Theo Silverton (James Cartwright)’s abusive behaviour towards Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) in Coronation Street escalates in episodes to be aired soon, as violence erupts.

Soon after Todd and Theo got together we saw that Theo is a troubled character. Growing up trying to repress the fact that he’s gay, he went through the horror of conversion therapy and tried to live his life as a heterosexual man, before ultimately falling for Todd and accepting that he’s gay.

This wasn’t the start of a new, golden era for the character, though, as his life continued to be difficult.

‘In the space of 10 months he’s been through more than a lot do in 10 years,’ James Cartwright explained. ‘He’s got divorced, lost his children, his business has failed and these are enormous life events.

‘The person he’s decided he can hold responsible for all this is Todd, as he left what appeared to be this wonderful life to be with Todd. So then when it’s all gone wrong, he’s turned around and decided, “This is your fault.” He’s made Todd the scapegoat for all the things that have gone wrong in his life since he met him.’

We’ve seen from the beginning of the relationship that Theo’s behaviour towards Todd has been controlling and this has veered into violence on more than one occasion, but we’re about to see a big escalation in his violent behaviour.

Theo has convinced Todd to do a half marathon, and he puts him on a punishingly hard training schedule. With Todd at the point of exhaustion, Theo keeps insisting they go out for another training lap.

At home he pulls out a full length mirror and explains to Todd that he should use it to keep a daily check on his physique.

They set out on yet another run, and as they return they bump into James Bailey (Jason Callender), who starts flirting with Todd. Theo is furious, and even though Todd is exhausted, Theo insists on another lap.

Later, James calls round to the flat with some fitness gear for Todd and insists on showing him how to use it. Theo is watching this and is seething.

When James has left, Theo accuses Todd of secretly fancying James. Despite Todd protesting that it isn’t true, Theo has soon wound himself up into an absolute fury – and what he does next is absolutely shocking.

‘When he loses his temper, he just erupts,’ James said.