The shocking Coronation Street acid attack storyline kicks off in this evening’s episode when Daisy comes face to face with stalker Justin once more.
As Daisy gets ready to leave the Rovers for her wedding to Daniel, she’s confronted by Justin who’s holding a glass of liquid, ready to attack her with acid.
It’s the horrifying climax of Daisy’s stalking story as Justin takes terrible revenge.
Shocking scenes
And Andrew Still, who plays Justin, says even he was shocked when he found out how far Justin was going to go.
So how does Justin come to plan such an awful attack on someone he supposedly loves?
Andrew says his alter ego is making some “really bad choices”.
“Justin has a real fear of being left with nothing if he and Daisy can’t be together,” he says. “This fear is building and growing and leaving him more isolated and willing to go to greater lengths.”
He says Justin is beginning to understand that Daisy doesn’t want to be with him. But he’s not taking it well!
“He’s starting to see she’s pushing back against him which he’s struggling to deal with and process because it doesn’t line up with the narrative in his head. This rejection is pushing him to make really bad choices.”
Going to extremes
But it’s quite a leap from making bad choices to attacking someone in such a violent, frightening way. Andrew says that Justin has detached himself from rational thinking.
“Doing something like this – this horrendous crime – doesn’t seem so meditated or evil in his head,” he explains. And that’s because he’s realised what Daisy has been trying to tell him!
“He’s finally starting to take on board all the things Daisy’s been saying over the course of these weeks,” he tells us. “They’re never going to be together.
“She doesn’t want anything to do with him. But as that’s all sinking in, it’s hurting his pride and his ego. And of course, he’s also got this thing where he’s jealous of the wedding and Daniel. Daisy’s got the rest of her life to look forward to, but Justin’s world is crumbling around him.”
Wedding day attack
And so as Daisy gets ready to walk down the aisle, Justin’s planning a terrible way to make her day one she’ll never forget.
“This is a total act of hate,” Andrew says. “There’s no love in this. It’s an act of revenge.”
Andrew says he was shocked when he found out what Justin was going to do.
“I had no idea he was going to go that far,” he reveals, before admitting he “felt a little bit intimidated, because it’s such an awful crime, so I wanted to do it justice and give it the seriousness it deserves. I felt as long as I did my research and gave everything to the character then hopefully it would resonate with the audience.”
Hard times
But he admits it was hard to get into the mindset of someone who would do such an awful thing.
“I find his actions disgusting and disturbing,” he says. “But to play that honestly and not just be a bad guy you have to find the truth in the character. So I had to get into that headspace and feel the pain and rejection and loneliness.”
Andrew says he found filming the scenes quite difficult.
“They weren’t really fun!” he says. “It was pretty grim. But everyone on set was really brilliant and gave it the respect it needs.”
He went on: “It felt really disgusting to say those lines and go through that action, and I spoke about it with Charlie (Jordan, who plays Daisy) on the day. It was a really incredibly nasty and hateful thing to do, but if you’re going to play it truthfully you have to feel those emotions.”
He added: “It was horrible but hopefully it’ll translate on screen.”
Andrew did a lot of research and worked with the Katie Piper Foundation and the Acid Survivors Trust International, to make sure he got the storyline spot on.
“I thought it was important to have an understanding of the story we were trying to tell and the impact it has,” he says.
Read more: Complete Coronation Street cast list 2023 – meet them all here!
Coronation Street usually airs on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8pm on ITV.
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