Exclusive: Coronation Street star shares warning over soaps' future
Coronation Street star James Cartwright has encouraged soap fans to watch their favourites to ensure the future of the genre .
James played Theo Silverton in Corrie up until May this year, when the evil character was murdered by Sarah Platt. Now out of Corrie, James is back in radio soap The Archers, in which he has played PC Harrison Burn since 2013.
Picking up his Best Villain gong at the Inside Soap Awards, James sat down for a chat with us to enthuse about his love of the soap genre.
Related: Exclusive – Coronation Street confirms friendship for Todd
"I always say that soaps are like libraries – if you don’t use them, you lose them," James advises. "Everyone gets upset if the library closes, but you have to engage with it while it’s there.
"Fortunately, Corrie and The Archers still pull in millions of viewers, and they are thriving. But is there anything better than that shared experience? Soap fans are a big community and now, more than ever, we need things that join, not divide us!"
Related: Exclusive – Corrie star calls for return for dark Sam story
As well as Best Villain, James earned Best Storyline alongside his co-star Gareth Pierce for the Theo and Todd domestic abuse plot. Gareth also won Best Actor for the devastating portrayal of coercive control in same-sex relationships.
"I think life is messy, and everyone has been through that relationship where you really, really loved someone and put up with all sorts of nonsense," James ponders. "We’re fed the idea that love can conquer all, but nothing is that straightforward. I think this storyline resonated because people related to that love, even though hopefully their experience wasn’t so extreme!"
Read the full chat with James in this week's Inside Soap magazine, out now.
Coronation Street airs on weeknights at 8.30pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
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