Returning Coronation Street actor Chris Gascoyne has admitted that he was “a bit shaky” when it came to returning to the soap after a two-year absence and found it hard to memorise his lines.
The Corrie favourite, who plays Peter Barlow on the long-running ITV soap, revealed that he did worry when he came back to the set.
“Early on, I couldn’t remember the lines,” he admitted while speaking to press in central Manchester at a Coronation Street event.
“But once I got the costume on and Bill (William Roache who plays his on-screen father Ken Barlow) was there…
“I was a bit shaky for a take or so, but after a while… you’ve got so much work to do while you’re on the show that you just do it!”
Next week, Peter will be at the centre of a dramatic storyline when his return leads to terrible consequences which look set to have a serious lasting impact on the Barlow family.
With a cut to his face, edgy behaviour and asking favours from his family, Peter brings a whole lot of trouble just when it’s not needed.
Chris also revealed that there would be plenty in store between Peter and former flame Leanne, whom he shares a son Simon with.
“There’s loads of unfinished business,” he said. “The conversation that me and Jane (Danson, who plays Leanne) always wanted them to have and they never did… now we’re seeing those things, which is satisfying for us and for the viewer. The baby they lost and stuff like that. It’s not high drama – it’s little human drama, which is nice.
“And it’s great to work with Jane again,” Chris added.
He also teased that there would be conflict on the cards between Peter and old rival Nick Tilsley (Ben Price).
“Nick always has something to worry about when Peter’s back,” he revealed. “And he enjoys that. His main hobby is to upset Nick, so there are lots of those kind of scenes.”
Chris, who admitted that he felt “ready to come back and do some more” on the soap after leaving in 2014, said that he was also pleased Peter was sober this time around, and might have even beaten the booze for good.
“He’s struggling to face these people in his life head-on without drinking any more. And he doesn’t know how to do it. For me, it is a bit tiring to play drunk – plus the audience knows that if he drinks he’s going to die. That would have to play out.
“I kind of hope that we don’t keep using that as a device any more. It would be more interesting if he went to an AA group and he said what his experience has been like.
“Then we’d hear all this stuff that he could never say on the Street. That’s a better way of attacking the drinking story. It gets a bit old looking at the bottle and smashing the glass in the sink.”
