The villain isn’t showing signs of slowing down.
Viewers of Coronation Street know exactly how much of a rogue Joel (played by Calum Lill) is, even if the residents of Weatherfield don’t yet.
In the coming weeks, Joel’s terrible secrets catch up with him, as Dee-Dee (Channique Sterling-Brown) gets ever closer to the truth.
She will spot an email from him next week on the ITV soap which will ask him to rate his experience of Belfast Airport.
Quick-thinking Joel lies and says he had to go for work but it was cancelled – leaving Dee-Dee less than convinced.
Later on, a charm bracelet comes back to bite him, when Dee-Dee offers Emily a fairy charm for Maeve’s bracelet, but Emily is confused as Maeve doesn’t have a charm bracelet…
What’s more, she reveals Joel’s still paying rent on his old flat, leaving Dee-Dee reeling.
Inquisitive Dee-Dee heads straight to the flat and has a rummage around… what will she find?
Lill has spoken about evil Joel’s latest conundrum to press including RadioTimes.com, teasing that Joel will go to any lengths to keep the truth hidden.
How is Joel feeling since the birth of his and Lauren’s son?
Calum Lill: “It’s gone from being a problem he needs to fix to being a human and thinking that this is his child. I think paternal instincts had to kick in but everything’s up in the air, and there’s this weird juxtaposition of something he can’t help but love as a father, but is also a massive problem for him. It’s just another plate he has to spin, another problem to try and navigate.
“There’s so many issues [he is] trying to deal with – if any one of them falls, they all fall. For Joel, with desperate times come desperate measures. The more things stand in the way of him having his happy ever after with Dee-Dee, the worst the experience he’s prepared to go to.”
Does he still think he can marry Dee-Dee and live happily ever after, or is there a sense it’s starting to fall apart?
CL: “For any sane person, I think there is; for Joel, I think he absolutely still thinks that’s what he wants and that’s what’s going to happen, and he’ll do whatever it takes to make sure it does.”
Dee-Dee challenges him on a few things, like an unexplained trip to Belfast. How does he explain it?
CL: “The great thing is you’ve got two people who, for their job, they interrogate, they defend, they deflect and are going up against each other. So she cross-examines him, he’s coming up with excuses and deflecting, coming up with plausible things and trying to direct her in other ways. Interesting to watch play out, they are both very good at getting answers a battle of wits and expertise.”
Is he confident he can shut her suspicions down?
CL: “In the moments where he believes he’s bought his explanation, there is a ‘phew’ moment, but I don’t think there’s a moment where he’s proud of himself for pulling the wool over her eyes, because he is genuinely head over heels in love with her and all he wants is to settle down with her. So he’s going to lie like his life depends on it at this point. And it literally does! His life as he knows it…”
Does he feel guilt for what he’s done, the lies, even framing Nathan?
CL: “Absolutely, the guilt is there, but [he] has this warped view, sees himself the same way a soldier in a worthy cause would. It’s hard to do these things but it’s the right thing to do – in his twisted brain he knows it’s tough but it’s the right thing to do, and it’s what he has to do.”
How far is Joel prepared to go to keep his secrets – is the worst yet to come?
CL: “Obviously I can’t say how far, but it’s further than I thought he would go. When I read it I was scared to even play it, because it was that dark! He’ll go to any lengths that he needs to.”
How do you feel as we get closer to the reveal and for the audience to see it?
CL: “First of all, there seems to be a thing where people question how has Dee-Dee fallen for this, how has she been so stupid, seen what’s right in front of her – but there’s been nothing right in front of her because he’s hidden everything. A lot of victims of abuse and manipulation, it’s not their fault [that] they haven’t seen it. He’s hidden everything and is really manipulative.
“Selfishly, I absolutely love working here, so it bodes well for me the better Joel is at hiding things! In true soap justice he can’t get away with what he’s done, especially ‘cos of how bad the things he’s done are.
“So I think it’s bittersweet for me as an actor, it’s getting more and more juicy, but as soon as this comes to a climax I leave this incredible place filled with so many people I’ve come to know and love, and [who have] been some of my best friends over the last 18 months.
“I’m very excited to get to the end of the story, but it will be very bittersweet because it’s the most incredible place to work.”
What reaction have you had from the public since the reveal of Joel’s dark side?
CL: “I get a lot of double takes usually in the supermarket. Because I’m a baddie, less people speak to me because they’re scared I might do something bad – obviously not; I’m an actor!
“The way it goes is there’ll be some woman looking down at some vegetables, she’ll look up, look back down, look back up, realise it’s me, her jaw will drop and then she’ll go over to her husband and tap him furiously and start whispering. And he’ll be clueless as to what she’s talking about! That’s usually the way it goes. It makes me smile!”
No one has hit you with their handbag?
CL: “I think I’ve been very fortunate. I’ve tried to be quite active on social media to create some sort of separation between me and the character, and the video of my grandma’s reaction to Joel is doing quite well; people seem to have realised I’m not Joel!”
What’s been your most challenging moment on Corrie so far?
CL: “We’ve just done the hour-long episode that was almost entirely me and Cait Fitton, who plays Lauren. I thought it was a really adventurous and brave thing to write, me and Cait both felt privileged to be handed that and trusted with it.
“From filming that, it’s the volume – some of the guys who’ve been here a long time warned me that when it’s busy, it’s busy! Don’t lock yourself away, chat to us because we know how it is.
“When you’re doing 40 pages a day then you finish and need to learn 40 pages for the next few days, it’s so relentless. To try and bring some sort of quality to that, it’s such a skill, a baptism by fire. That was the most challenging. Everyone says you’ll leave a different actor then when you started, because you can’t not learn and develop so fast from the sheer volume of work.”
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