Coronation Street’s Lorna Laidlaw hints Aggie will never get over Ed’s reaction to James being gay
“Once the genie’s out of the box, it’s hard to get it back again”
In this evening’s Coronation Street (19th February), James Bailey (Nathan Graham) finally told his dad he is gay.
The soap had been building up for the past couple of months on James finally revealing his truth to Ed Bailey (Trevor Michael Georges), and finally he picked up the courage to do so.
But it didn’t go exactly to plan as the father found the news difficult to handle.
He wasn’t happy to find out Aggie and Michael knew already, but as the episode continued, it seemed there was more drama afoot as Ed admitted he was nervous about how James’ football career would change.
Later on, Ed struggled when he found out it was Danny who James was seeing.
The father stormed round to the Bistro where he found his son’s boyfriend and set about shouting at him, eventually muttering that he had “sick, filthy paws” and was to stay away from James – who was in the background, listening.
James told Aggie what Ed had said and according to actress Laidlaw, this might not be easy enough to get past.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, the Aggie star said: “I think it’s a big one. This little family in a year have been through quite a bit. We’re in the middle of this whirlwind, there’s a lot the family has dealt with.
“I think it will take quite a lot for them to get back to where they were when they first started on Coronation Street because words have been said. Once the genie’s out of the box, it’s hard to get it back again.”
How will Aggie react in the coming weeks to Ed’s outburst?
“She’s fuming, quite obviously, she’s 100% on James’ side. She pulls him up on it. We’ve never seen Aggie angry, she doesn’t do that. In that moment she’s ashamed of this man,” Laidlaw revealed.
- Coronation Street: who is leaving, returning to and joining the soap?
- Coronation Street's Ali Neeson actor James Burrows has quit ITV soap
- Coronation Street's Sally Carman gives worrying update on Abi and Kevin's romance: "She can';t help herself!"
She went on to explain how proud everyone is to be a part of the storyline, telling us: “We’ve known about the story for a very long time. All of us have been here for a year and it’s taken that slow burn for it to come to fruition really. It’s a really important story but it’s really emotional.”
Viewers knew about James’ brave storyline from the beginning, when the Bailey family were introduced to Weatherfield, but why was it important we had to wait for it?
Laidlaw explained: “I think for me, it’s important for the audience to fall in love with that lad, whether he’s gay or not, the audience needs to love him. He’s a lovely lad and actually what happens is it’s not an external body who’s rejecting him, it’s his dad. That gave another layer to him which is unexpected.”
Visit our dedicated Coronation Street page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers.
Authors
Helen Daly is the Associate Editor for Radio Times, overseeing new initiatives and commercial projects for the brand. She was previously Deputy TV Editor at a national publication. She has a BA in English Literature and an MA in Media & Journalism from Newcastle University.
