Alarm bells start to ring for Tim Metcalfe (Joe Duttine) in Coronation Street soon as he realises, to his horror, that Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) might be about to replace him as best friend.

Tim and Steve have been BFFs for years. While they’ve faced challenges that have tested their friendship, nothing has ever been enough for distance to form between the two of them.

That could all change soon, as new resident Ben Driscoll (Aaron McCusker) continues to get to know Steve. In future episodes, Tim pops by the Rovers and isn’t too impressed

to see Steve enjoying some banter with Ben. When Steve nips to the loo, Tim pulls Ben aside and quietly points out that he’s Steve’s best friend, no one else.

A firm warning from Tim! Will he come to accept Steve can have more than one best mate?

Tim Metcalfe gets jealous

Or will his jealousy over Ben start to impact his own friendship with Steve as well?

Last year, Tim was surprised by the arrival of Trisha, a woman from his past. Tim revealed to Steve, Brian Packham (Peter Gunn) and Sally Metcalfe (Sally Dynevor) that Trisha is an ex-girlfriend. Things got quite concerning though when Tim explained that when they were together, he was 14, and Trisha was 20.

Brian and Sally both told Tim that Trisha had groomed him, but the character has struggled to accept it, adamant that he simply had a relationship with an older woman.

This story will continue as 2026 gets underway, and producer of the show Kate Brooks has revealed there will come a time where Tim realises what happened to him was wrong.

‘Up until this point we’ve seen Tim being quite dismissive about what happened in the past and not fully realising the extent of what happened. He didn’t feel tarnished by it, he was young, he felt it was great, it was every young lad’s dream.

‘We kind of wanted to take Tim and the audience on a similar journey at the same time, so he will become involved in the Will and Megan storyline, and be quite an instrumental part of that story as well. Through the course of that story and seeing Will and how young and vulnerable he actually is and how wrong the situation is, he will start to realise that what happened to him wasn’t right and wasn’t acceptable.’

She added: ‘We’ve got quite a way to go with it but it’s going to be an interesting journey to take Tim on because he’s come from a completely separate place to Sally and Steve who all recognised early doors that what had happened to Tim was wrong. We use both stories to make sure that Tim knows that what happened in his past was not acceptable.

‘Through the course of that story what we will also establish and delve into is the friendship between Ben, Steve and Tim. These three fellas propping up the bar talking absolute nonsense.

‘Tim feeling quite aggrieved that he’s something of a third wheel in this friendship group because Ben’s all shiny and new and Tim’s feeling a bit old and rusty so he’s trying to keep one step ahead and make sure Steve’s his best mate and not Ben’s. Obviously the subject matter is incredibly serious but there’s lightness to be had with that group dynamic.

‘Female friendships are so important for our show, strong women are so important, but fellas being quite daft and talking nonsense around a dartboard is equally important, so there’s lots more of that to come.’