Coronation Street’s DS Swain is back on the cobbles which means someone’s in trouble! And this time, much to everyone in Weatherfield’s surprise, it’s Roy Cropper who’s in the firing line!
What?! Surely there’s been some mistake?
Roy has the finger pointed at him as DS Swain and her trusty sidekick PC Craig Tinker investigate Lauren Bolton‘s mysterious disappearance.
Lauren’s vanished
Viewers of Coronation Street know that Lauren has vanished, seemingly into thin air. But though her friends Max and Bobby are convinced something bad has happened, Roy is positive though, that Lauren has simply left Weatherfield to start again elsewhere – after all, that’s what she herself told him she was going to do.
He lands himself right in it – accidentally – when he discovers Evelyn’s going to be charged for the mess Lauren has left in the flat.
So Roy, bless him, takes it upon himself to clean up, but when Bobby finds him there, going through Lauren’s belongings, he’s suspicious.
Later, Sean decides to rent the flat, but spots what looks like blood on the curtains – and when Bobby hears about that, he tells DS Swain.
Swain’s on the case!
We had a chat with Vicky Myers, who plays DS Lisa Swain, to find out who she thinks is behind Lauren’s disappearance – and what it was like arresting one of Corrie’s most iconic characters.
“Roy ends up in the frame because Swain interviews Bobby and there are certain elements of that conversation that raise suspicion,” Vicky tells us.
“His honesty, slight vulnerability, she sees that and it’s almost too good to be true. So she picks that apart and it continues from there. And there is evidence, once Swain and Tinker go to Lauren’s flat – there is blood on the curtains, it’s confirmed, and also human tissue, so it escalates.”
Coronation Street’s DS Swain makes an arrest!
But come on! This is Roy! Lovely Roy. Surely DS Swain can’t honestly think he’s done it?!
Vicky, though, says she does!
“Swain doesn’t know Roy,” she says. “She doesn’t care about Roy. She deals with facts. She’s very much representing the victim’s voice and she is working this case from Lauren’s perspective.”
She continues: “I think really the evidence is there to suggest Roy’s responsible. But for Swain, she’s never met anyone like Roy before and it makes her quite uncomfortable. The scenes are so interesting. But for her, whether he’s guilty or not isn’t really for her to decide. Her job is to collect the evidence and pass it on.”
Handcuffed!
As the case progresses, it does become a murder enquiry and poor Roy is arrested. So what was it like slapping such a Corrie fave in handcuffs?
“It was terrible,” Vicky confesses. “Awful! I think there might be a fair bit of backlash.”
But despite worrying about what people might think of her alter ego, Vicky’s enjoying being part of the storyline.
“Working with David (Neilson, who pays Roy) is wow!” she gushes. “What a human being. He is so generous and warm. His talent is beyond. It’s been a joy. I’ve got so much respect for the man. He’s an icon!”
We have to agree with that.
Daniel in the frame?
But as it turns out, Roy’s not the only one in the frame. DS Swain has also got suspicions about another Weatherfield resident – Daniel Osbourne.
Daniel’s past ‘disagreements’ with Max come up, his history with sex worker Nicky Wheatley, and even the crush Summer had on him. “There is a line of enquiry with whether Daniel has been tutoring Lauren for sexual favours,” Vicky reveals. “Perhaps that’s what been going on?”
Sounds juicy!
But it also sounds like DS Swain won’t be making many friends in Weatherfield.
“I think after this maybe she won’t!” Vicky admits. “She’s no nonsense, she’s straight-talking, she doesn’t really care about the characters in the Street. Her family aren’t involved, she doesn’t live there. She’s under a lot of pressure to get to the truth.”
What do we know about DS Swain?
The good news – for viewers, if not for the criminally minded residents of Coronation Street – is that DS Swain is now a regular character on the show.
“It’s progressed in such a wonderful way,” says Vicky.
So who is she when she’s not catching baddies?
“Relationship wise we know she has a teenage daughter and I’m not entirely sure everybody knows this but she’s gay,” reveals Vicky.
“Perhaps she’s seen somebody that’s caught her eye. But at the moment she’s far too busy, juggling her home life and her teenage daughter!”
So there’s more to come?
“We’re only just scratching the surface with Swain. I want to know more about her! I can’t see her going into the Rovers. But who knows, anything can happen and that’s the beauty of this place.”
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Coronation Street usually airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV.
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