Is David Platt leaving Coronation Street after prison stabbing?
The attack on Josh has us worried for the character's future
Coronation Street convict David Platt (Jack P Shepherd) was on the verge of being released from prison until a riot broke out and he was blamed for stabbing his arch-enemy Josh Tucker (Ryan Clayton). Now the banged-up barber's fraud charge is upped to attempted murder, so what does that mean for his future?
Fans fearing David is leaving the show can rest easy, as he's definitely staying put and the attack is just the beginning of a major new storyline set to continue in the coming weeks.
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It's deliberately ambiguous as to whether David actually went through with the stabbing, as his tense showdown with rapist Josh ended abruptly as he was goaded into violence by the manipulative mechanic. The next thing we saw was frantic David calling fiancee Shona Ramsey (Juila Goulding) telling her the attack had happened.
David claims he is not responsible, but evidence mounts – including incriminating CCTV footage – as Josh recovers in the medical wing, while Shona isn't sure what to believe.
There's certainly a solid motive for David, as he finally got Josh to admit he drugged and sexually assaulted him back in March 2018, having previously denied it, but it's all part of Mr Tucker's twisted power play, as Clayton told RadioTimes.com:
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"The more guilty David is, the less guilty Josh looks. He thinks if he can make it out of this situation and David goes through with trying to kill him, it certainly makes Josh’s story more plausible.
“When they’re on their own, Josh knows he has leeway with David as he has so much to lose if he does attack him. In that respect Josh has power over David which he uses to his advantage.”
On Thursday 31st October, viewers will see David plead not guilty to Josh's attempted murder, only to be refused bail and told he will remain in custody until the trial. When Josh wakes up, he insists to the police David did it and sets about framing him.
"The scripts don’t give a clear indication as to whether David is actually guilty, which made it interesting to play," says Shepherd. "David is an unpredictable character. He’s saying it wasn’t him, it was someone else, but doesn’t know who.”
All this is building up to Goulding's imminent departure to accommodate her real-life maternity leave. It's been mentioned on screen that Shona and David's wedding is arranged for 7th November, but don't dust off your fascinators just yet…
"Shona is not sure if she can believe David, and he understands why she might have her doubts. All he can do is put across his side of the story but it doesn’t look good.”
Looks like we'll be spending more time in that prison set, then…
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