Upcoming new characters (spoilers) on Canadian Corrie

There’s a new bad boy joining Coronation Street.

Former Casualty actor Will Thorp has begun filming his scenes as Chris, the nasty ex of Cheryl the stripper.




It could be a family affair in more ways than one, if I'm reading between the lines correctly. ITV today says that both of William Roache's sons, Linus and James, will be featured in an upcoming storyline on Coronation Street. In a few months, a "dark family secret" will be discovered. A letter is found during some building work and it sends Ken on a quest to find out what it all means. Deirdre and Peter don't want the past dragged out of the loft, naturally. Now, my guess is this...We all know how many women Ken has had in the past. Is this going to be a long lost child plot?  I guess we'll find out!

James Fleet's mum is a Coronation Street fan but he'd got away from watching the soap until recently. In a "short but spectacular" part this week, James plays Tony Gordon's henchman, breaking him out of prison and helping him lay seige to the factory. James is a familiar face to viewers. He's well known for good natured, bumbling type characters such as Hugo on the Vicar of Dibley and Tom in Four Weddings and a Funeral. He does insert a little of that into his Corrie character, Robbie. In an interfiew in the Sunday Mail James says "Criminals are usually a bit socially inadequate, which is why they end up in prison. They are not all glamorous secret agent types. They are more likely to be people who are weak-willed, pushed around and bullied"

He never expected to be hired to play a bad guy and thoroughly enjoyed his part. Add to that all the history of getting to work on a 50 year old soap, Coronation Street. And as for working on a soap, he had no qualms about accepting the job. "It reminds you that people who are sniffy about soaps need to be given a good talking to. The actors here do stuff which a lot of rather snooty actors wouldn't be able to do."

He also has a lot in common with his co-worker, Gray O'Brien. James grew up in Scotland though was born in England to a Scottish mother. He doesn't think he'll appear on another soap. Corrie's the best, why settle for the rest?

Other upcoming new characters include Izzy's sister, Katy. Rula Lenska is coming back as Audrey's friend, Claudia.