Corrie's John is driven to take drastic action

Corrie's John is driven to take drastic action
Corrie's John is driven to take drastic action

Coronation Street's Graeme Hawley reveals to Soaplife how John reacts very badly when he's questioned too closely by Chesney and Charlotte's parents... What a tangled web John Stape has woven... and now Chesney's caught up in it. Convinced that John has been up to no good, Chesney starts digging - and could be digging his own grave. Soaplife talked to Graeme about how John gets that crazy look in his eyes again when he finds out Chesney's on to him. John starts to panic when Charlotte's parents turn up on the Street saying his 'little brother' Chesney came to see them... "Yes, and he gets them off Coronation Street as quickly as possible. He goes to their house and gets them down to their cellar. They confront him firstly about his wedding ring, and then about his real name being John. At that point he realises there is no way of getting out of this now..."   So he ties up an elderly couple?! "He thinks if he can give himself a little bit of breathing space he'll be able to think of a way out of it. He's desperately hoping he isn't going to have more dead bodies on his hands!"   Then Chesney confronts him about his double life... "Well, John knows then that the game is up and it's clear to him what he has to do. From that moment on he's thinking: 'How am I going to get Chesney into the Hoyles' basement?'"    We know John lies to Katy and Fiz that Chesney has run away... "Well, fortunately for John, Chesney has got a history of running away. As soon as he reminds Fiz of that, he knows he's on the right track. He tells Katy and Fiz that Chesney said he's sorry, but he just had to get away. There's no reason for them not to believe him."   Then John tells Fiz that Colin Fishwick is back and they have to get away or they'll be done for fraud... "Fiz agrees that they need to get out of there. But then very quickly she changes her mind and decides that she'll stay and take whatever consequences come. She says she can't leave while Chesney's away. That's when John decides he has to take even more drastic action..."

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.