As shocked fans reel from the latest Coronation Street episode, actor James Cartwright – who played Theo Silverton – reveals the trauma his character has caused will live on
One of soap’s biggest murder mysteries turned into a tantalising whodunnit? Tonight, as Coronation Street’s evil Theo Silverton was found dead. Since February, when a ‘flash forward’ episode saw Betsy Swain telling detectives she’d found a body on the way home from her mum Lisa and Carla Connor’s wedding party, fans have been on tenterhooks, wondering who was murdered. Now the big question is who did it?
James Cartwright, who has played Theo for 18 months, says: “Who has killed Theo? Even though the terror is now stone-cold dead, the trauma he has caused will live on. It’s going to be a huge whodunnit.” In the build up to his murder, viewers were offered a selection of potential victims. Would it be Theo, Megan Walsh, Jodie Ramsey, Carl Webster, or Maggie Driscoll? But, after months of emotionally and physically torturing cobbles favourite Todd Grimshaw, fans will be happy to see Theo meet his maker.
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Even James, 41, believes his time should be up. He says: “I think everyone should be rejoicing today. Theo got Corrie’s very own form of moral justice and I am glad he has. Yes, we could have had a court case. But I don’t know if there was the stomach to relive all that pain. This murder is far juicier.
“Of course, I am going to miss Corrie a lot. I’ve spent 18 months around some of the greatest people. It’s been a privilege to be in their orbit and to have been given such a big part. But what Theo has been doing to Todd has been a death by a thousand cuts. The small increments have got worse and now it’s reached a crescendo, I am glad he has been sent off in such a massive explosion of fireworks. It’s definitely time.”
Gentle and likeable, in real life, James is the antithesis of Theo. He read up on Mafia villains to make the character convincing. He says: “What you’ve got to remember is nobody thinks they are horrible. Everyone justifies what they do. You only need to look at history and people under Stalin or the Nazi regime to know they will simply say ‘I was doing my job’.
“Once you start from that position, it gets a bit easier knowing that the most dangerous people you ever meet in life smile to your face. Obviously, I have never met a Mafia boss, but they are a prime example. You hear them being interviewed, and it’s a case of having a lovely dinner with them and then you get gunned down in the street. I tried to make Theo as much like that as possible. He’s a thug. He smiles to your face and then behind your back he wants to stick the knife in.”
Playing Theo means fans have been surprised when they’ve met James and found him to be so friendly. He says: “I met one lady yesterday in the garden centre. We started chatting and she exclaimed ‘but you are so nice!” James filmed his final dramatic scenes last month and says it felt cathartic, knowing Todd’s pain was now over. He continues: “We’d reached the end of this ark of a story.
“Theo was past rehabilitation. It’s now time to pass the baton on to some of the many other wonderful Corrie characters for another exciting story. I’ve made lots of friends on the set and I can’t wait to watch them. It will also be interesting to see what happens to poor Todd.”
Paying tribute to Gareth Pierce, who plays Todd, he continues: “It’s been hard for Gareth, but we’ve had a really great partnership. You learn how each other works and Todd is going to have a lot of rebuilding to do both mentally and physically.” He has also felt proud and privileged to have been trusted to tackle the taboo subject of same sex domestic violence. He says: “These scenes have been very hard to film.
“At times, like with a break-up or grief, I’ve found myself going home thinking ‘what just happened?’ It’s also very tough, as I am just an actor. I can’t sit here and say ‘I know what it is like’ to be in a situation like Todd. I don’t want to be a fraud either, trying to engage on the next level, but same sex domestic violence has never been done before on a soap – and it’s so important we’ve done this.”
His storyline has been so all-consuming that James is yet to have a leaving party. Straight after his final scenes, the actor – whose credits before Corrie include a Danny Boyle film and Tracy Beaker – started working on a comedy horror movie starring Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson and Bjorn from Abba. The film sees them slay zombies during an apocalypse.
He will also shortly be reprising his role as Sergeant Harrison Burns in The Archers – who has played on and off for 12 years. He says: “Slaying Zombies was a wild unexpected ride and a part I couldn’t imagine in my wildest dreams. I turned up and there was Bruce from Iron Maiden and myself chasing zombies! I’m then back to policing the mean streets of Ambridge in The Archers.”
The irony of playing a copper isn’t lost on him. He laughs: “From playing a villain in Corrie to attempting to solve crime is a bizarre leap. Mind you, the crime in Ambridge is pretty low stakes. My biggest case remains unresolved. It is the case of the missing bunting from the village green. But I like to think of The Archers as my wife and Corrie as my dreamy affair!”
Surely, a panto role beckons too? “I would play a mean Captain Hook!” he chuckles. “But what a wonderful veritable feast acting is. I feel happy waking up breathing air thinking ‘what’s going to happen today’?” While the fans’ perfect fantasy ending for Theo would now be to see him on I’m a Celebrity later this year, subjected to some really grim trials, James says there’s no chance.
He confesses: “I am a vegetarian who is afraid of heights. That would be torture. If I kept getting voted. I know I’d find myself saying ‘please stop, I am not Theo!” For now, he will be happy to curl up in front of the telly and join other Corrie fans, turning in as the mystery of who killed Theo unfurls.
He says: “In time, I will sit down with a cup of tea and look back on the past 18 months. It’s been mad and to have been a minor brushstroke in the huge canvas that is Corrie has been amazing. I can’t wait for viewers to find out who has murdered Theo.”
*Coronation Street airs every weekday on ITV1 at 8.30pm. Episodes can also be downloaded on ITVX.
READ MORE: Corrie star James Cartwright reveals tragic encounter with stranger at station
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