Coronation Street’s Georgia Taylor has become known over the years for her powerhouse performances as Toyah Battersby.
And as she faces trauma in current Corrie with Toyah grieving the death of husband Imran and facing jail time for causing it, she’s also going through the mill in Classic Coronation Street.
In April 2001, Toyah was raped.
And as the horrific scenes are replayed over on ITV3, actress Georgia has left fans all with the same reaction.
Coronation Street Toyah’s rape
Part of the loud, brash Battersby family, Toyah had been seen as nothing more than a troublesome teen before her breakthrough storyline.
After being fired from the Rovers for being suspected of watering down the whiskey, Toyah had a night out to drown her sorrows.
She ended up walking down the ginnel alone in the early hours of the morning and heard someone call her name.
After a scuffle and a muffled scream, Toyah was attacked.
She was found lying in the ginnel by Jason Grimshaw, who took her home.
Who raped Toyah in Coronation Street?
Toyah couldn’t remember much, but Jason was the first suspect, followed by Rovers boss Duggie Ferguson.
Peter Barlow, who refused to give his DNA was the first person arrested on suspicion of the rape.
But Toyah’s attacker was Phil Simmonds, a man she had befriended after Duggie evicted him.
Phil was played by Jack Deam who went on to have roles in Shameless, Clocking off, Doctors, DCI Banks and Life on Mars.
Phil was really supportive after her assault, but she soon recognised his voice when he called out her name.
He grabbed her and her screams were heard by a passing Peter who saved her.
Coronation Street’s Georgia Taylor in Classic eps
As Toyah deals with the direct aftermath of her attack in Classic Corrie eps, fans are gripped.
When the soap originally aired the scenes in 2001 actress Georgia Taylor won the British Soap Award for Best Dramatic Performance.
And fans watching the episodes again now can see exactly why.
“Georgia Taylor giving us an acting masterclass,” wrote one.
Others agreed.
#classiccorrie Georgia is showing what a fantastic actress she is even as a youngster
— Mark willers (@MW_65_x) August 9, 2022
Catching up with #ClassicCorrie and toyah’s rape storyline was tough to watch and @RealGeorgiaT was absolutely incredible👏👏👏 I had goosebumps xx
— Michelle💕 26 in 4 days🥳🎉💕 (@mishybabez_) August 9, 2022
Today’s #ClassicCorrie is a difficult one to watch. Really powerful performance from @RealGeorgiaT. #Corrie
— Sophie Williams 🪩 (@sophie_writer1) August 8, 2022
Wow. @RealGeorgiaT and @vicky_entwistle in #ClassicCorrie today. Just wow. #corrie
— The Talk of the Street (@corriepodcast) August 8, 2022
Watching #classiccorrie today and it was the rape episode with Toyah. Always remember this was a bit groundbreaking at the time and so well acted by @RealGeorgiaT @vicky_entwistle. @CoroStreetBlog
— GillianS (@GillianSkerritt) August 8, 2022
Toyah in 2022
Things haven’t got much easier for Toyah almost 20 years later.
She has just lost her husband, and is the one responsible for killing him. She insists she did not set out to murder Imran, nor was she suicidal, but she was driving the car when it crashed and she did deliberately crash it.
Her old flame Spider has turned up in town and is dragging her into all sorts of trouble.
Toyah is keen to get involved in her old activist lifestyle, but is Spider really all that he seems?
It’s clear Spider is hiding a huge secret, but will Toyah end up getting hurt?
Or worse – in even more trouble?
Read more: Complete Coronation Street cast list 2022 – meet them all here!
Coronation Street usually airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV.
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