Corrie’s Todd Grimshaw trapped in dark spiral as horrifying Theo twist revealed

Exclusive: Coronation Street actor Gareth Pierce, who plays Todd Grimshaw, is stepping into one of his darkest storylines so far, and his family can hardly bear to watch

Instead of lapping up his latest dramatic storyline, Corrie actor Gareth Pierce says his family can hardly bear to watch it. Likewise, fans who originally championed the romance between his character, Todd Grimshaw and hunky scaffolder Theo Silverton, have warned him to steer clear of his new love.

Tortured Theo (James Cartwright), left his wife and kids after falling for undertaker Todd, having suppressed his homosexuality since undergoing conversion therapy at the hands of Noah Hedley (Richard Winsor), a church clerk, who is now dating his ex.

And in a shocking twist, viewers will see Theo becoming increasingly abusive towards Todd – isolating him from his family and friends, before turning to violence.

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Gareth, who has played Todd for five years, tells the Mirror: “My wife and daughter dip into Coronation Street occasionally and they’re hugely supportive, but this story will be a very uncomfortable watch for any family member of mine.

“Even my parents may find moments that they don’t really enjoy watching. Todd is in danger. Theo’s behaviour is becoming increasingly controlling, and there’s a moment coming up where it becomes physically abusive for the first time. There’s a line that has definitely been crossed; it will be hard to watch.”

The relationship will turn violent next month, after Theo makes Todd promise not to speak to vicar Billy Mayhew – his ex-boyfriend-turned close friend – anymore.

When Theo returns home one evening to find the place empty, he is furious to discover that Todd is in the pub with Billy, and so downs a bottle of brandy before violently confronting the undertaker on his return.

Revealing the reaction of Corrie fans, Gareth says: “When I’m out doing my shopping, people come up and say, ‘That Theo’s no good, you want to get out!’ I’ll reply,’ You might be right, we’ll have to see, but I do as I’m told, I’m not the writer!’”

Gareth, 44, was born in Pwllheli, north Wales, where he lived until he was nine. “My dad was in the military, so we moved around quite a lot as a family after that – not just in the UK, but also in Europe. I speak fluent Welsh and English, and my French, German and Italian are pretty good too,” he says.

A bit of a class joker, he says this encouraged his teachers to put him on stage when he was 11. “I really lived for making my mates laugh,” he recalls. “It occurred to the school to stick me on stage. Once I had this outlet for that side of my personality, I calmed down.”

At 16, he was accepted into the National Youth Theatre in London, before studying at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. His first TV role was in 2002 in the BBC Wales series First Degree.

He was also in the S4C series Caerdydd for four years, saying: “I started out playing a lot of geeks, but I then played a soldier coming back from Iraq in the feature film Cymru Fach, which was the first more hard-edged character. I was able to root that quite a lot in my childhood, growing up in a military family. On the back of that, I was in a series called Y Pris, playing a sociopathic skinhead – he was horrible.”

In turn, he says this landed him a year-long role as Lenny Mac, an abusive drug dealer and jailbird in Stella, which had an all-star cast led by Ruth Jones. He also enjoyed theatre work, including a stint at London’s Globe Theatre and in 2020 joined the cast of Radio 4’s The Archers as Gavin, the son of Philip Moss.

Later that year, he joined Corrie, playing Todd, replacing Bruno Langley, who had left the show. “I knew there were going to be plenty of eyes on the re-cast and whether it was going to work or not,” Gareth acknowledges. “But I saw it as a great opportunity to play a character who was established and complex and had these rich shared histories with other characters.

“I watched the previous actor’s depiction, so I could zone in on some of his key traits, but then it became about building my own performance and focusing on things that came more naturally to me as a performer, rather than trying to match the previous depiction.”

And Todd’s character has come full circle, starting as a sneaky schemer and now revealing his vulnerable side after meeting Theo. Gareth warns that the couple’s relationship will become increasingly abusive over the coming weeks and months, revealing: “It’s emotional control and body image. Theo has already tried to get Todd on a fitness kick, and he starts to make the odd comment about Todd’s body. Theo is fighting on a few fronts to chip away at Todd’s self-esteem.

“Further down the road, there’s financial control. It’s very frustrating for the audience. They just want to shout, ‘run!’ I think that’s quite close to real life. We can be objective about other people’s relationships sooner than we can be about our own.

“So, the audience is a little further ahead than Todd in recognising what’s going on. The audience is also party to a couple of occasional sadistic glances from Theo that Todd doesn’t see.”

James Cartwright and Gareth – who were both in The Archers – have found the storyline intense at times. “Between scenes we get a cuppa together and have a good laugh,” Gareth says. “You need that when the story is quite dark. James is a genuinely lovely guy in real life, so it can’t be easy playing such a sadistic character.”

In real life, Gareth loves keeping fit and unwinds from work with endurance sports, including cycling, swimming, hiking, trail running and triathlons. “I’ll always try to put that into my day if I can,” he says.

“I try to organise at least one charity event a year. This year, I’ve done a Cardiff to Tenby 100-mile bike ride to raise money for Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital in Cardiff. I also partner with Age UK, and two years ago, I did the SAS Fan Dance, which is based on part of the SAS selection course.”

Gareth is also a talented singer and musician. He’s been in several bands over the years, including the indie group Hafaliadau = Equations, which released a Welsh-speaking album in 2008.

Also the drummer in two heavy metal bands – Survivalists and Brandyman – he says: “We had quite a cult following. I had a Freddie Mercury moustache and wore sleeveless tops.

“I’ve always been into heavy metal, punk and hardcore, and I worked for Rock Sound magazine for quite a few years. I miss it; I’m planning to get an electronic drum kit soon.”

Eagle-eyed Corrie fans noticed in a recent episode two tattoos on Todd’s calves, which he had done during his heavy metal days. “There was always a part of me that wanted tattoos, but another part of me thought they weren’t great for an actor, because they can get you typecast,” he says.

“I waited until eight years ago and decided to get them on my legs, so they’re not always visible. There are a few different bits, but primarily there’s a stag with a rising sun and an owl with a moon. They do have some significance, but I also just like that neo-traditional style.

“We’ve always shot around them on screen. Then, more recently, we decided that there was no real reason that Todd couldn’t have explored some tattoo culture off-screen during his London years!”

For confidential support, call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Freephone Helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit womensaid.co.uk If you or your family have lost a friend or family member through fatal domestic abuse, AAFDA (Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse) can offer specialist and expert support and advocacy. For more info visit www.aafda.org.uk

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Source: Mirror