Will Todd Team Up With Phelan?
Pat has played a masterstroke by offering Todd in on his scam.
Will Todd make a deal with the devil, or is Phelan about to get his fingers burnt? Bruno Langley teases what's to come!
When does Todd first find out about Phelan’s building scam?
Todd has known that Phelan is not a good guy for a long time. He overhears conversations and because he is quick and quite a clever guy, he can put two and two together.
He is constantly confronting Pat and vows to find proof of the building scam to give to the police.
Why can’t he report Phelan to the police?
Todd’s frustrated because he feels that the police won’t take him seriously. Phelan has also stated there would be bad implications on Eileen and Jason’s finances so Todd decides the best thing to do is keep his mouth shut.
How does Todd react when Phelan calls him to the building site for a chat?
Todd is pleased. He thinks he finally has Phelan on the back foot but, unbeknown to him, things are about to go from bad to worse after he leaves his phone in the Rovers...
Billy finds out that Todd has reported them to the Bishop. Can you tell us why he did that?
Todd is testing Billy’s morals and whether he is more important to him than his congregation. Todd does care a lot about himself so when Billy first mentions that he might leave the church, in the back of Todd’s mind he just focuses on: ‘Wow, Billy really does like me because he is willing to give all that up.’
So that is what spurs Todd on. He thinks that Billy just needs that extra push and he later tells Billy that he did it for him so he could be free to be himself.
I don’t believe Todd though. I think Todd did it for himself and maybe like 5% he did it for Billy!
How does Billy react when Todd explains himself?
Billy is furious and says it is over, that’s it, clean cut for him. He says ‘I don’t understand you Todd, you can be nice when you want to be.’ He is baffled by Todd’s behaviour and Todd feels so bad when Billy dumps him, he’s upset.
Why does Todd go to the building site?
Firstly, Phelan keeps giving Todd little digs about working in a flower shop with all his pansies. He goads Todd with the promise of working with the big boys, making some money and doing something with his life. Phelan is telling the truth from his point of view and Todd takes it onboard. So when Billy says it’s over, that is the catalyst for Todd.
He looks at what he has got and decides he might as well step up to what Billy thinks of him, put his morals on the back burner and just get on with it.
How does Phelan react to Todd’s change of heart?
Phelan is suspicious but like most things in life you know when someone is telling you the truth. Todd tells Phelan it is because he is twisted and that’s who he is… and Phelan buys it!
I think Phelan sees a lot of himself in Todd.
Do you think Todd is a match for Phelan? Or do you think they could be a dangerous team together?
Yes, they are a match for each other but that is a hard one because I really like Connor (who plays Phelan) and I really like working with him. So if that means that I prefer the two of them in some dastardly plan together, then so be it. We work well together because he is a very serious actor and I take it very seriously too so we both really care about the work.
What reaction do you get from viewers - are they ‘Team Todd’ or ‘Team Phelan’?
Connor knows more about this than me because I try not to think about it. People in the street ask me, ‘When is Phelan going to get his comeuppance,’ as they would do because that’s what happens with a villain. People want that and villains have to get their just deserts...
Would you personally like Todd to be the one to bring Phelan down?
Yes, of course because I love the drama!
He seems a bit nicer these days - do you prefer good Todd or bad Todd?
I don’t think they both have to be mutually exclusive. I like both sides to him and I like that you can’t pin him down which makes interesting viewing because you don’t know what he is going to do next.
He is very unpredictable and that’s great to act. I don’t want to be the nice guy in the pub! It is harder for me to get where he is coming from when he is doing these bad things because that’s not me, I consider myself quite a nice guy, but either way it is fun!
What else is coming up for Todd?
We will see Todd using his effortless charm to fleece his neighbours but, realising he is playing with fire, it’s a ticking time-bomb before Todd and Phelan lock horns again.
Although Todd and Phelan are both similar characters in their twisted ways, Todd has one weakness and Phelan knows exactly how to use this to his advantage.
Todd is in real danger if he doesn’t act smart and quick.