Coro’s child star now a brutal bully

Simon Barlow was once a cute boy who charmed his way into the hearts of Coronation Street residents and fans. But now he has turned into a belligerent youth who is intent on tormenting his besieged stepmum Leanne.

The volatile relationship between Leanne and her stepson Simon Barlow looks set to take a darker turn on Coronation Street as Simon steps up his physical and emotional abuse.

It is a far cry from their earlier days when Simon doted on Leanne and her then partner Peter Barlow (Simon’s dad).

Jane Danson, who plays Leanne, admits these are tough times for her character.

“She (Leanne) is really struggling,” says Jane. “She’s reached a really low point.

“I would like to see her have some happiness but I think I have to accept that she’s just not one of those characters. At the heart of it though she’s still a Battersby and she’s tough. But she is suffering, especially without Kal for support.”

Leanne’s world began to seriously fall apart when her partner Kal Nazir was killed while rescuing Amy Barlow from the fire in Carla Connor’s apartment. Since then Simon’s behaviour has deteriorated and he has become verbally and physically abusive towards Leanne. “Leanne is living a bit of a nightmare at the minute and she doesn’t know what to do,” says Jane. “Every time Simon is nasty or abusive he’s then nice again a bit later and she thinks they can sort it out... Leanne is worried that other people won’t understand Simon’s behaviour and that they’ll think badly of him and, quite possibly, badly of her too. He’s had a really rocky upbringing and recently it’s been one thing after another with the deaths of

“I think it’s normal for every parent to blame themselves when something goes wrong ...” – Jane Danson

Kal and Deirdre, and Peter coming back briefly and then leaving again.

“I think it’s normal for every parent to blame themselves when something goes wrong and Leanne definitely questions whether she’s done what she can for Simon and if she could have done more for him.”

The situation is not helped either when Simon discovers that Leanne used to be a prostitute.

“Leanne feels absolutely terrible and mortified that Simon knows about her old work,” says Jane.

“Leanne has always been the one constant in Simon’s life – the person he’s always felt he could trust and rely on, who was always there for him. And now he sees that she’s flawed just like everybody else in his life has been.” Although their relationship is rocky on screen, once the cameras stop rolling Jane and Alex Bain, who plays Simon, get on really well. Alex, 15, has been on Coronation Street since he was six and Jane is impressed with his acting talent. “Alex has done so well,” Jane beams, of their scenes together. “I’m so proud of him. This has been a hard storyline but we’ve worked on it together and gone through everything with one another to make sure we’re both happy.” Jane’s own home life is far more settled than that of her feisty Coronation Street character. Jane, 38, has been married to fellow actor Robert Beck since 2005 and they have two children – Harry, 10, and Alfie, 8. Jane knows at some stage Leanne will have to seek help for her problems with Simon. “I think she is slowly reaching a point where she is realising that this can’t go on and she can’t do this on her own any more and maybe she will have to let someone in,” says Jane. “He (Simon) starts to call her ‘Leanne’ which is really, really hurtful to her. “She can handle the physical bruises but the hatred in him towards her sometimes is really hard for her to take.”