Colson Smith
“Craig feels that something bad will happen to Bethany”
Craig’s battle with his obsessive compulsive disorder lands him in bother with girlfriend Bethany this week – after he manages to get her sacked from her lap-dancing job.
Not only does he infuriate Bethany, Craig also annoys his police colleague Jess. As the teen’s stress increases, so do his OCD symptoms, which see him forced to perform certain ‘rituals’ every time he leaves his home. And that leads to big trouble when Bethany gives him one chance to make things up to her…
“Craig is meant to meet Bethany, but everything goes wrong,” admits Colson Smith, who plays Craig. “The phone is ringing, so he loses track of his ritual of only leaving the house when the clock reads an even number. He realises he’s missed the date with Bethany, but he has to get back into his ritual because he just can’t stop doing it.”
Craig’s panic begins to take hold after a visit from Jess, who turns up to talk about the trouble at the club – and she’s far from impressed with him.
“Jess says that Craig has taken advantage of his position by interfering at Bethany’s club,” explains Colson. “She claims that bending the rules is how
Neil – the officer who raped Bethany – started out on his dark path. That’s not what Craig thinks he’s doing at all, and it really throws him. So he has to start all of his rituals over again, because he feels
Craig thinks that he’s keeping Bethany safe – he feels it’s normal”
like something bad is going to happen to Bethany because of what he’s done.”
Craig is further mortified when Maria’s son Liam finds him desperately checking light switches all over the flat. But as Craig tries to placate the lad, he just makes everything worse.
“Craig is relying on Liam to keep quiet about what he’s seen,” sighs Colson. “He tries to brush it off by telling Liam that by doing what he’s doing, he’s keeping people safe. Craig means in his head – but Liam takes it to mean that Craig is a superhero. So Craig ends up going along with the idea that he has magical powers!”
Meanwhile, Bethany is waiting for Craig at the Bistro, convinced she’s been stood up because of the way she’s been treating him. But as he calls to say sorry, is Craig any closer to confessing the real reason he failed to turn up?
“Craig is trying hard to impress Bethany, and be there for her,” shares Colson. “She’s the person he cares most about in the world – so if anyone were to find out his secret, it would really concern him, as he thinks that he’s keeping Bethany safe. He feels that what he’s doing is completely normal…”