Soap fans are a passionate bunch...
Coronation Street star Joe Duttine, who plays Tim Metcalfe, has revealed that fans shout at him in the street because of his character’s inability to see dad Geoff for the twisted bully he is.
Hospital radio DJ / magician Geoff (Ian Bartholomew) coercively controlled wife Yasmeen (Shelley King) for months, who went on to attack him in self-defence when she feared he was going to kill her.
Yasmeen is currently on remand in prison, having been charged with attempted murder, and Geoff is peddling a lie that his partner is an aggressive and unpredictable alcoholic who lashed out in anger when she discovered he had been seeing escort girls.
Tim’s wife Sally is starting to suspect that her father-in-law may not be the innocent victim he claims to be, but Tim is convinced that it’s Yasmeen who is in the wrong, and actor Duttine says this is riling viewers.
He tells us: “Whenever I go somewhere, people are like ‘What are you doing, you bloody idiot? Your dad’s a nightmare! You should do this, do that.’
“They say to me, ‘Don’t be so dumb, don’t be so gullible, we can all see it!’ But what they have to remember is Tim doesn’t see all those things that the viewers see.”
Coronation Street producer Iain MacLeod has previously revealed that Tim and Sally’s differing opinions about what happened behind the closed door of number six will lead to tensions in the Metcalfe marriage.
But Duttine - who in real life is engaged to co-star Sally Carman (Abi Franklin) - says that his alter-ego is unlikely to keep supporting Geoff forever, especially when faced with evidence of his father’s guilt.
Asked what it will take for Tim to see the light, he adds: “I think it would probably come from some meaty evidence, and perhaps meeting people that Geoff has had dealings with in the past.
“The more evidence that is stacked against Geoff from people that Tim trusts, the more Tim might start to turn. He can’t believe him forever, because he’s not stupid.
“He might be gullible, but he’s not thick.”
