Coronation Street newcomer Idris Nazir (Junade Khan) has been established as a clear villain since his arrival, but upcoming scenes show an unexpected compassionate side as he becomes an ally to troubled schoolboy Sam Blakeman (Jude Riordan).
Idris's villainous history
From parking his flash car on the Cobbles to menacing money from a stranger called Damo, Idris has displayed consistently bad behaviour. He flirted with Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) behind Leanne Battersby's (Jane Danson) back and exhibited controlling behaviour by cancelling a call from her sister Toyah (Georgia Taylor). Most seriously, his failure to address black mould in tenant Abi Webster's (Sally Carman-Duttine) flat led to her son Alfie becoming seriously ill, making him a slumlord in Weatherfield.
To avoid legal consequences, Idris recruited his criminal protege Brody Michaelis (Ryan Mulvey) to threaten Abi's lawyer Adam Barlow (Sam Robertson), unaware that Adam is dating his cousin Alya Nazir (Sair Khan).
Sam's ongoing trauma
Sam has endured a harrowing ordeal, tormented to the brink of his sanity by paedophile Megan Walsh (Beth Nixon), who tried to silence him about grooming Will Driscoll (Lucas Hodgson-Wale). This triggered a psychotic break, causing him to hallucinate an evil version of Roy Cropper ordering him to do unspeakable things. After seeing a scary version of Roy on a bench warning him to trust nobody, Sam has trauma around taking advice from men on benches.
In upcoming scenes, Sam suffers a heartbreaking rejection when David (Jack P Shepherd) won't let him hold Harper. Upset, Sam confides in Idris about his fear that David thinks he's mentally unstable and doesn't trust him.
Idris's surprising support
To Sam's surprise, Idris opens up about his own anxieties as a teen and how he overcame them. When Sam's dad Nick Tilsley (Ben Price) and Toyah arrive, Sam assures them that after a chat with Idris he feels much better. While it's nice to see Idris being nice for once, Nick isn't likely to feel the same way.
Ben Price recently spoke to Metro about Nick's feelings regarding the bond between Idris and his son: 'I think he finds it very difficult. Idris has come in, you will see Sam opening up to him, or that's potentially on the cards, and I think Nick then feels quite lost, and then also gets angry and a bit protective.'
