‘He's a total narcissist'

Corrie star Ian Bartholomew on his shocking domestic-abuse storyline

- ALISON SLADE

CORONATION STREET MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY / ITV / 7.30PM / SOAP

Geoff Metcalfe’s bullying of wife Yasmeen has been depicted in some of Corrie’s most shocking scenes to date.

‘He’s a nasty piece of work – very manipulative, un-empathetic and a total narcissist,’ says Ian Bartholomew, 65, who plays Geoff. ‘If it’s any consolation, I don’t like him either!’

In the week that sees another dramatic twist, we caught up with Ian to discuss the controversial story that has everyone talking…

When Geoff first arrived on the cobbles in 2018, did you have any idea of the monster he was going to become?

He was just jolly Geoff, a bit of a bumbling idiot. But I did have a conversation with the then producer, Kate Oates, about the fact that they might turn things dark; they just weren’t sure how. After about six months, we turned a corner and I had to go from playing him slightly ambiguously to getting my head into a mindset that he wasn’t all he purported to be. The first few episodes were a bit of a challenge, but it’s all come together nicely, I think.

Why does Geoff behave this way?

He is damaged. I think his father was quite strict, and I think his mother probably left him when he was young, so there are separation issues. His father would’ve been dismissive of women, thinking the man is top of the household and needs to be looked after, and I think that’s Geoff’s opinion. He’d never hit a woman, because that’s cowardly, and he thinks that that makes everything all right.