It’s been a tough time on the cobbles for Simon Barlow (played by Alex Bain) ever since his dad Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne) left Weatherfield on Boxing Day. On top of dealing with that adjustment, he’s been lumped with having to bond with newcomer Bobby Donovan (Jack Carroll).
Over the past few weeks, Coronation Street fans have seen Simon lash out and turn to booze. In recent scenes, he revealed to Bobby he skived off work and spent the day with pals getting drunk.
Despite Carla Connor (Alison King) giving him some slack for missing his dad, she reached her limit this week when she sacked Simon for his antics at Underworld. Official spoilers for the ITV soap reveal he won’t be out of a job for long, although there could be trouble ahead.
In scenes set to air next week, Simon tells his mum Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) that Bobby has replaced him in the factory. As she offers to have a word with Carla, he tells her to leave it alone.
Despite Nick Tilsley’s (Ben Price) protests, Leanne overrules him and gives Simon a job at the Bistro. When he starts his new job, he bumps into Bobby who suggests they have a lock-in.
As Simon’s tempted by his suggestion, could this be the beginning of his downward spiral as he’s led astray by Bobby?
Viewers have expressed their concern for Simon over the past few weeks as they fear he’ll take the same troubled path as his dad Chris.
@Felstedboy wrote: “#corrie Simon is going to end up an alcoholic at this rate.”
@SusieL tweeted: “Catching up with #Corrie. Poor Simon is breaking my heart.”
@sue_simmonds added: “Oh I can’t take a permanently drunk Simon. I’ll have to stop watching if you do that #CoronationStreet #Corrie @itvcorrie.”
@DionPetrie commented: “Are they turning Simon into Peter with the drink.” @Winis_World said: “Simon has a drink problem.”
Agreeing, @NoSecretReally said: “Yeah! like father like son.”
It was recently revealed that soap star Alex Bain will be leaving his role as Simon in Coronation Street after over a decade.
Although it’s not yet known how the star will depart, it’s been reported the character will be involved in a harrowing crash.
According to Metro.co.uk, Simon offers to drop Sam Blakeman (Jude Riordan) at school and speeds to get him there on time, before an accident occurs.
Coronation Street continues Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on ITV from 8pm.