Coronation Street villain Nathan Curtis 'to return this summer' in new story
The character was last seen on screens in 2017.
Christopher Harper is reportedly reprising his role as villain Nathan Curtis in a forthcoming storyline on Coronation Street.
Many viewers will remember Nathan Curtis as the man who groomed Bethany Platt as part of a sex trafficking scheme in 2017. Bethany managed to escape in heartbreaking scenes and her attackers were later jailed, but according to reports, she will be horrified to learn that Nathan is being released from prison.
Further elaborating on this storyline, a source told The Sun: "Nathan's easily the worst villain Corrie's ever produced. The grooming storyline was one of the soap's most important. The hope is that revisiting it will boost the show.
"It's a risk but it's one that producers hope will pay off."
RadioTimes.com has approached ITV for comment on this story.
The news of his potential storyline has already left some fans of the soap even more unimpressed, with some already criticising Coronation Street for the current darker tone for its plots.
In a recent feature by The Guardian, the publication highlighted issues that some fans have with the soap's "dark, issues-based plots".
Bruce Jones, who famously played Les Battersby on the soap, criticised the show for its unrealistic storylines.
The actor told The Guardian: "I watched it from day one, but now my wife says it's not worth watching. You can't have that many murders on one street. It's not the actors fault. They're all doing a good job, but it's the writers that have changed.
"I think we've lost that element of what Manchester life is all about. The writers we had were all living Manchester city life."
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ITV's managing director of continuing drama, John Whiston, has defended the soap, noting that it is "proud to explore important contemporary issues".
In a statement to RadioTimes.com, Whiston said: "Coronation Street is, and always has been, a mixture of characters you love, earthy humour and stories that matter - such as the current Liam bullying storyline or the Lauren grooming storyline.
"The show is proud to explore important contemporary issues such as these, and our audience research shows that viewers really appreciate these stories and believe we deal with them in an engaging but responsible way - which is why Coronation Street continues to be the most-watched soap on British TV."
In current scenes, the focus is around Lauren Bolton, who has disappeared from the cobbles, which will lead to the imprisonment of Roy Cropper.
In spoilers for next week's episodes, a CPS barrister paints Roy as a murderer with a violent past and soon, the judge refuses bail and orders that Roy must be held in custody until his trial.
It is unclear where Lauren is and her fate, but it seems Roy is taking the fall for a crime he did not commit. Will Nathan prove to be the key to this story?
Visit our dedicated Coronation Street page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers.
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Authors
Katelyn Mensah is the Entertainment and Factual Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.
