Coronation Street has officially got a new serial killer on its hand as Stephen Reid is set to claim his second victim. Fans of the ITV soap have been left frustrated by the character, played by Todd Boyce, since his return to Weatherfield with plans to fleece his much-loved mother, Audrey Roberts.
Drowning in his own money woes and in desperate need to pay back his ex Gabrielle, who he stole from in the past, Stephen planned to swindle his own family, including plotting to sell his mum Audrey's property in order to steal the equity. But as he tried to carry out his plan, he caught the attention of a very suspicious Leo Thompkins.
Not helped by the fact that he found him kissing his fiancee, Rovers Return landlady Jenny Connor, Leo was determined to find out the truth and to expose Stephen as the liar he is. As the pair came face-to-face around the back Underworld, Leo threatened to expose his plans.
In pure desperation, the conman shoved Leo to his death and has since done everything he can to try and cover it up by pretending his victim went to Canada. And he appeared to be keeping it very much hidden, until Leo's dad, Teddy returned. In shock scenes at New Year, Corrie fans thought Leo had been killed as a confrontation with Stephen in the street saw him get knocked over.
However, he has since recovered and is being nursed back to full health by Jenny at the Rovers. But she won't be able to help him next week when he is killed by Stephen. In the Rovers, Elaine confides in her son Tim how she leant Stephen £12k and since then he’s cooled towards her.
The conversation sees Jenny’s ears prick up whilst Tim’s horrified. Meanwhile, in the café, Teddy agrees to abandon his trip to Canada and Stephen is relieved. But when Billy Mayhew says something to Teddy it triggers a memory and as Stephen heads out of the factory, Teddy approaches, revealing that he now remembers everything and accuses Stephen of having done something to Leo.
Teddy then grows angry, revealing that he remembers every word of their conversation before the accident. Stephen then leads Teddy into the factory, suggesting they can talk inside. But once inside the office, Teddy accuses Stephen of doing everything he can to stop him going to Canada because in truth he killed Leo in a bid to have Jenny for himself.
When Teddy vows to report him to the police, Stephen whacks him over the head and kills him. Having put Teddy’s body in Audrey’s car roof box, Stephen struggles to move it. Unaware of its contents, Kevin and Abi Webster and Tim help Stephen lift the box onto the roof of the car. As Stephen heads back out of the factory, he’s shocked to see that Audrey’s car has gone. When Sarah reveals that Audrey has taken it to visit her friend Bev in the Peak District, Stephen’s horrified.
Speaking about the latest twist in his storyline, actor Todd told the Manchester Evening News and other press: "I'm so glad I’ve gone to the gym all these years because I’m doing a lot of heavy lifting. Probably 10 characters come in very, very close proximity to his dead body, unwittingly, which is very, very funny. Some people help me inadvertently. Audrey could be implicated if things go wrong."
The 61-year-old shared how he first discovered Stephen would become a soap villain when speaking to producer Iain MacLeod. "I think the blood probably drained from my face when he said 'you’re going to be a murderer,'" Todd recalled. "Then I thought, 'Oh my God, I'm going to be a baddie'. The blood came back to my face. I thought, 'This is amazing.'"
When asked who might be next in his sights, Todd warned that Carla Barlow, played by Alison King, could be next in line. "Carla is getting on his wick," Todd said of his character's annoyance with his new Underworld colleague after he took his niece Sarah's job. "She’s humiliated him on two occasions in front of his former colleagues from when he was a bigwig in Milan.
“They’ve wandered into Underworld. I keep pretending I’m just doing some consultancy work, she’s got me out the back helping in packing. She crushes me in front of them and also she’s got a business I’d like to get my hands on." He added: "She's annoying me. She's skating on thin ice."
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