Coronation Street star James Craven has shared what's next for his character as he's to be accused of rape. Aaron Sanford arrived in Weatherfield in 2022 when he met Summer Spellman at a diabetes support group.
The pair grew close very quickly but their relationship has been anything but plain sailing with Summer and Aaron most notably involved in a recent baby-buying storyline. But in upcoming scenes, viewers of the ITV soap will see Aaron seeking solace in pal Amy Barlow who has faced her own heartbreak following boyfriend Jacob Hay's exit.
Next week, viewers will see Aaron's girlfriend Summer Spellman discover he has been having late-night phone conversations with his ex, Mia, and it's fair to say she's less than impressed. When Summer confides in Amy about how she’s struggling to trust Aaron, Amy tells her she’s needy and insecure.
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But this only leaves Summer hitting back with a jibe about Jacob Hay, Amy's ex who fled the cobbles last month with his former partner assuming he was still dealing drugs after being threatened by how own dad, drug lord, Damon Hay. Aaron will then be seen finding Amy upset after the row and the pair soon find themselves sharing a kiss.
Amy is left racked with guilt but Aaron is keen to celebrate his promotion to mechanic at Kevin Webster's garage and so reminds Summer and his pals that there is a cocktail night taking place at the Bistro.
Struggling to watch Summer with Aaron at the Bistro, Amy heads home and as Aaron and Summer snipe at each other, ruining everyone's evening, he announces he's going too. Back at the flat, Amy and Aaron play drinking games, polishing off every drop of alcohol in the flat.
Viewers will then see Amy stumble into the bedroom to find more but declaring herself to be too drunk and feeling sick she falls into bed. Climbing into bed next to her and trying to kiss her, Amy's completely oblivious as to what Aaron does next as he makes the decision for her that they will have sex. It won't be until the next day that a horrified Amy discovers how far things went the night before.
Corrie and those involved in the storyline have worked closely with The Schools Consent Project, a charity dedicated to educating and empowering young people to understand and engage with the issues surrounding consent and sexual assault. "Doing something like this isn't particularly comfortable just because of the nature of what it is but luckily we have been so well supported," James said of taking on the important storyline when talking to the Manchester Evening News.
"Elle's just been amazing but working with The Schools Consent Project was great because while they filled us in with all the facts and figures, it was really interesting to hear about the work they are doing and how they approach the situation and what kind of situations they are dealing with.
"It also reaffirmed for us why we are doing the storyline in the first place because it does highlight the fact that unfortunately, this is something that is far too common and far too normalised. Hopefully, after something like this, we can try to do something to help that."
On filming the scenes, James commented: "The most important thing for us, or for me, was just to make sure Elle was comfortable at all times and if there was anything she wasn't happy with then we could change that immediately. So that was sort of the number one focus, making sure she was all ok with everything.
"But the crew were amazing and you could feel this energy on set and everyone felt really focussed and when you feel that everyone is locked into something, it makes it a lot easier to do it because you feel like everyone's working towards one thing which was a great feeling.. Adding praise on to his co-star Elle, James added: "Everyone's going to see how good she [Elle] is in this. Elle's amazing."
Asked what will happen to Aaron after this and whether he can remain on the street, James said: "Who knows? Hopefully, there's some sort of, not necessarily redemption because how do you redeem yourself from that? But hopefully, I'd like to hope he tries to make amends for it, realises his wrongdoings and try to make up for it."
