Why has Elaine fallen for Stephen?
To be honest, nobody in Coronation Street knows or suspects that he's a serial killer. She;s not the only one. Some people have got doubts about him but some people like Elaine think he's great. Elaine has been single for a long time and has been very, very wary of men for a long time. But Stephen has played it very smartly, particularly by pretending that he was coercively controlled.
And whenever he's with her, the way Todd plays Stephen, he seems like he's sort of tentative and slightly unsure of himself. The audience knows that it’s because he's got to be careful because he can't remember which lies he has told to whom but, because Elaine doesn't suspect anything, she sees somebody being quite tentative and a bit shy.
Also, the great thing about Stephen is that he's slightly unattainable. There is something about him that feels he's keeping something back emotionally. He's not really somebody who throws his arm around you and tells you what's going on, he doesn't really with anybody, even family. He's really a slightly mysterious man. Of course the audience knows why but Elaine is oblivious and just feels it makes him more attractive. She is doing that thing that some women do with men like that where they think they can be the one to fix them and bring them out of themselves.
You say she has been wary with men but here is a man she should really be wary of after what she has been through. Why is she not more wary?
Well Elaine would be very wary of jumping in too quickly but he is not pushing her in that way and I think as soon as he says that he's been coercively controlled she is blindsided. And it has to be said Stephen is a very good actor. He can even turn the tears on and makes himself seem very vulnerable. And I think that makes him I think that that sort of makes him seem like a little boy lost sometimes. Women want to take care of him and I think despite Elaine's experience with controlling men she doesn’t see that she is under his spell. She's been quite happy with what she's been given by him. She hasn't seemed to want more.
Do you think she would have perhaps been more wary if you've done the classic love bombing and then almost too much with her? Because she would be looking for that as a red flag, wouldn't she?
Yes absolutely and he's done the opposite. He's held back. And she is also very happy to go slowly. I think Elaine finds that very comforting because it means she doesn't have to commit too much. Both of them are scared of committing for different reasons. But so I think in a way that they're quite well matched in that sense.
Some of people on the street have seen the more slightly erratic, angry behaviour. Do you think he's managed to hide that from Elaine?
Well, she's noticed him fly off the handle a bit, a couple of times in Roys Rolls and I think she feels like it's because he's overworked and stressed at the factory , which obviously he is. But there's so much more that's making him irascible and nervy and twitchy that we know about but Elaine doesn’t. I think she puts it all down to overwork, which is why she keeps talking to him about retirement. She thinks that it's time to hang up the suit and stop and start enjoying life and going on cruises and having a bit of fun. She rightly knows that he's stressed. She just doesn't know the real reason why he is.
So obviously, they are secretly engaged. How excited is she about being engaged to him?
She's thrilled. And also she can in a way she can stop worrying about Jenny or anyone else who might be interested in him. She can stop trying too hard because to her that seems like proof that he's, he's really fond of her and really is ready to commit.
Is she at all worried? She have any concerns about the fact that he still doesn't want people to know?
She is a little bit concerned and disappointed. She doesn't quite get it but just decided to go along with it. Because I think she feels that he has his reasons and she respects that. She is just biding her time. This week he tells her that should wait until they move into the flat, he always has a reason why and he is good at making it seem like a reasonable reason.
Why does she end up telling Sally and Tim about the engagement?
It is really hard for her living with them and keeping this information from them. She doesn't see any harm in telling them but she doesn't set out to tell them until they start talking about her moving into the flat and Tim is so kind dismissive of them moving into the flat. He thinks it's stupid and he actually says something to her, which is slightly rude. She tells him that they are serious about each other, but when he starts quizzing her about Stephen already owning her money and is really sceptical about him, in order to prove that the money doesn't matter, she says but that now they are properly together ‘what's mine is his anyway’ and Tim realises they are getting married. She is just trying to make him understand that they are a proper couple and that phrase is what makes him realise, oh my god, this is serious. He says oh, Don't be daft. It's not as if you're getting married and she says they are.
She's not gone all out to actually make an announcement she was just fighting her corner.
Is she upset by Tim’s reaction?
Yes he's almost implying that he doesn't believe that Stephen would want her for anything more than her money, that she is too old for Stephen to be interested in her. That is so hurtful. She is very angry towards Tim.
What makes her agree to run away to marry Stephen in Vegas?
There are two reasons I think; the idea of upsetting Tim because he's been so unpleasant because, at first she thinks it's because he's worried about his inheritance, that the house and money will get left to Stephen rather than him. Then she realises that actually, it's because he thinks that she’s too old to be attractive to anybody. Yeah. That's really hurt her.
So when Stephen suggests Vegas, she says, yes why not. So her second reason is that it's so glamorous and fun and young. Tim is saying that Stephen usually goes for younger women and will trade her in for a younger model and here is Stephen wanting to fly her off to Vegas to make a grand gesture and marry her. She doesn't want her family at the wedding now anyway so this works for her. The whole idea is really exciting. The idea of being in America with Stephen. You know, on a well in a whirlwind marriage is just magical for her and she is swept away.
Is she scared then when Tim locks her in the car when he sort of pretends that he's going to take her to the airport?
I think she is shocked but I think at the same time she's quite concerned about Tim that he has done something so extreme. She makes a comment about it hardly being a kidnap attempt but she has seen how desperate he is and she feels sorry for him. She just doesn't understand why he won't let her live her life with a really nice man who cares for her. Tim for his part feels the time has come to make a big gesture to show how he feels, he just has a sense that something is not right, but Elaine can’t and won’t see it.
What sort of reaction have you had from the public when you're out and about?
It’s wonderful when the public knows something the characters don't. I love the dramatic irony. People are always saying to me that I need to stay away from Stephen, but I just say ‘oh no you're wrong he is lovely’, I go along with it because Elaine has no idea about what they know about him.
Are you enjoying this storyline?
I absolutely love it and I am really enjoying working with Todd, he is such a great actor and we work very well together, there is a real chemistry that makes the relationship work on screen. We have done some scenes recently where they are very playful with each other joking around, I think in another life if Stephen hadn’t started killing people they could really have made a go of things and been great friends.
Should Tim and the viewers be worried about Elaine, are you worried for her safety, is she in danger?
I think as far as she is concerned, there is nothing but excitement about moving to the next stage of the relationship. She is really looking forward to having him to herself, and being alone with Stephen. But of course the more she is on her own with him the more time he has got to get his plans off the ground. It is going to be a very interesting time. Hopefully she has people watching out for her because she is completely unaware of what she is taking on.
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