Todd and Theo on Coronation Street on August 25, 2025 / ITV
Coronation Street star Gareth Pierce has revealed that his character Todd’s relationship will enter a new darker phase in next week’s episodes.
For the first time in several years Todd is now in a steady relationship, having got together with builder Theo (James Cartwright), who came out to his wife and kids in order to pursue things with Todd.
Viewers have gradually witnessed Theo’s mood swings and short temper grow ever more erratic towards Todd – and in next week’s episodes, the abuse turns physical.
“The pace of the storyline now means that in a way the audience is slightly ahead of Todd in recognising some of the patterns, so even in what’s already gone out on screen, I think the audience are becoming more aware that of Theo’s anger management issues and they’re also party to certain glances of Theo taking some sadistic pleasure in the ways that he’s able to manipulate and control Todd,” explained Pierce.
“So there will be a sense that the audience are seeing this coming a little faster than Todd and that will be very frustrating for the audience. But then I think that’s quite accurate in life as well because quite often we are able to be more objective about other people’s relationships than we necessarily are about our own. Todd’s just too much in it to necessarily spot it.
“He’s definitely been tiptoeing around Theo’s massive anger swings for a while by this point and he’s possibly noticing that his social circle is being shrunk slightly as he runs things by Theo rather than making his own decisions about who he sees and when.”
The tipping point for Theo comes when he discovers that Todd has been hanging out with Billy (Daniel Brocklebank), despite encouraging him not to – but his violent reaction seems to open even Todd’s eyes towards his behaviour.
“He’s well aware that a massive line has been crossed,” he continued. “The slightly reformed version of Todd we see these days is maybe inclined to be a bit more diplomatic and try and find the non-confrontational way forward, but I think in that moment it’s made very clear to him that a line’s been crossed and that he has to really forcibly communicate that that is just not acceptable behaviour in any world but certainly not in this relationship.”
Coronation Street continues Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7am on ITVX and at 8pm on ITV1.
