Coronation Street's Eva Price (Catherine Tyldesley) has come face to face with the person who pushed her down the stairs – teenager Sam Blakeman (Jude Riordan).
Last week, Sam snuck into the Rovers Return pub to retrieve his phone. He was caught by Eva, who was making her way up the stairs of the cellar. In a panic, Sam shoved Eva, who tumbled down to the floor and smacked her head.
Debbie's fears and Sam's guilt
Earlier this week, Debbie Webster (Sue Devaney) began to fear that her son Carl Webster (Jonathan Howard) was responsible for putting Eva in hospital. She had found a wad of cash in Carl's wallet, and suspected that he tried to rob the pub and pushed Eva when he was caught.
The constant chat about Eva's fall has left Sam consumed with guilt. In today's episode, pal Hope Stape (Isabella Flanagan) attempted to talk to Sam, but he was withdrawn and ignored her.
Hope shared her concern with Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor) and Nick Tilsley (Ben Price), who quickly asked Sam what was wrong. The youngster refused to open up. He left the Bistro and later, we saw him at the hospital.
Eva's reaction
Sam entered Eva's hospital room, and it didn't take her very long at all to work out that Sam looked so distressed because he was the person who pushed her. Eva wanted to talk, but Sam ran out of the hospital.
Sharing her reaction to learning about Sam pushing Eva, star Catherine Tyldesley said: 'I was really surprised initially, but because of where Sam is at and because of his storyline, once I'd read the script, I was like, “Ah, okay, this makes a lot more sense.” Eva takes mental health very seriously, after what happened with Aidan, and that that was the first time she'd come across a situation like that, and the first time that suicide had affected her. And since then, I think it's really opened her eyes up to how important mental health is.
'It's a difficult juggle for her because she's got a family to protect. She doesn't want to feel scared, but at the same time she feels deeply sorry for Sam, and she just wants him to get better. So it's finding that balance that trust again, I suppose.'
