Coronation Street favourite speaks out over 'very sad' plot as 'horrible' scenes continue

One Coronation Street star has addressed a heartbreaking ongoing storyline on the ITV soap, with scenes set to get worse for his character.

Gareth Pierce's character Todd Grimshaw is currently featured in a domestic abuse storyline with his partner Theo Silverton. The gradual controlling and manipulative behaviour has reached a point where Todd fears his boyfriend's reaction to situations, and this continues next week.

With Theo's behaviour becoming unpredictable and scary, Todd's ordeal in the "very sad" plot is set to continue ahead of huge scenes later this year. Now, actor Gareth has shared how Todd is feeling, and how he has found portraying the dark storyline.

On Todd's ordeal he said: "It's just horrible, I think the audience will already be noticing the ways that Todd is briefly relaxed with his friends and his close confidants like Sarah, George, Billy and then when Theo enters the room straight away he's back in that tense people pleasing, anticipatory kind of headspace. It’s that horrible feeling, like when you go into school and you haven't done your homework and you have that feeling in the pit of your stomach.

"It takes you back to childhood, when there he was doing Sarah a favour, having fun with his mate of so many years and then in that one moment that Harry spills the milkshake, suddenly he's thinking oh no, what's this going to do for me and my domestic situation, and what's Theo going to be like when he finds out? Because Todd’s in that eggshells phase, he's having a dysfunctional reaction to that as well, he's thinking I've got to cover it up, I've got to find a way to get this repaired without him even finding out.

"So then you've got Todd lying within the relationship and acting in an unhealthy way because the unhealthy relationship has altered what's normal and acceptable behaviour."

On how Todd is coping, Gareth went on: "Gaslighting is a word that’s banded around fairly frequently these days, but that's definitely what has started to happen here and is in full flow by this point in the story. Todd's really had what is normal behaviour in the relationship adjusted for him, by a lot of Theo's micro aggressions and also Todd’s kind of acceptance of elements of it.

"So we're in the eggshells phase of the relationship now, where Todd has really anchored his own moods to what mood he's going to get from Theo day to day. He's trying constantly to anticipate things that Theo might get riled about to avoid a situation like the kebab scene where it really boiled over."

Gareth says Todd is now afraid of his partner. He explained: "That kebab moment was genuinely scary for Todd, and he's tried to communicate that to Thea. There's definitely a sense now that Theo is a more physically imposing character than Todd is as well, so he's definitely scared of him physically, but there is still love there somewhere in the relationship and Todd feels like he can maybe anticipate or fix Theo."

On portraying the "very sad" topic with his character, Gareth said: "You get a glimpse of that tension and stress that sadly some people are living for real day to day. That is very sad and really does remind you of the importance of Corrie covering a subject like this.

"I'm reasonably good at being very committed to what I'm playing, when I'm acting, but equally kind of packing it away and going back to my daily family life in between. So I think I'm managing that fairly well. I've got other very close friends within the cast who have played big, intense stories before so I’m surrounded by great actors and generous people generally.

"I feel like I can see the way that you navigate playing a storyline like this truthfully while also protecting yourself and your own genuine stress levels as a person. James and I still try to have a lightness between scenes and a laugh at things but then I think it's important that we are aware of the seriousness of the story that we're covering as well.

"So yeah, it's still doing my usual routines, really. I like going running and climbing, a bit of cycling, a bit of swimming and nice family time. I try to keep it very simple these days and I think that helps to manage your energy and your stress levels when you’re working more intensely on something like this."

Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and ITV X. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .