Coronation Street‘s Nick Tilsley made a devastating discovery tonight, as Sam Blakeman’s psychosis escalated. The teenager has been struggling with his mental health for weeks, fearing that everyone is out to get him.
In tonight’s scenes on the ITV soap, Sam’s inner turmoil finally came to light when he lashed out at Roy Cropper. Will things get better now that his family know the truth? Or will he continue to push away his close ones?
The episode began with a jittery Sam being goaded by another vision of Roy, feeding into his paranoia. He headed over to the pub to keep an eye on Will Driscoll, who was playing a violent video game.
“This is all practice for him. He wants to kill you,” said the vision of Roy, which prompted Sam to run away. A confused Will chased after Sam and followed him to Roy’s Rolls, where Sam locked himself in.
Will and Leanne Battersby tried in vain to calm him down, before the real Roy appeared from inside the café. As a terrified Sam questioned how he was seeing two versions of the same person, the vision convinced him that it was a “trick” performed by Will.
He told Sam that the real Roy was “dangerous”, and encouraged him to “destroy” him for his own safety. Meanwhile, Nick, Toyah and Nina Lucas arrived on the scene, with the latter managing to unlock the door just as Sam attacked Roy.
An injured Roy informed them of Sam’s hallucinations before the teen rushed out, prompting a search party. It wasn’t until the next morning that he was discovered, with Carla Connor-Swain spotting him hiding in the precinct.
She convinced him to stay put while she secretly contacted Nick. Sam tried to run away but his dad caught him, and it soon became clear just how much he’d been struggling with his mental health.
Sam questioned if Nick was going to get him “locked up”, but the latter promised that he was merely taking him home. However, when they later pulled up outside of the hospital, a horrified Sam reluctantly let himself be ushered inside.
In next week’s episodes, a heartbroken Nick struggles to come to terms with his son’s troubles, and lashes out at Ben Driscoll. He blames the Rovers landlord for Sam’s suffering, telling him that he should’ve realised what groomer Megan Walsh was up to sooner.
Later, Sam asks for a meeting with Roy, following his recent outburst in the café. Is he hoping to make amends with his friend, or could there be another reason for his requested visit?
