Departing Coronation Street star Beth Nixon has already mapped out a potential return for her villainous character Megan Walsh, suggesting a prison reunion with fan favourite Lou Michaelis (Farrell Hegarty).
Megan faces justice after grooming trial
Viewers saw Megan finally face justice last week when she was found guilty of grooming Will Driscoll (Lucas Hodgson-Wale) after a week-long trial. When Megan was first introduced as Will's athletics coach, she was held in high esteem by his family. On seeing how desperate Will was to continue training with her after they moved to Weatherfield from Hull, Eva Price (Catherine Tyldesley) and Maggie Driscoll (Pauline McLynn) decided to pay Megan extra to travel to them.
Eventually, Megan moved to the cobbles full-time, and even got a job at Will's school, where she began dating colleague Daniel Osbourne (Rob Mallard). However, all of this was just a smoke screen for what was really going on. In reality, Megan had been grooming Will, and he believed that they were in a relationship. On his 16th birthday, they slept together, and continued to secretly meet up over the following months.
It wasn't until Sam Blakeman (Jude Riordan) worked out what was going on and told Eva that Megan's crime was finally uncovered. However, it took even longer to get Will to admit what had happened to him. A conversation with Tim Metcalfe (Joe Duttine) put things into perspective, and he ended up reporting Megan to the police.
Actress pitches prison reunion with Lou Michaelis
Now, Megan is set to spend time behind bars, but actress Beth has suggested a way that could keep Megan on screen and see her share scenes with another character – Lou Michaelis (Farrell Hegarty). Lou was a fan favourite during her brief time on the cobbles before being sent to prison herself. She has since appeared on screen from behind bars during Debbie Webster's (Sue Devaney) stint inside.
'I'd love Megan to bump into Lou Michaelis. Farrell is a really good friend, so I'd love to do some prison scenes with her. That would be fabulous,' Beth told Digital Spy. 'I think Lou would definitely put Megan in her place for sure!'
Beth clearly enjoyed her time on the cobbles, and admitted that she'd 'love any opportunity to come back'. 'I loved it so much and I cried so much on my last day. It's just such a fab place to work and I felt so blessed to have been given the storyline.'
Importance of showing justice for abuse victims
She also explained that she knew the outcome of the storyline well in advance, and shared how important it was for Megan to face justice. 'We always knew that she was going to serve her time. It shows the whole process of it. It's quite nice, because it's showing what all the family are going through – how they're supporting Will and how it's affecting them.'
'It's definitely important to show that, if you are being abused, then you can get justice. It's really hard because it doesn't always happen that way. But when Kate Brooks and the storyliners were making the story, there's been a few cases recently where it's happened and the victims have got justice.'
'The female abusers have gone to trial and been sent down for about five or six years, which is about what Megan gets. So it's important and it's also mirroring real life in a positive way. Even though it's obviously such a dark storyline, it's just showing that it can happen.'
