Like all abusers, Megan Walsh (Beth Nixon) thrives on being in control. But one resident of Coronation Street has finally rumbled her dirty secret… and it’s the very last person that you would expect.
To the residents of Weatherfield, Megan seems like the friendly girl next door. She’s an athletics coach with a job at Weatherfield High, and she’s even dating teacher Daniel Osborne (Rob Mallard). But it’s all a carefully crafted deceptive façade. The truth is that Megan is a paedophile who has groomed her underage student Will Driscoll (Lucas Hodgson-Wale) into a secret, illicit sexual relationship.
Through careful manipulation and gaslighting, the young lad is completely convinced that he’s in a loving relationship with a sexy older woman and there’s nothing wrong with it.
Will’s not the only one Megan’s fooled. The dangerous groomer has pulled the wool over the eyes of his father Ben Driscoll (Aaron McCusker), step-mother Eva Price (Catherine Tyldesley) and grandmother Maggie Driscoll (Pauline McLynn), convincing them to pay for one-on-one training sessions with Will – which has sickeningly given the abuser direct access to her victim.
Whilst Megan has so far managed to keep her abusive behaviour under wraps, there have been numerous close calls which have kept viewers guessing who could finally bring her down. There’s Will himself, who’s seething with jealousy over Megan’s relationship with Daniel – even if it is just for appearances.
That’s what drove the tortured teen to brutally attack his headmaster on Boxing day and leave him for dead in a ginnel… which brings us to Maggie. She was the sole witness to Will’s crime.
Although she’s keeping schtum to protect her grandson, Corrie viewers have been eagerly anticipating the no-nonsense landlady of the Rover’s Return going up against Megan – particularly as she killed her abusive husband.
If that’s how far Maggie will go to protect her family, what will she do to Megan?
There’s been other near misses too. Megan’s sordid rendezvous in a hotel room with Will was almost rumbled by his dad Ben. Then there was her recent pregnancy scare.
Also, Megan appears to have a mysterious connection with Lee, a fellow athletics student whom Will has stuck up a friendship with, which led fans to think he was one of Megan’s previous victims. So far, the vile predator has always managed to stay one step ahead.
But soap justice comes in all shapes and sizes, and it doesn’t come much smaller than Sam Blakeman (Jude Riordan).
The son of legacy character Nick Tilsley and the dear departed Natasha Blakeman, Sam might be just a schoolboy but he is exceptionally bright for his age and extremely focused.
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Not to mention, he’s got deep ties to the Barlow family, and a shared connection to Will through Eva, who is Sam’s step-aunt. In upcoming episodes, the plucky little lad is set to catch Megan red-handed.
Inn the cafe, Sam’s gets suspicious when Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) shows Megan a boy’s tracksuit top she found in the flat. Megan claims it is Daniel’s. But Sam’s clearly not convinced…
On the street, Sam corners Will will the energy of a Faithful at a Traitors round table and asks him if there’s something going on between him and Miss Walsh. Lying, Will makes out it’s a ridiculous notion and heads off…. Then Sam spots the tracksuit top in Will’s sports bag. Does he have the evidence he needs?
In the Rovers, a rattled Will warns Megan how Sam suspects them of having an affair. Alarmed, Megan finds Sam doing his homework in Speed Daal. Will she tackle him?
Executive producer Kate Brooks previous revealed how Sam would become embroiled in the storyline and the toll it takes on his mental health.
‘It’s a very important story to tell and we want to be as truthful as possible. As part of that story Sam will end up getting embroiled in it all. Sam is semi-related to the pub family and he potentially gets wind that something’s amiss. We will see the lengths that Megan will go to manipulate Sam into keeping quiet. It’ll be massively detrimental to Sam’s wellbeing.’
Brooks also teased how Sam’s connection to Eva, Leanne and her sister Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor) will lead to explosive fallout for Megan once her secret is exposed.
‘As we explore all of that we have Eva in the mix who will be naturally furious if this ever comes to light. Then you’ve got Leanne and Toyah. These three very strong, very fiery women, sisters, whose boys have been manipulated by this woman who they considered their friend. Needless to say it’ll be quite explosive when this all comes to light.’
