Coronation Street star Harriet Bibby, who portrays Summer Spellman on the iconic ITV soap, has sparked speculation that her character might be responsible for the death of Theo Silverton. The 29-year-old actress, who has been part of the show since 2021, has seen her alter ego become a prime suspect in the programme's latest whodunnit following the demise of the villainous scaffolder.
Summer's Motive for Murder
Theo, played by former Tracy Beaker star James Cartwright, was killed off during the soap's highly anticipated Murder Week after nearly a year of abusing Summer's adoptive father, Todd Grimshaw. In the weeks leading up to his death, Summer discovered that Theo was also responsible for the death of her other adoptive dad, Billy Mayhew, by leaving him to die in a minibus explosion during a crossover with Emmerdale.
Now, Summer is one of several official suspects, alongside Todd, his friend George Shuttleworth, George's partner Christina Boyd, Theo's ex-wife Danielle Silverton, and Theo's former colleague Mikey North. Each has a motive, as they were incensed by Theo's abusive behaviour.
Harriet's Hints
When asked about being a suspect, Harriet made a telling comment that suggested Summer has every reason to be on the list. Speaking about filming police station scenes, she said: "Yeah, it's quite different. Being interviewed by the police, in that police cell environment, it's a very different sort of scene."
She added: "When we went into the police questioning rooms, I said I've never been in here, and everyone was like, what? But Summer's such a good character, she's not really mischievous, she's not evil, we've not seen her seek revenge before."
The actress then insisted that her alter ego deserves to be a suspect, which could be a major clue. She said: "So this is such a flip on its head. She's such an unexpected suspect in this, but it's also completely understandable why she's a suspect, and so she should be."
Survival Instincts
Harriet even suggested that Summer might have felt she had no choice but to kill Theo to protect herself. She explained: "I think there's a scenario where she might have felt like it was either her that was going to be hurt, or maybe even killed, or it was him. I think when people are pushed to that point, it's interesting to see what they will do to survive. It's no secret that Theo was very threatening, he even said that he was going to bury Summer if she got in his way, so there could have been a moment where she felt like it was either her or him."
Coronation Street airs Monday to Friday at 8:30pm on ITV1 and is available to stream from 7am on ITVX.
