Coronation Street spoilers: the real Gavin Rodwell to have showdown with Andy, says Oliver Farnworth
"Gavin says that he'll keep quiet about who he really is in exchange for £5000," reveals the actor
The double life of Andy Carver is to be thrown into turmoil when the real Gavin Rodwell finally returns from his travels abroad.
"Andy has always known that this day would come, but he had hoped that he wouldn't have to face up to it so soon" says Oliver Farnworth, who plays the duplicitous Andy. "Gavin literally just turns up out of the blue, so Andy has no control over the situation at all. He's really unprepared."
Scenes to be shown next Monday will see Steph let herself into Andy's flat, only to be confronted by the real Gavin, the man who her boyfriend has been masquerading as for months.
"Andy has left incriminating things like payslips from the Bistro with Gavin’s name on lying around the flat," continues the actor. "He wasn’t expecting Gavin to just turn back up. Andy thought that Gavin would give him a call to tell him he was coming back from travelling, so he hasn’t been covering his tracks."
As it turns out, the real Gavin has lost his phone while abroad, so hasn't had any messages. But when he discovers a rogue Bistro payslip, Gavin grows incredulous that Andy used his name to get a job and ingratiate himself with Michael. Despite Andy's protestations that Michael is a decent family man with a heart condition, a bitter Gavin has no kind words for the father who abandoned him. So does Andy now feel that the game is up?
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"He’s on a complete rollercoaster. On the one hand, he feels terrible guilt about what he’s done to the people around him, but then there’s a huge feeling of sadness and loss that he’s going to potentially have to leave this family he’s found. And I think that will cause him a lot of sorrow."
And the situation looks set to get even more intense when Gavin turns up in the Rovers later in the week and gives Andy and Steph an ultimatum. "Gavin tells them that he'll keep quiet about who he really is in exchange for £5000. Gavin doesn't care about Michael. He's grown to really hate him and I think a lot of that has to do with the stories his mum has told him throughout the years. He genuinely doesn't care about getting to know his dad. He just wants the money.
"And the malicious side of Andy comes out even more when he says that maybe he will introduce himself to Michael after all. Gavin and Steph have to beg him not to because of Michael’s heart condition. Andy’s really worried by this - Gavin is calling all the shots and Andy really has no control over the situation."
And by Friday, a desperate Andy will be seen staging a phoney mugging with the Bistro's takings in order to come up with the cash. "It’s an off-the-cuff decision, Andy and Steph don’t really have much of a choice," explains Farnworth.
The trouble is that Andy is still a couple of thousand pounds short and is clueless as to how he's going to keep up the subterfuge before Gail and Michael get married. "Andy is just beside himself with worry. He doesn’t know what he’s going to do or how he’s going to find the money. And the main concern is that if they don’t find the money in time before the wedding, Gavin will blow Andy’s cover for him."
So just how far will Andy go to keep the situation under wraps? "I think he’d go a long way to protect Michael and the family. The scrapes he’s already got himself into prove how far he’s willing to go. He’s not doing this for any self-gain now, he wants to protect Michael and he knows that any stress could cause him serious harm."
You can watch a 60-second rundown of all next week's drama on Coronation Street below.
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