Coronation Street to focus on David's mental health following rape, confirms boss Kate Oates

Reports that David would be assaulted by new garage mechanic Josh emerged late last year, but were never confirmed by the ITV soap.

Now, Oates has said - in an interview at the Radio Times Covers Party - that she intends to explore the effects of the rape on David's mental health.

"I can’t wait to see what Jack P Shepherd does with that storyline," the soap boss said. "I know that the audience knows what’s going to happen. What’s really key for me, in my first six months of the year, is male mental health. David’s story is initially about rape but it’s actually about male mental health. That’s what I’m really passionate about.”

Upcoming scenes will see David training with newcomer Josh, so he can take part in a charity boxing bout. But events look set to take a dark turn when Josh drugs and rapes David following an evening out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kHmQUVVRB8

Speaking about how actor Jack P Shepherd is tackling the soap's traumatic storyline, Oates said:

"Jack is the person who always says, 'I don’t talk to the producers about the storylines'. And actually, he’s come to meetings. We’ve sat down with researchers and we’ve gone to dinner. So he’s broken his own trend with that.

"He’s done his research, but he’s still very instinctive. He still feels that he knows that character better than anybody and that’s absolutely right. Jack will put his own spin on it and that is key.”

You can watch a 60-second rundown of next week's drama on Coronation Street below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33WRCoMF-DM

And visit our dedicated Coronation Street page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers.