The relentless abuse from Theo Silverton (James Silverton) only ever gets worse in Coronation Street. Now the mere thought of his abusive partner’s anger is enough to leave Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) shaking with fear.

The bullying narcissist has slowly but surely broken down his victim’s independence and self-respect with a toxic combination of emotional gaslighting, coercive control and domestic violence. More recently he’s added financial abuse to the mix.

Ever since his friend, ex-boyfriend and sole confidante Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank) died in the Corriedale crash

, Todd has been lost in grief and despair, which has left Theo more insecure than ever about losing his partner… because he was the one who secretly left Billy to die.

Since the funeral, the abuse has only intensified. Theo exerts power by making other people feel useless, small and inept. That’s how he’s been able to control where Todd goes, who he sees and even what he says.

In the same way he’s forced Todd to exercise and diet by making him feel fat, disgusting and unhealthy, now Theo’s taken control of Todd’s finances by convincing him that he’s terrible with money. In humiliating scenes, Todd had no choice but to agree to a shared bank account as Theo cut up his credit cards with a pair of scissors.

With Theo’s hands firmly on the purse strings, Todd has to go cap in hand every time he needs money for food. The vile bully went to visit his mother in Doncaster for a few days and left Todd with a pittance to fend for himself. It was just another form of abuse to conceal from close friends like George Shuttleworth (Tony Maudsley) and Sarah Platt (Tina O’Brien) to avoid suspicion. Because Todd knows only too well that if Theo ever thinks that he’s been overspending, the consequences don’t bear thinking about…

In upcoming scenes, Todd finds himself about to face those deadly consequences when he’s left without a penny.

It’s Theo’s birthday, and when returns from his Mum’s early, Todd asks for some cash to buy him a present. Theo gives him £200, but firmly insists that it must cover his birthday meal too.

But Todd’s blood runs cold when he receives a text message informing him that his account is in arrears and service won’t be restored until he pays his bill. Suddenly, Todd’s in desperate need of a cash injection. His very life could depend on it…

Coronation Street has already revealed that Todd and Theo’s story could be about to end in death, as the show gears up for its intriguing whodunnit mystery.