Coronation Street star on 'damaged' Courtney as her character clashes with Dev
Stephanie Davis reveals all on her storyline.
Stephanie Davis says that her Coronation Street character Courtney Vance is a "damaged" soul, as the star reveals all on her alter ego's upcoming clash with Dev Alahan (Jimmi Harkishin).
Courtney has embarked on an affair with Dev's son Aadi (Adam Hussain), which has now resulted in her moving in with the Alahans after confessing all to her husband Darren (Ryan Early).
But in scenes due to air next week, Darren will offer Dev a large sum of money, if he agrees to split up Courtney and Aadi. Dev then offers the cash to Courtney, on the condition that she dumps his son!
Viewers will have to wait and see what Courtney does next, but speaking at a recent press event, Davis told RadioTimes.com and other media what we can expect from her scenes with co-star Harkishin, who she was full of praise for.
"These were my favourite scenes to film," she revealed. "I absolutely loved doing these with Jimmi. So, I obviously can't give too much away on this, but [Courtney] has a feeling that it's Darren's money; I think she knows that Dev isn't quite up to that - he's a bit of a softie, really.
"And that's when Courtney and Dev's game of cat and mouse begins. Courtney calls him Devi - I've started calling him Devi all the time. I put it in myself in the scripts, I just did it on one of the takes and I was like, 'I'm keeping this now.' So every time we've got scenes together, I'm like, 'Alright Devi!'
"So, she's winding Devi up, and they have a bit of a cat and mouse game, and it's like, what's she gonna do, will she reveal it to Aadi and be like, 'This is what your dad's done?'
More like this
"Or will she twist it and use it against him? Although Courtney might play dumb, she's very intelligent and clever and she's always one step ahead."
Asked if Courtney's feelings for Aadi are real, the actress replied: "Her feelings for Aadi are genuine; she does genuinely think the world of him and thinks he's this beautiful person.
"But she's just so toxic in her behaviour that she's had for so long, it's like she just automatically goes back into [those] defects of character.
"She does genuinely care about him, but as it's been said Darren has cheated on her in the past, and part of it for Courtney is, 'I'm gonna treat you how you've treated me, let's see how you like it.'
"And she wants to get that reaction out of him. That's when Bernie and Dev are like, 'We've got your card marked here, we can see what you're trying to do.'"
Discussing what drives Courtney's behaviour, Davis added: "I feel really sorry for her, especially as the scenes have progressed, and the ones recently that we've just filmed as well.
"She's not what people think she is straight away, it's a mask that she's putting on. She's like an onion with loads of layers, basically, and you start seeing little snippets of her coming through in the scenes.
By entering your details, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.
"You start to think, 'Her background isn't what I thought it would be, what's gone on for her, what's happened [to] her?' She's obviously a very damaged young woman who doesn't know how to build proper relationships," she explained.
"She doesn't know how to treat people and she doesn't know how to be treated, and she's got really unhealthy boundaries.
"So I do really feel for her, because I feel like she's just always been in survival mode. 'What's my next step? Okay, he's got money, I can live alright, I can get away from my council flat.'
"But it's like having the money without the love, or not having the money and having someone who genuinely really cares about you. And it's like, 'Which way is she gonna go?'"
Beyond her current storyline, does the star see a future on the cobbles for Courtney? "Yeah, definitely, I'd love to see her stick around. I think she's just one of [those] characters where she could do anything and be involved in anything, and I think she'd love a good gossip as well, to know what's going on with everybody else."
Touching on a rumour about her character, Davis laughed: "I know all the fans of the show think I'm the new barmaid at The Rovers, and do you know what? I'd love to do that in the future.
"I could see her being a really good landlady of the pub, because she's that type of character, and getting involved in everybody's business. [We'll have to] wait and see what happens!"
Read more:
- 6 Coronation Street spoilers: Is time up for killer Stephen as a body is found?
- Coronation Street announces new school bullying storyline
Coronation Street airs weeknights on ITV. Check out more of our Soaps coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10, PLUS a £10 John Lewis and Partners voucher delivered to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
