Stephen’s antics have become increasingly entertaining over the last few weeks, worthy of any farce (Picture: ITV)
When Audrey’s son Stephen returned to the cobbles in June last year after a 15-year absence – as a knight in shining armour to help his mum when the Platts became concerned about her excess drinking – there was little indication that he would become the Street’s latest serial killer.
But eight months on, he is two murders down and shows no sign of stopping.
It’s a story that has proved divisive amongst viewers, with many citing it as an example of how the soap has lost its way in recent years. But I disagree – I think that Stephen Reid is classic Corrie, and his character has made for great television.
When Canadian Stephen, played by Todd Boyce, arrived fresh from his life in Milan as a successful businessman, breaking down the salon door to find his mum unconscious, he was portrayed as the golden child who would sort out the problems in his family.
However, it soon became clear to viewers that he was in fact having serious money problems, and that the real reason for his return was to get his hands on poor Audrey’s cash.
When Jenny Connor’s boyfriend Leo discovered him attempting to sell Audrey’s house in September, he confronted Stephen – who, to the viewers’ shock, swiftly threw over Leo the railings of Underworld to his death.
From there, the story took a more sinister turn and Stephen’s focus shifted to covering up his murder, including convincing Leo’s dad Teddy that his son was in Canada – before offing him as well when he found out the truth.
I realise that this sounds like an incredibly dark storyline, but its execution has been anything but as the scriptwriters leant into humour rather than drama, with a wink and a nod every step of the way.
The main criticism from Coronation Street fans is that the storyline is silly or unrealistic. Of course it is – and that’s exactly why I love it.
When Jenny Connor’s boyfriend Leo discovered him attempting to sell Audrey’s house in September, he confronted Stephen (Picture: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Stephen’s antics have become increasingly entertaining over the last few weeks, especially in the episodes following Teddy’s murder (a blow to the head with an industrial hole punch, in case you were wondering), with a sequence of events worthy of any farce.
In a panic, he stores the body in his mum’s car roof box, only to return later and find that Audrey has taken the car to the Peak District to visit a friend – dead body in tow, of course.
The car is then taken by nephew David, who is keen to use the roof box to pick up wood chippings that are on sale. The only thing that stops him from discovering Stephen’s latest victim is the fact that they’re sold out.
My personal highlight was when Stephen attempted to dispose of Teddy’s body in the canal, only to despair as the box remains floating on top of the water. The episode ends with him throwing stones at the box until it eventually sinks, before greeting a passing dog walker with a less-than-casual ‘Ey up’, something that sounds even funnier in a Canadian accent.
These aren’t the actions of a calculated killer, rather a man consumed by desperation, who goes to lengths beyond what he thought himself capable of and then must work to cover his tracks, getting progressively tangled in his own web of crimes.
My personal highlight was when Stephen attempted to dispose of Teddy’s body in the canal, only to despair as the box remains floating on top of the water (Picture: ITV)
At times Stephen as a character feels akin to recent antagonists in dramas like Happy Valley and Sherwood – unassuming and almost comically clumsy men, who are trapped in pressurising circumstances and end up committing brutal acts of violence, to the surprise of viewers.
Yet Corrie has taken a far more tongue-in-cheek approach. Although it’s an outlandish storyline that wouldn’t have worked several decades ago, small moments like Kevin, Abi and Tim helping Stephen to lift the body-filled box onto the car roof, or Chesney and Billy later admiring the box and discussing its capacity, feel so inherently rooted in soap opera and in the Street’s specific Northern humour.
It has been interesting to watch Stephen’s escapades play out alongside little Hope’s intrigue about her late father John Stape. While John was already a convicted criminal, doing time in prison for kidnapping Rosie Webster, he was also an unlikely killer – a hapless schoolteacher embroiled in a bizarre case of stolen identity that left him involved in three deaths more than a decade ago.
Stephen killing Teddy in a fit of rage after he threatened to expose the truth is naturally reminiscent of John murdering Charlotte Hoyle for the same reason on the night of the tram crash in 2010. Neither of them is inherently evil, and they are united in their dodgy decisions and panicked mindsets that make their story arcs both funny and compelling.
Not every plotline in soap land needs to be an example of high-quality drama. There have been several hard-hitting stories playing out recently on the cobbles, including Max’s indoctrination into an extremist gang and Summer’s body image struggles, so what’s the harm in having one that’s just a bit of fun?
Stephen Reid probably won’t be remembered in the same breath as iconic soap villains like Richard Hillman or Pat Phelan, but you can’t say he hasn’t been entertaining, and sometimes that’s all we want from our television viewing.
It’s hard to believe Stephen hasn’t been caught yet (for starters, he has the worst poker face ever) but I can’t help but cheer when yet another coincidence or close shave keeps him around for another episode.
Corrie should be careful about dragging the story out for too much longer, but for the moment I’m very much enjoying seeing what their accidental serial killer will do next – and wondering who his next victim might be.
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The main criticism from Coronation Street fans is that the storyline is silly or unrealistic. Of course it is – that’s exactly why I love it.
