Bethany Platt is getting deeper and deeper in danger, as her boyfriend Nathan Curtis steps up his sick plan.
The much older man has been grooming the 16-year-old for months, ever since finding her collapsed in the street at Christmas and realising how vulnerable she was.
The storyline – portrayed brilliantly by Lucy Fallon and Chris Harper – is one of Coronation Street’s most controversial in years.
And it’s definitely got viewers talking, while the actors involved have spoken out about what an uncomfortable but important an issue it is to portray.
Nathan has already persuaded the schoolgirl to sleep with him and also gets her to give the police a false alibi, as they question him over an assault.
And he’s even bold enough to go and meet her mum Sarah, after the concerned barmaid invites him round for tea in an attempt to get to know him.
When he arrives, Sarah (played by Tina O’Brien) is shocked to realise her daughter’s new boyfriend is even older than she is.
While Nathan reassures Sarah that he only has Bethany’s best interests at heart, Sarah and her boyfriend Gary (Mikey North) are left with the feeling that something is definitely not right.
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But although alarm bells are ringing for them both, Sarah decides she’ll keep quiet for now, to stay on good terms with her daughter and not push Bethany closer to him.
“Her initial thought is, ‘Gosh, he is so much older than Bethany’ but Sarah tries to bluff her way through it as she feels the second she starts to question Nathan in front of Bethany it is going to make Bethany lose it, want to leave and want to be with Nathan,” Tina explained to The Sun Online.
“Sarah feels that if she can let Bethany think that everything is alright then maybe Bethany will see for herself that this relationship is not a good thing.”
Keen to make sure Bethany doesn’t repeat her mistakes by getting pregnant whilst still at school, Sarah even takes Bethany along to the medical centre to find out about contraception – not realising the teen has already had a contraceptive implant fitted, after being talked into it by Nathan’s accomplice Mel.
Unfortunately, Sarah’s apparent acceptance and support for their relationship could actually be making things easier for Nathan.
When her mum agrees to let her spend the evening at her boyfriend’s flat, Bethany goes along all dressed up and excited, only to discover he has arranged a party.
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What’s creepy is that she is the only girl there, apart from Mel.
Nathan proudly introduces a glamorous-looking Bethany to all his friends.
And while viewers might know what evil scheme the predator is planning, the naïve schoolgirl has no idea that he intends to pimp her out to the men.
Will Sarah realise exactly what’s going on and step in before it’s too late?