James Cartwright, who plays the villainous Theo Silverton on Coronation Street, has left fans stunned after they discovered his earlier role as Nathan on the beloved CBBC series The Story of Tracy Beaker. The 41-year-old actor appeared on the children's show from 2003 to 2004, playing a care worker at the Dumping Ground.
Cartwright's current character, Theo, has been at the centre of a dark storyline involving coercive control and physical abuse towards Todd Grimshaw. In Monday's special Corriedale crossover episode, Theo trapped vicar Billy Mayhew in a minibus that subsequently exploded, killing Billy. The episode also featured a horrific car pile-up involving characters from both Coronation Street and Emmerdale, resulting in two deaths.
Fans took to social media to express their shock at the actor's past role. One wrote: 'i still refuse to believe nathan from tracy beaker would be so evil.' Another said: 'WAIT THIS HORRIBLE ABUSING MAN IS NATHAN FROM TRACY BEAKER?' A third added: 'Billy got killed by Nathan from Tracy Beaker? I didn't know he was on the show.'
Cartwright has also appeared in Sister Boniface Mysteries, Dalgleish, Downton Abbey and Doctors. The Corriedale crossover marks the beginning of ITV's new 'soap power hour', with both Coronation Street and Emmerdale airing for 30 minutes each weeknight.
Coronation Street continues tonight at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
