Coronation Street spoilers: Stephen's 'life is falling apart' says Todd Boyce

Boyce's villain is currently engaged to Elaine Jones (Paula Wilcox), but is secretly pining for Jenny Bradley (Sally Ann Matthews). The latter is getting closer to Owen (Ben Hull), who has got his eye on Underworld and intends to fire Stephen at the first opportunity, meaning the baddie has to act quickly to land on his feet.

"We are going to see him start taking risks as he gets more desperate, his life is starting to unravel and it is going to be interesting to see how he deals with the pressure," Boyce told press, including RadioTimes.com.

"He is bound to start making mistakes and that could be his undoing."

Boyce speculated about who might be next on Stephen's kill list, confirming Owen is certainly a candidate.

"He certainly sees Owen as someone who is in his way," the actor said.

In upcoming scenes, Stephen will do anything to persuade Owen to keep him on. He asks Carla Barlow (Alison King) not to sell the factory, but she refuses, as she wants to prioritise her mental health. As viewers know, Stephen is the one who made Carla think she had "relapsed" after repeatedly spiking her drinks with LSD.

"It is so ironic that he is the one who made Carla think her mental health problems had resurfaced and now that is going to cost him everything, and he is in this vulnerable position. It is a terrific twist. Talk about an own goal," said Boyce.

Realising Carla isn't on his side, Stephen turns to Elaine, pressuring her to invest in Underworld. When she shuts him down, the murderer swaps her blood pressure pills with caffeine pills and laces her tea, causing her to feel dizzy and jittery.

Though Stephen may not want to kill Elaine right away, the opportunity presents itself when he offers to go to the shops and comes back home finding the woman collapsed on the floor.

"He is genuinely shocked and there is a moment when it looks like her is going to revive her," Boyce said.

"But then you can see the cogs turning and he thinks, 'Let's see how this turns out' and maybe it might be the perfect ending! He leaves, crossing his fingers that she will die before she is discovered."

With Elaine possibly out of the way, Stephen has but one problem: her son Tim Metcalfe (Joe Duttine).

"Tim is an enormous risk. He sees who Stephen is and Stephen knows that he can't pull the wool over eyes forever," Boyce said. "He is really bad news for Stephen."

Pressured by all sides, will Stephen make a fatal mistake?

Read more:

• Coronation Street's Roy overjoyed as Hayley's beloved coat found after operation
• Coronation Street's Sam Aston on 20 years as Chesney: 'The cast call me Old Man Ches!'

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