Coronation Street star Gareth Pierce reveals worrying future for Todd as Theo story escalates

Gareth Pierce has played troublemaker Todd Grimshaw since 2020. When the Coronation Street character returned, he was hellbent on splitting Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank) and Paul Foreman (Peter Ash) up.

The plan was complex and put a spotlight on the traits that certainly proved Todd didn’t have the best moral compass.

The narrative reached a dramatic conclusion, and Todd became isolated from the likes of Billy, Summer Spellman (Harriet Bibby) and Eileen Grimshaw (Sue Cleaver) due to the depths he sunk to in the process.

It’s safe to say that this was the last storyline where Todd was really in the centre of the spotlight.

During the pandemic, there was a period where Todd and Billy’s friendship started to mend itself, and the character was also involved in drama at the funeral parlour alongside friend and colleague George Shuttleworth (Tony Maudsley).

As a huge fan of the character, I found the lack of screentime for Todd somewhat frustrating in this period. In 2022, I wrote about how he had been put back on the bench so soon after the story with Billy and Paul, and it truly felt like the soap was missing an opportunity to have him at the centre of a really powerful plot exploring his mental health, and how the plan of his really impacted him.

But, time has past and now, things are changing.

Recently, I sat down with star Gareth Pierce to discuss Todd’s journey in Weatherfield since he took over the role. We spoke about the many layers of Todd and the growth the character has had, but started with talking about the return five years ago.

‘I guess at the start it was about establishing the recast. And also, I suppose what was harder for that at that time, was that you were seeing Todd kind of at his worst as well, where he was, you know, coming back very jealous, probably full of shame as well, in the ways that he’s kind of let down Billy and Summer, in the way that he’d left and then just returned determined to split him and Paul.

‘I think it was that initial kind of year and a half or so that was super, super busy. And then I suppose, in terms of the MND storyline, Todd was a little bit more peripheral than that. But then that was still to Todd’s benefit, because I think you kind of ended up with some really sweet scenes and also, a sweet friendship between Paul and Todd, which obviously didn’t look very likely in terms of the way they originally met.’

It was earlier this year that saw a huge new storyline finally begin for Todd.

He met a scaffolder called Theo, played by James Cartwright, and things really haven’t been the same since.

We’ve learnt since then that Theo is an incredibly complex person with a traumatic past. He had been living with wife Danielle (Natalie Anderson) and their children for many years, with Danielle previously having no clue that Theo is gay.

His difficult upbringing was then explored, with Theo revealing that he had been put through conversion therapy. Theo often experiences angry and confusing outbursts as a result of a lot of things floating around his mind, and it’s something Todd is trying to help him with.

‘I think we have a more mature version of Todd now. I think going through losing a young friend like Paul, it’s made him rehabilitate himself and prove he’s changed. I think we definitely do have a more mature version of Todd that is maybe able to deal with what life throws at him, but we can’t forget that not too long ago we had a Todd that felt a little bit like the boy that had never grown up.

‘I think he might have a creeping feeling that this is too big for him and that he is out of his depth but also, I think he’s changed to the point that he’s more likely to see fault in himself than the other person, and be willing to try.’

In tonight’s episode, Theo will exude his jealousy when he finds out that Todd is spending time with James Bailey (Jason Callender).

It is perhaps seen as something relatively small to Todd, given it’s the start of a new relationship for him and Theo but to the audience, who are viewing Theo’s behaviour from a different perspective to Todd, it’s a sign that things may get worse.

‘I think it’s far more interesting if there’s a part of Todd that is flattered by that flirtation [between him and James], that does potentially flirt back a bit’, Gareth explained.

‘I think that probably in terms of where he is with Theo in the relationship at that point, there is a sense that he can maybe see a slightly easier path that’s there with James.

‘I don’t think that he’s tempted to the point that he would do something. I think he pulls back from there, but I think that it’s far more interesting…because we know Todd can make plenty of ill-advised choices, and do plenty of less or have plenty less appealing aspects to his character. So I think it’s important that we hold on to those.’

Opening up about the future of this story, Gareth told me: ‘I think at this point, we’re starting to spot some anger management issues on Theo’s part, at the very least. There’s some flashes of anger that have left Todd shocked but equally, because he’s had that insight into the conversion therapy and where Theo is coming into this new life from, he’s perhaps willing to guide him through it.

‘He’s trying to be understanding of Theo. He’s been suppressing his sexuality for so long, Todd is trying to encourage him towards being someone that can be comfortable in their new gay identity.

‘I think Todd has spotted many things from Theo, but he still has the mindset that he can fix this and because of the love that’s there, he’s thinking they will get through it. Our audience are probably also spotting some of those flashes of jealousy and perhaps a kind of need to control that maybe Todd is not currently spotting or doesn’t want to spot.’

Gareth went on to highlight that Todd will struggle to differentiate between what is out of order where Theo’s behaviour is concerned, and what can be forgiven due to the life he’s lived so far.

‘I think that’s definitely going to be a complicating factor going forward. He knows there are very valid reasons for Theo’s confusion and probably some internalised homophobia, but that doesn’t mean you can excuse all of the less healthy approaches to navigating the relationship.

‘That will be, in many ways, Todd’s biggest challenge, how to steer the relationship to somewhere healthy.’

As this story begins to gather pace, Gareth also confirmed Todd’s relationship with George will continue to be explored.

‘What’s nice is that they’ve got a very solid friendship, and George is like a father figure that Todd has never had. What’s important I think is the intention of friendship hasn’t weakened just because Eileen has gone. I definitely think that George will be someone that’s still looking out for Todd.’

‘A few years ago there was a moment where George connected with Todd because he believed in him. I think from George’s perspective, he sees a little bit of himself in Todd. He shows faith in some moments.

‘I think there was a similar level of vulnerability from Todd there [in the scene earlier in the week]. He’s really revealing quite a lot about his true feelings, which we know that he tends to deflect with sarcasm and sardonic looks a lot of the time.’