Coronation Street‘s Nick Tilsley angrily blames Ben Driscoll for Sam Blakeman’s mental health crisis next week, when he declares that the pub landlord should have picked up on Megan Walsh’s evil ways sooner.
Having realised just how much Sam has been suffering, Nick heads to the Rovers. But when the Bistro owner claps eyes on Ben, he can’t help but offload his anger there and then…
“Nick loses it at Ben,” explains our Corrie source. “He lambasts him for not realising what Megan was up to behind his back.
“For Nick, if Megan was stopped sooner, then Sam would never have been subjected to the pain that he’s going through right now.”
The week begins with shaken Nick waiting for an update on Sam at the hospital, after Carla Connor-Swain reached a breakthrough with the schoolboy and realised that he’s suffering from psychosis.
Toyah and Leanne Battersby stick by Nick’s side, also keen to make sure that Sam gets the help he needs.
Later, Nick decides that Ben and Eva Price are partly to blame for all of this, as it’s the pressure of having to testify at Megan’s upcoming court case that is causing Sam grief.
Keeping calm, Eva explains that Will is perfectly capable of testifying himself and that they won’t need Sam’s help.
Subsequently, Ben and Nick bond over the agony they’ve been through as parents.
But when Nick later learns the true extent of Sam’s psychological troubles, the dad-of-one visits the Rovers and gives Ben a piece of his mind. How will Ben respond to Nick’s painful words?
Later in the week, Sam informs Nick that he would like to catch up with Roy Cropper. Is this a sign that Sam is on the road to recovery? Or is there still a long journey ahead?
Actor Ben Price, who plays Nick, recently spoke about this emotional new story and the implications for Sam’s future.
Asked whether he thinks Nick, Toyah and Leanne can stay united at this difficult time, Ben replied: “Yes, I do. However, I think, further on, and I don’t know this, but I think there will always be the push and pull between Nick and Leanne with Sam.
“I have loved that they’ve kept Leanne in the loop. I think that is very good because it feels real and very true to the stories before, as she stayed strong with Simon. It makes complete sense that she would do that, especially having lost her own child, with Sam who she’s known since he was a small child.”
