AFTER eight years of playing one of Coronation Street’s most notorious villains, Christopher Harper has
confirmed that he is officially leaving the iconic ITV soap.
The actor, who brought the dark character Nathan Curtis to life, revealed that he is “definitely not
coming back” to Weatherfield.
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Nathan first appeared on Coronation Street in 2016 and quickly established himself as a major antagonist.
The character was introduced as the ex-boyfriend of Shona Ramsey, before becoming involved with young Bethany.
He plied the teen with booze and drugs before abusing her in harrowing, award-winning scenes in 2017.
She tried to escape after being raped by Nathan and his gang, at which point he attempted to sell her into sex work abro
The storyline culminated in Nathan’s arrest and imprisonment after Bethany bravely exposed his crimes.
But he made a reappearance in Weatherfield recently as he became involved in the investigation surrounding Lauren Bolton’s disappearance.
In order to get him away from her daughter once and for all, Sarah Platt planted evidence in Nathan’s van to suggest that he had murdered or kidnapped Lauren.
She was caught in the act by new police officer Kit who warned her off, but ended up arresting Nathan anyways on suspicion of breaching his sexual harm prevention order after searching his van and finding some concerning USB sticks.
Now Christopher Harper has made it clear that Nathan’s storyline has come to an end for the last time – as there is no way someone as evil as him will get a redemption arc.
In a candid interview with Digital Spy, Christopher said: “Coronation Street is not a place for the journey of a paedophile to recover and become loved.
Coronation Street character abruptly leaves Weatherfield in tear-jerking final scenes as star quits soap after 13 years
“That’s not a thing you should be doing on a soap. And so, I was absolutely adamant that if Nathan ever came back, then he mustn’t be forgiven. But I did also know that it was about time he would be coming out [of prison], so I did wonder.
“I’m definitely not going back, but never say never, I suppose! I genuinely do not want him to have a forgiveness arc.
“So, I don’t know why he’d keep coming back to Weatherfield.
“It’s Bethany’s journey, not his. It’s got to be about Bethany’s life, and I think he’s done his time.”
Corrie’s most famous villains
- Richard Hillman (Brian Capron) – arguably the most famous villain in soap history. The character has multiple killings to his name. Richard left his former business partner Duggie Ferguson (John Bowe) to die before he murdered his ex-wife Patricia (Annabelle Apsion) who threatened to expose his dodgy dealings. He attempted to kill his mother-in-law Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls) by setting her house on fire. He later killed her co-worker Maxine Peacock (Tracy Shaw) after she caught him in the act of attempting to strike Emily Bishop (Eileen Derbyshire) with a crowbar. Eventually he confessed his crimes to Gail (Helen Worth) before driving the Platt family into the canal. They all survived, but Richard drowned.
- Mad Maya (Sasha Behar) – She may not have the most kills to her name, but no true Corrie fan will be able to forget ‘Mad Maya’s’ stint. Maya Sharma first started out as an innocent lawyer. However her true nature was revealed when she kidnapped Tyronne’s () dog and threatened to kill Dev Alahan () unless he proposed. Things soon turn nasty when Sunita () received the news that she has a brain tumour. The pair rekindle their romance and they end up getting married. However, Maya ruined their big day by reporting Sunita to the police for bigamy. Not done there, she plans to kill them both as she sets fire to all of Dev’s shop empire and trapping them both upstairs after she set fire to the corner shop with the gas and stove on. When they are miraculously rescued, she attempts to run them over.
- Pat Pheelan (Connor McIntyre) – Pat was introduced as an acquaintance of Owen Armstrong (Ian Puleston-Davies), before embarking on a revenge plot. He creates a fraudulent property scheme which caused the death of Michael Rodwell (Les Dennis). He kidnapped Andy Carver (Oliver Farnworth) and Vinny Ashford (Ian Kelsey). This was before he framed his arch-nemesis Anna Windass for GBH after he pushed Seb Franklin (Harry Visinoni) off a ladder. He then murdered both Any as well as Luke Britton (Dean Fagan). He eventually met a gruesome end when he held most of the residents of the street hostage in the Bistro. He was stabbed by Anna Windass after he shot Michelle (Kym Marsh).
- Geoff Metcalfe (Ian Bartholomew) – Geoff started off as the innocent father to Tim Metcalfe (Joe Duttine) and he was a local Weatherfield celebrity owing to his radio show and his ‘The Great Magnifico’ magic act. He later embarked on a romantic relationship and married with Yasmeen (Shelley King). However, he had a nasty streak as he controlled her in every way. He made sure she was reliant on him for everything including financially, he constantly bullied and belittled her, locked her in the magician’s box despite the fact she was claustrophobic, and he even forced her to eat her own pet chicken. Later she snapped and stabbed him in the neck. This was before she was arrested for attempted murder. However, his nearest and dearest soon discovered his true nature and they turned against him. He tried to sabotage the trial by threatening his ex-wife, but she stood up to him in an epic court showdown. After Yasmeen was released, Geoff died shortly after when he set fire to their home and fell off the roof.
- Kirsty Soames (Natalie Gumede) – Kirsty was first seen on Corrie on a night out when Tommy Duckworth (Chris Fountain) paid her to flirt with Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall). Later she makes her interest very clear and they end up together. After she gets sacked from her job as a policewoman, Tyrone gets her a job at Underworld factory as a packer. She is utterly horrified and she lashed out at Tyrone with a ladle. Kirsty apologised and Tyrone pretended to all his friends the injuries were accidental. However, this pattern continued. Over several incidents she forced him up against a door, smashed household plates and pictures, bruised him after beating him with a vacuum cleaner, throws a candlestick at his head and she locks him inside the house. However, one time she tried to hit him but she lost her balance and fell down the stairs. She lies to the police and tells them that it was Tyrone who was beating her. Tyrone was put in prison after he broke bail conditions when he went on the run with his daughter. During the period of the trial, she struggles to look after baby Ruby. She throws a cup at Julie (Katy Cavanagh) before exposing her own behaviour by slapping her. Kirst then stormed into the courtroom and confessed that she was the monster, not Tyrone.
