Coronation Street viewers have expressed outrage after a controversial bedroom scene aired, featuring Megan Walsh taking teenager Will Driscoll to bed on his sixteenth birthday. The storyline, which has been running for several weeks, sees Megan, played by Beth Nixon, grooming the young athlete while maintaining a cover relationship with Daniel Osbourne.
In the latest episode, Will met Megan in the café and declared he was 'finally legal now' before handing her a hotel key card. Once in the room, Megan said: 'Let's go to bed, I love it when we're alone. No-one will ever love you as much as I do.' The scene prompted a strong reaction from fans, with many taking to social media to condemn the character and predict her departure from the soap.
One viewer wrote: 'Oh God that evil teacher Megan is going to take Will to bed [sick emoji],' while another said: 'I seriously hate Megan she can f*** right off to prison.' A third added: 'Megan is now officially a sex offender. I guess they are not intending to keep her long term as I can't see how she can stay now?'
The drama continued when Will's father Ben and brother Ollie, alerted by Ronnie Bailey, tracked them down to the hotel and banged on the door. Megan hid in the bathroom, and Ben eventually left after assuming Will was with an old girlfriend from Hull. Later, Megan joined the family for drinks at the pub, having also secured an invitation to Christmas dinner.
Actress Beth Nixon, 25, who joined the cast in November, described her character as 'the devil in disguise' and warned that viewers will see just how evil she can be. She said: 'She will stop at nothing and she will do anything she wants to stay on top. Everything she does is for a reason and it's to serve herself and nobody else.'
The soap has worked with Barnardo's on the grooming storyline, and Nixon hopes it will help viewers in similar situations realise they are not alone. 'I have done research on female paedophiles and it's shocked me how prevalent grooming is,' she said. 'Even if it is just one person that maybe realises they are in a similar situation, we've done our job.'
