close to him as much as I think he wants, so I think the gang fill that void. Part of him knows how dangerous it is, part of him just wants to have that closeness with friends he doesn't have."

Simon keeps his dealings with Jacob private to everyone else as he also tries his best to support Leanne. After she finds a feather and believes it to be a sign from Oliver, Simon hides his concerns. Alex said: "I think he's confused about it initially because he has never seen anything like this, he doesn't understand why she's attributing this to Oliver. When she starts talking about the psychics and everything, I think he feels: 'Woah, this could go too far, but I also have to go with what my mum wants as well- I have to respect her wishes'." 

Simon has had to deal with a lot in his life, but now he is trying to balance multiple spinning plates as his family all try to deal with their own struggles. "It's a lot of pressure for Simon because he's going this way, he's doing this for Leanne, or he's doing that for Peter. He's trying to be there for the rest of his family, because it's not just those two, he's trying to be there for everybody at the same time and I think he's being pulled in various different directions all at once," Alex said. 

"He's trying his best to keep it all together, he just wants to keep his family safe and secure... but at the same time, he is only young, and he is, unfortunately, he isn't perfect himself so it's too much for him, really. When it gets too much he tends to lash out, or he tends to do something ridiculous, or he tends to not realise what he's getting himself into."

Alex has been playing the role of Simon since 2008, and was eager for his new storyline. He said: "It's always great when you get told you're going to do a storyline. I've had storylines based on me before, but I think this now is my first one where I've just gone: 'Oh, this is truly all about me, this is all about my character's struggles'. When I was first told about this story, I was excited, I was all for it. I was ready because I've been wanting to step myself up as an actor and I think the story came at a perfect and beautiful time, really."

With a long history on Corrie, Alex praised his co-stars both professionally and personally. "Everyone who works at Corrie's brilliant, but especially Jane (Leanne) and Chris (Peter), Bill (Ken), and Ali (Carla). They're all wonderful. I was never professionally, fully trained in acting until my later years... they've really taught me everything I know from being very young. They've always gone: 'That was brilliant', or they've told me where I need to change up things or do anything different. They've also been wonderful people. I've always been able to go and talk to them, tell them if I'm worrying about anything. They're wonderful people, they truly, truly are."

There are sure to be many more storylines for Simon to come, and Alex explained to us that he would like to explore Simon's mental health in the future. "I've always wanted to see what would happen to him mentally, because he's been through a lot and not many people go through that much in their life and come out perfect on the other side, and I've always wanted to show more the vulnerability side mentally of what he goes through. A big story on mental health would probably be a big dream as Simon."

Simon is known for his hot-headed trait, but Alex told us that he is quite different from his alter-ego. "I'm quite a laid-back person, I think, because I've always been taught to just keep it with the flow, keep humble. I've never really been a hot-headed person. I'm a passionate person, I'm a protective person, I like to look out for people. I've always been a person people can come to if they're having a problem- just come and talk to me, we'll talk it out because the one thing I learnt over the years is never keep something held in. I've always gone: 'If talking helps, then talk'. I think me and Simon, we have similarities, but we also have complete and utter differences."

Simon will find himself in a downward spiral after getting too involved with Jacob, and Alex teased what viewers can expect from this story. He said: "[Simon]'s going to get too deep into things he doesn't even know exist. I think there's going to be that vulnerability because he's been in similar situations before with gangs, but it's never been this serious. The stuff before was so much lower in severity than it will be with this story." 

Will Simon be able to get himself out of this mess, or will things get much worse for the Barlow lad? 

Sophie Williams

I'm on Twitter @soph_writer

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Corrie's Alex Bain becomes a dad

Alex Bain, who plays Simon Barlow in Coronation Street, has become a dad at the age of 17.

His girlfriend Levi Selby posted a picture of their baby to her public Facebook page. The baby has been named Lydia-Rose Bain and was born on Sunday 2 December.

See also: Christmas presents for Coronation Street fans

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Corrie's Simon Barlow to become real-life dad

Alex Bain, who plays Simon Barlow in Coronation Street, is to become a dad at the age of 16.  

His girlfriend Levi Selby, who is also 16, announced her pregnancy on social media with a picture of the ultrasound scan of the baby.

And Levi revealed that their baby is due on December 8. If it's a day late, it'll be born on Coronation Street's 58th anniversary!
  
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The sadness of Simon Barlow

I've just had a quick trawl through that underbelly of the internet that calls itself Twitter and my word, there's a lot of hatred out there for Simon Barlow.  As we have seen, tonight on Coronation Street Leanne raises her hand to strike Simon as she's at her wits end and doesn't know how to cope.  Simon doesn't deserve to be hit, that's for sure and I'm aghast at the comments online that say he does.

Simon is a hurt little boy, trying his best (and failing) to cope with a life that has been foisted on him. Leanne's a rubbish mum, and she knows it. Peter's a rubbish dad, and we know that too. Next week on Corrie, Leanne will send Simon to live with Ken, but Simon will then turn his anger towards Amy.

So, what's to be done with this troubled little boy?  A bit of understanding wouldn't go amiss.  I have no idea what I would do in this situation if I were Leanne and my kid was hitting me. But it only takes a couple of seconds to Google and find that there are loads of charities offering advice on this very subject.   Leanne's not daft, so why hasn't she reached out for help from her GP as a starter, who would know how to put Leanne in contact with professionals who can help both her and Simon.

As well as being passed from pillar to post between Leanne and Peter, Simon's still trying to cope with the loss of grandma Deirdre and of the men in his life who have tried to be father figures - Kal, Nick. And of course, he'll still be missing his real mum Lucy the florist who died.  This was when a reluctant Peter had to take on the role of dad to Simon, a role that Peter fought against for months and only settled into with the help of Ken, Deirdre and Blanche.  Simon was so timid when he first came to live with the Barlows that Blanche called him 'Shymon'.

Simon has been bullied in the past and ended up drunk after he took one of Peter's bottles.  Simon has ISSUES for heaven's sake.

He does not need hitting. He is a hurt and scared little boy who needs help, and fast.  As does Leanne.

Kudos to Alex Bain who is doing a wonderful job as Simon.


Deirdre: A Life on Coronation Street - official ITV tribute to a soap icon. Available here.

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Let's talk about Simon

(Reposted from State of the Street with permission)

Let's talk about Simon Barlow, played by Alex Bain since 2008.


The lad is going to be 12 next month and has had more tragedy in his short life than most soap characters have in a lifetime. The only one even close to his tragedy level might be Carla Connor or Leanne Battersby but it's far more damaging to a child. The adults can be termed "survivors". I fear Simon is going to be termed "damaged". We've started to see him having anger management issues, no, let's call that Rampant Rage Syndrome (RRS), shall we?

We saw how trauma affected David Platt as he went through his teens and that was after only one divorce and an attempted murder. Let's have a look at the incidents that have happened to Simon, shall we?

At the age of five, his mother dies of cancer and his life is upset by having to live with a father he never knew, a father who was, at the time, a raging alcoholic who nearly burned down the flat with Simon in it one night. A raging alcoholic that interrupted the school nativity (and it would prove not to be the last time that happened).

His father, Peter, gets together with Leanne who mothers the little boy but then Peter's drinking drives her away. Lost mother #2. Ah, but Leanne is eventually persuaded to return because Peter has stopped drinking.

The tram crashes and Simon again nearly dies in a fire, trapped in Number 13 but is rescued by Jason. Peter nearly dies in the tram crash. It's touch and go for a few days but he and Leanne marry in hospital. Ah, but Leanne had been having an affair with her ex-husband, Nick and Peter finds out after Nick has been manipulating Peter into drinking again. Peter chucks out Leanne but she ends up being persuaded to stay after all. Simon probably thinks Peter has installed a revolving door at the flat by now.

Simon meets his maternal grandparents. You might think that's a good thing. Except after Peter's alcohol problem surfaces again, the grandparents try to take Simon away from Peter. They take the lad to Blackpool but when he overhears that they won't take him home again, he runs off and finds his way back on his own. Grandparents back off, never to be heard from again, and Peter stops drinking again.

His beloved Grandma Blanche dies.

Peter and Leanne are back together. Leanne gets pregnant. Yay! Leanne miscarries. Oh no! Peter starts an affair with Carla which comes out during a trial where Carla is has been charged with murdering her rapist, Frank. Leanne leaves again. Carla moves in. Leanne is determined to have custody of Simon because Peter is unstable and Simon hates Carla. She is also reconciled with her ex, Nick. Simon doesn't handle the conflict very well and gets hold of a bottle of wine that Carla sneaked in the house. Well, booze is always how his father handled anger and upset, right? Wakeup call for Peter who allows Simon to be with Leanne.

Simon grows to love Nick but he nearly dies in a car accident and is suffering brain damage that makes him tempermental. Leanne and Nick break up. Simon has lost another father figure.

Simon is bullied by Faye and Grace.

He meets another grandma, Stella, who nearly dies in a car crash, nearly dies in a fire and then leaves town shortly after his great-grandma Gloria. 

His Grandpa Ken left Weatherfield for a year and a half.

He even had a pet rabbit that died.

Simon eventually gets over his hatred for Carla though she's never his favourite person. Peter and Carla marry and Peter starts an affair with Tina shortly after. This doesn't bode well. Simon becomes very close to Tina who is helping out Carla (both before the affair and after it) by babysitting and hanging out with Simon who grows to love her. Tina is murdered and his father is arrested and goes on trial for her murder. Peter's affair with Tina and the stress of juggling two women have him back in the bottle again. When Tina is murdered, Peter is jailed and goes on trial. Peter loses Carla in the process and though he's found innocent, eventually, he leaves Weatherfield to start fresh. Simon has now lost his father.

Leanne takes up with Kal and he moves in. Simon grows to love Kal. You guessed it. Kal dies in a fire (this time, at least, Simon is not trapped in the fire!)

His anger is starting to be difficult for him to handle. He's lashed out once so far, throwing a tv remote control at Leanne's face after Kal's death. According to the spoilers, he's going to be held hostage with Leanne by one of her former clients (from when she was a hooker). He's also about to lose his beloved Grandma Deirdre.

All this in about a 7 year span of his young life. Fans complain that the powers that be don't seem to have Simon acting his age. He's crayoning cards for people, he's clinging on to them for dear life. Can you blame him? He's not had much of a childhood, he's probably experiencing a severe case of arrested development and I wouldn't be surprised if he hasn't already started picking the wings off insects for fun.

What's down the road for Simon? Will someone ever take that lad to get counselling? Will he surpass David Platt as the town tearaway? A child with that much anger already is doomed. I fully expect a storyline dealing with teenage alcoholism or drug abuse in Simon's near future. There is a genetic predisposition for addiction and with the things that kid has had to deal with, he's a prime candidate.

Time will tell.

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Simon Barlow's hoodie supporting Scotty's Little Soldiers

Did you spot little Simon Barlow's red hoodie the other night on Coronation Street? It read Scotty's Little Soldier, a charity of which Simon Gregson, who plays Steve McDonald, is a patron of.

Scotty’s Little Soldiers was founded by Nikki Scott in memory of her husband Lee who was killed while serving with the army in Afghanistan in 2009. Read more on that here.  The charity provides days out, gifts and holidays to the children of service men and women killed in action.

Simon Gregson arranged a trip to the Corrie set in Manchester for some of the children earlier this year. We blogged about their visit here.

Simon said: “I have a huge respect for all of our service men and women, the job they do must be among the hardest in the world for them and their families. For this reason I am extremely proud to be a patron of Scotty’s Little Soldiers, a wonderful charity to help some wonderful people.”

For more information see www.scottyslittlesoldiers.co.uk

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Inside Soap Awards 2012 - Alex Bain wins Best Young Actor award

Congratulations go to young Corrie actor Alex Bain who has won the Inside Soap Award 2012 for Best Young Actor.

Alex plays Coronation Street's little Simon Barlow.

All the winners are listed here.

The Inside Soap Awards took place at One Marylebone in London on Monday 24 September.

Readers of Inside Soap - Britain's best-selling soap magazine - began casting their votes for each of the categories in July.

Inside Soap's editor Steven Murphy said: "As always, it's the Inside Soap magazine readers who choose who wins in every category, and this year the competition has been tougher than ever.  It's been an amazing year in the world of soap, and the Inside Soap Awards are always a fantastic way to celebrate."


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Chris Gascoyne praises Alex Bain's Corrie performance

Chris Gascoyne, who plays Peter Barlow in Coronation Street, has hailed his young co-star Alex Bain, who plays his on-screen son Simon, for his performance during Simon's current custody battle storyline.

Simon has become embroiled in a custody battle between Peter and Leanne and Chris admitted it has hard to see Alex cry during the emotional scenes.

He told PA news: "It's hard for him to do that. He has coped with it really well and we try to make it a bit of fun. The story is hard because it happens to so many people and it affects you and it's heartbreaking to even play it out. He has done great and it's not been an easy storyline for him, or any of us, it's a tough thing to portray."

Eight-year-old Alex won Best Young Performance at the British Soap Awards 2011. Viewers are set to see Peter give Simon to Leanne so he can run away with Carla.

Chris said of Peter: "He panics and it's probably for Simon's sake that he gives him to Leanne. He is making decisions that he thinks will make everything alright again but actually he's not making any right decisions and it's just a mess. He's desperate and he wants to put things right for Simon but he's all over the place."

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Simon Barlow rushed to hospital

Next week on Coronation Street, little Simon Barlow appears to be taking after dad Peter when he gets stuck into a bottle of wine - and ends up in hospital.

It all kicks off when Peter struggles to cope with Simon's disruptive behaviour including hearing about Simon stealing from Tracy. Simon then has a confrontation with headteacher Brian at school and he runs away. Peter presumes he'll have gone to Leanne but when she insists she hasn't seen him, they realise Simon is missing and are forced to call the police.

Simon's gone back to the flat but when he hears Peter  coming looking for him, he panics and hides in the cupboard where he was looking for his toys. With Simon nowhere to be seen, a desperate Peter insists on going back out to look for him. The coast now clear. Simon comes out of the cupboard where he finds a bottle of wine stashed by Carla. Still without news, Peter returns to the flat where he's horrified to find an unconscious Simon on the sofa with an open bottle of wine.

An ambulance is called, Simon's rushed to hospital and there's more chaos to come for Peter and Carla. Meanwhile, the situation draws Leanne and Nick closer together again. No Leanne, don't go there again!

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