Coronation Street fans are tuning in this week for the final episodes of Stephen Reid, with the character set to leave the soap after 27 years.
Todd Boyce plays the businessman who turned to crime in episodes this year and has lately been revealed as a serial killer.
Reid first featured in the ITV staple back in 1996 and has returned at various points but became a series regular again last year. He has featured in almost 300 episodes.
Corrie director David Kester has said that the multiple storyline approach usually favoured by soaps will be dropped to give Reid’s story the full attention.
“It’s just one story throughout the whole week,” the director told Digital Spy. “That’s really unusual and not something that we normally do.
“What’s great about Stephen Reid is that he goes on throughout all of the episodes. He’s like the Terminator! He’s devious.
“You think that DS Swain has just got to nail him, but then he’ll find a twist and he’ll find a way out. That makes the jeopardy go on for much longer, which is a lot more interesting.”
Kester said that the storyline will see the whole community come together to tie down and convict Reid for his crimes. The director said it was a “super soap week” — a term usually saved for a climax of a long running storyline for a major character.
“For super soap week, it’s also quite unusual that it’s not centred around one massive stunt or a whole sequence of stunts. Actually, I think that’s the week’s biggest strength — it’s all about the characters.
“One thing I’d always say about stunts is that I’ve done my fair share of explosions, crashes, fires, and things blowing up, but they’re normally over in about 20 seconds.”
This week, the first two episodes of Coronation Street will be shown on Monday night, the second two will be on Wednesday, and the final two will be on Friday.
All programmes are shown at 8pm and 8.30pm.
