Vile villain Theo Silverton’s (James Cartwright) days on Coronation Street may be numbered, but he’s got one more nasty surprise in store for fiancé Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) –

a wedding. Not since the days of Geoff Metcalfe (Ian Bartholomew) and Kirsty Soames (Natalie Gumede) has Corrie seen an abuser as coercive or as chilling as Theo.

He has made his long-suffering partner Todd’s life a living hell, subjecting him to physical, emotional, sexual and financial abuse. At long last, Theo’s reign of terror is coming

to an end as Corrie bosses announced the villain’s exit last week.

A Coronation Street spokesperson told : ‘James joined Coronation Street on a finite contract and was fully aware of his character’s story arc and how long he would be in the show. He still has scenes to film in the Todd/Theo storyline and will be on screen until later this year.’

With Theo set for departure, you don’t have to be DS Lisa Swain to figure out that any attempt to get Todd down the aisle isn’t going to end with a happy ever after. But the sinister scaffolder isn’t the kind of man who takes no for an answer…

Like all bullies, Theo’s need to control and belittle his victim stems up from his own insecurities. Specifically, his past inability to accept his sexuality which led him to conversion therapy and a deeply unhappy relationship with his ex-wife Danielle (Natalie Anderson). These past experiences left Theo a raging ball of anger who makes all his issues Todd’s problem.

Theo’s toxic behaviour took a turn for the worse after the tragic death of Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank), Todd’s ex-boyfriend and sole confidante. In a jealous fury, Theo left him to die in the Corriedale crash. Since then, the narcissist’s compulsive need to keep Todd under his thumb has intensified.  Everything Theo does is a calculated move to remove Todd’s agency and dictate where he goes, who his friends are and even how much money he spends.

Now Theo’s coercive control is set to sink to a new low in upcoming scenes of Coronation Street, where the villain actually tries to force Todd into a wedding.

Corrie viewers dared to hope there was light at the end of the tunnel for Todd recently, after a blazing row over Theo’s birthday turned nasty when Theo pulled a knife on his partner. Instead of backing down, Todd defiantly begged to be ‘put out of his misery’. With his toxic hold over Todd seemingly broken, Theo ended their relationship to save face. The nightmare was seemingly over…

However, Theo’s attempts to make his ex-jealous by moving on backfired spectacularly when Glenda Shuttleworth(Jodie Prenger) set Todd up on a date.

In upcoming episodes, Theo moves closer than ever to luring Todd back into his clutches, but not if George Shuttleworth (Tony Maudsley) and Christina Boyd (Amy Robbins) have anything to say about it.

As the closest thing on the street Todd has to a mum and dad, George and Christina care a great deal for him and are worried about his relationship with Theo. So when they realise Todd is gravitating back towards Theo, they struggle to hide their concern. Todd takes offence and confides in Theo that George doesn’t approve of their relationship. What will Theo do?

Over lunch, Theo lays the charm on thick to convince George and Christina that he’s a changed man with Todd’s happiness as his priority. George smiles but when Theo heads out, he drops the façade and explains to Christina they need to keep him on side. What’s George’s plan?

We soon find out when Theo reveals to Gary Windass that even though he broke up with Todd, he never cancelled their wedding – they still have the booking. Uh-oh…

Cue Theo leading an unsuspecting, blindfolded Todd to the registry office, where Gary and Maria wait.  Producing two wedding rings, Theo beams that their big day can still go ahead.

Theo’s given Todd a shotgun wedding. Will Todd dare to say ‘I don’t?’