Who is Christian Gatley in Coronation Street? Roy Cropper faces online abuse from Hayley's son
Poor Roy!
There was a blast from the past for Roy Cropper (David Neilson) in tonight's Coronation Street (10th April), when he received vile online abuse from Christian – the estranged son of Roy's beloved late wife Hayley (Julie Hesmondhalgh).
As Roy struggled to cope with the police investigation into Lauren Bolton's (Cait Fitton) murder pointing the finger at him, his friends rallied around. Stu Carpenter (Bill Fellows) understood how it felt to be wrongly accused, and vowed to help Roy.
A homeless man told Stu that there had been a sighting of Lauren, but he wouldn't reveal more unless Stu paid him. But when Stu got his wallet out, the man attacked him with a brick!
Roy felt awful that those around him were being targeted because of him, but the day took a more distressing turn when Evelyn Plummer (Maureen Lipman) was forced to tell Roy of an interview Christian had done about Roy and Hayley. Christian had said nasty things about both Roy and Hayley, and Roy was incredulous as he read the article.
Sickeningly, Christian had suggested that Roy killed Hayley, but in fact Hayley took her own life in 2014 while dying of pancreatic cancer. The article sent Roy on a trip down memory lane as he recalled his love for Hayley, which would never die.
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Later, Roy had a visit from a woman called Kerry, who claimed to be Lauren's mother and told Roy that she believed he was a good man who had looked out for her daughter. Roy felt sorry for Kerry and offered her a place to stay, but we soon saw her take a furtive call, telling someone "I'm in," proving that Roy has been targeted once more.
But while we wait to see what happens next, you may be wondering what happened when Christian last appeared on Coronation Street. Read on below for all you need to know.
Who is Christian Gatley in Coronation Street?
Played by Andrew Turner, Christian first appeared on the ITV soap in 2007 to make contact with his father, with Hayley revealing to him that she had transitioned. Christian angrily lashed out, and loyal Becky McDonald (Katherine Kelly) attacked him in revenge.
Christian left Manchester and was not seen again until 2013, when Hayley got in touch after learning she was terminally ill. Christian and Hayley arranged to meet, but Christian failed to turn up, which upset poorly Hayley.
Christian visited the café to apologise for his behaviour when they met previously, and explained he had since married and had two children.
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Christian shared a drink and chat with Hayley and Roy in The Rovers, and Hayley didn't reveal her illness. But when Christian told them he wouldn't be introducing his kids to Hayley until they were old enough to understand "that their granddad is now their granny", Roy branded Christian a bigot.
But this was not the last we saw of Christian, who returned to reveal he was having money troubles. When Christian turned nasty, Hayley gave her son £5,000, but Hayley did get to meet her grandchildren briefly before she later passed away.
Now, although off-screen, Christian has reminded us what a horrible character he was, and poor Roy is being victimised. Will we see Christian back on the cobbles?
Read more:
- 7 Coronation Street spoilers: Roy Cropper locked up as suspicions turn to Daniel Osbourne
- Coronation Street boss responds to stars' criticism of storylines
- Coronation Street cast: who is leaving, returning to and joining the soap?
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