Beth Nixon, who plays the twisted Coronation Street villain Megan Walsh, has teased that her character could make a dramatic return to the Cobbles, potentially sending shivers down the spine of her victim Will Driscoll (Lucas Hodgson-Wale).
Megan's Grooming Storyline
Megan first arrived in Weatherfield last year as a seemingly respectable athletics coach who used her position of authority to groom Will into an illicit and exploitative relationship, right under the nose of his unsuspecting family: step-mum Eva Price (Catherine Tyldesley), dad Ben Driscoll (Aaron McCusker), and grandmother Maggie Driscoll (Pauline McLynn). Over the months, Megan manipulated Will into keeping their trysts under wraps with a careful combination of carrot and stick—love-bombing him one minute and withdrawing affection the next, such as when she began a relationship with headmaster Daniel Osbourne (Rob Mallard) merely for appearances. Will believed he was in an abusive relationship, with no idea that abuse was taking place.
Sam Blakeman's Investigation
Sam Blakeman (Jude Riordan) was the first to see Megan's true colors, but his investigations and eventual exposure of the paedophile's crimes came at a serious cost to his mental health. Megan bullied and harassed Sam, pushing him toward a mental breakdown. This led Sam's adoptive mum Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) to team up with her sister Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor) and Eva to find evidence to bring Megan down, but Megan was always one step ahead.
Not even Will's seriously scary Granny Maggie could vanquish the predator. After Maggie violently shoved Megan while she was pregnant with Will's child, Megan claimed the assault caused her to lose the baby when in fact she had undergone a secret termination.
Will's Realization and Trial
The scales eventually fell from Will's eyes thanks to Tim Metcalfe (Joe Duttine), who helped Will see the light due to his own similar experience of being taken advantage of by an older woman as a child. Will found the strength to report Megan to the police, leading to her arrest.
Last week's trial was nerve-wracking. Will initially fell apart on the stand and claimed he had made everything up about their sexual relationship. Ben's temper also jeopardized the trial after he had an angry outburst during Megan's questioning, resulting in him being thrown out. Fortunately, the judge allowed Will to testify a second time, and he told the truth about how Megan sexually and psychologically abused him. The jury found Megan guilty of all charges and sentenced her to five years in prison. She was last seen being taken down from the dock, screaming that Will was lying, protesting her innocence, and vowing to appeal.
Beth Nixon Teases Return
When questioned on the Inside Soap podcast about whether Megan might reappear on screen, Beth Nixon was intriguingly cryptic: 'We'll see, we will have to wait and see!' Asked about returning to play Megan from prison, Beth responded: 'I'd love to. Any opportunity to come back I would always come back. I mean I loved it so much. I cried so much on my last day!'
'But yeah I'd love to come back. It's such a fab place to work and I felt so blessed to have been given that storyline because there was so much in it. I was trusted with so much material and I like to think hopefully that people have enjoyed the storyline. So yeah, I'd love to see Megan in prison that'd be great.'
Life Behind Bars
Fans already heard in Wednesday's episode that Megan had been involved in a prison brawl offscreen. Discussing how Megan might cope with being in a cell 24/7, Beth explained: 'She's obviously very manipulative and she's always able to worm her way out of situations but there's a real broad range of personalities that are going to be in prison with her.'
