Coronation Street actress Mollie Winnard has said that her character Kayla Westbrook is a danger to anyone who gets in her way.
Earlier this month it was revealed that Kayla set her sights on Bethany and Craig in a revenge plan after her dad Nail lost his appeal and ended up hospitalized following a prison fight.
Coming up on the soap, Kayla continues to try and manipulate Craig, who has OCD, after they end up in a car crash. Kayla tells Craig that his OCD rituals kept them safe.
Winnard said of Kayla's plan: "She knows that by messing with his OCD she is going to destroy Craig eventually. She believes that his OCD is to do with him knowing that Bethany has lied about Kayla’s dad so she hopes that he may end up turning on Bethany.
"Although I don’t think she set out that day thinking, ‘Let’s go crash a car,’ she is an opportunist and she spies that this is an opportunity that she can strike."
The actress said that Kayla "doesn't care about the consequences at this stage" and that she will pursue her end goal in a "clever and calculated" way.
"Anyone who gets in Kayla’s way is in danger, even Craig", the soap star explained. "She is walking on a tightrope, she is pretending to be someone who she is not, living a secret life and at any given moment, if anyone was to find out who she really is, she loses everything. "
When Bethany discovers Craig missed his police medical she goes to Kayla's house to try and find him, where events take a dark turn.
Bethany is horrified when she spots the photograph of Neil and Kayla, and Kayla is forced to up the ante in her revenge plan.
Winnard said: "She hasn’t set out to hurt Bethany in that instance but in that moment her plan comes crashing down and she either lets Bethany walk out of that door and she loses everything or she stops Bethany from leaving.
"It’s sheer panic and desperation, she knows that she needs to do something and fast."
Kayla ties up Bethany and leaves her bound and gagged in the house while she returns to the hospital to see Craig.
"Kayla has realised that Craig isn’t a bad lad so she thinks that if Craig is so nice then he is being manipulated by Bethany as well. She has gone with the intention of telling Craig her truth and getting him to see her point of view. She wants her and Craig to get through this together because she thinks that Bethany has lied to him too."
Craig goes into shock when Kayla tells him the truth. "Prior to this, Kayla has worked him up so much anyway by messing with his mind so this is just like a volcano exploding in Craig’s brain", Winnard said.
"He now knows Bethany is in danger but he can’t overcome his own issues with his OCD to go help her. He is in disbelief, he is in shock, he can’t speak. It was emotional to watch Colson [Smith] act like that."
Coronation Street airs on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday on TV3 and UTV.
