Coronation Street's Nick Tilsley faces every father's nightmare as he finally discovers the terrifying truth about his son Sam Blakeman's struggle with psychosis. Actor Ben Price reveals the chilling moment Nick realises how bad things have become.
Nick's journey as a father
Nick was thrown into fatherhood unexpectedly. He didn't even know about Sam's existence until 2020, when his former partner Natasha Blakeman reached out. After she was murdered by drug lord Harvey Gaskell, Nick became Sam's main guardian, alongside his partner Toyah Battersby and his ex Leanne Battersby. Intelligent, polite and a keen chess player, Sam's unique personality proved a bonding challenge for Nick, although the two have grown very close over the years.
However, Sam has become a different person thanks to his predatory teacher Megan Walsh, who groomed fellow student Will Driscoll into an illicit sexual relationship. Sam was the one who exposed the grooming, at great personal cost. Megan's campaign of intimidation and manipulation to force him into silence left the poor lad a nervous wreck, relying on unprescribed Ritalin just to get through the school day.
It didn't get any easier after Megan was exposed. Sam began to suffer psychosis, experiencing terrifying hallucinations of Will attacking and taunting him. He has kept this from his parents. While Nick isn't completely in the dark about Sam's declining mental health, he puts it down to exam stresses and the Megan ordeal.
Missing the signs
Actor Ben Price explains his character's approach to parenting and how he missed the troubling signs of his son's psychosis. 'It's been a tricky balance for Nick, and for Sam, but I think Nick is aware that he wants Sam to be a young man and get out there. At times, Sam has been quite insular, and what has worried Nick more is when Sam goes into his shell. Through quite a bit of this, Nick wasn't really aware of what was happening; it was very personal to Sam, almost. He's in his own world.'
Ben also shared insights on the challenges posed by Nick and Toyah's co-parenting agreement with Leanne, and how going between two households might have caused some details to slip through the cracks. 'Because he is splitting their time between two houses, they might be picking up on different things. When Leanne and I were together, for instance, we were both seeing the same things. Now, Nick isn't seeing the whole picture. I think it's also important to distinguish that while Leanne and Toyah are sisters, Nick's relationship is different with Toyah than it is with Leanne.'
'Nick and Leanne have a long history, especially around the children—Oliver, Simon, and now Sam. With Toyah, although she's absolutely brilliant and she's a counsellor and can see those things, Nick feels more hesitant about talking about it so much. He's aware he's essentially the only parent now, really.'
The breaking point
Sam's psychosis is about to become impossible to hide. Recently, the troubled teen has been experiencing hallucinations of Roy Cropper, which are a million miles away from the kind cafe owner we know and love. This Roy has been advising Sam to be suspicious and paranoid, feeding into his insecurities. As Roy has experience of being different like Sam does, Nick thought it would be a good idea for the two to talk.
Ben reveals how his character sees Sam's relationship with Nick, and why he doesn't suspect the chilling truth. 'What Roy and Sam have is very particular to them, and what Roy and Nick have is very different. Roy is never going to meet Nick in the same way as he meets Sam. And Nick realises that Sam needs something from Roy, but he's completely unaware of how Sam's seen that relationship with the imaginary Roy. Roy also wouldn't necessarily venture so effusively that things are going wrong. He might say, "I'm not sure he's quite right, Nick." But someone like Leanne would definitely just turn around and say, "He's not right. We need to sort this out." She's much more plain-speaking.'
In upcoming scenes, Sam's psychosis reaches breaking point as he locks himself in the cafe and sees not one Roy but two. Ben describes the moment Nick is forced to confront what is wrong with his son. 'It's basically when Sam locks himself in the café. Sam finally sees two Roys, and he kind of locks himself in the cafe. I think what happens for Nick is that the situation suddenly bridges the gap into becoming a bit dangerous. Sam has never been dangerous before. Nick sees a part in Sam that he's never seen before. He's not letting Nick in, and then he locks himself up and gets aggressive to Roy. Those moments, when Sam is showing something so different from how he has been, is the bit when Nick thinks, "Oh, he's in real trouble."'
An unexpected ally
Fortunately, there's someone all too real who is going to come to Sam's aid, someone who knows what it's like to struggle with mental health – Carla Connor-Swain. The Queen of Underworld has blamed herself for the collapse of her Underworld factory roof, which tragically killed Rana Habeeb. This sent her into a spiral of delusions, where she believed deceased friends and family members like Hayley Cropper, Aidan Connor, and Rana.
So when she spots Sam in the precinct in the aftermath, Carla's the ideal person to talk to – well, maybe not for Nick. The two Weatherfield legends have history, including a turbulent relationship and a disastrous marriage that was annulled on the wedding day. Ben sheds some light on how Nick feels about Carla being the one to get through to his son. 'It's interesting. Carla and Nick have a history, but with Carla, it's a moment of currency for Nick. Carla isn't usually like that; she's very full of brusqueness. If Carla is saying it, and Carla has seen it and gone through it, there's a moment where I think Nick knows Carla enough to go, "She's seen something properly." What's so good about a character like Carla is that, because of what she's been through, she's very black and white. Everyone wants that so then when she does break that hard shell it makes you sit up and take notice. That is what happens to Nick.'
Ben went on to explain how Carla's talk with Sam helps Nick to accept his son's diagnosis. 'He's gone from, "Oh, I just think it's teenage angst" to, "He's got psychosis. He's really not well. He's got to go to a hospital. He needs professional treatment." That's a big leap. Nick slightly rejects a lot from people. I think he feels slightly, either, is it his fault? Or is he on his own? He feels a bit unsure of himself and who's around him.'
Looking to the future
What about the future? Will Nick pull together with Leanne and Toyah to help Sam heal? Ben thinks so. 'Yes, I do. However, I think, further on, and I don't know this, but I think there will always be the push and pull between Nick and Leanne with Sam. I have loved that they've kept Leanne in the loop. I think that is very good because it feels real and very true to the stories before, as she stayed strong with Simon. It makes complete sense that she would do that, especially having lost her own child, with Sam who she's known since he was a small child.'
Ben went on to praise fan favourite Jude Riordan, who has done a stellar job of portraying Sam's mental health journey. 'Selfishly, I want him to be brilliant, and he is brilliant. When you're with someone who's discovering that power as an actor, in an adult story, it's really amazing to watch. He is really, really good and such a nice young lad as well. Super level, super diligent, but also, he's got a bit of a Platt about him. It's been really lovely for me. I get to work with a really good actor, and it makes me better.'
