Coronation Street star responds to James's unexpected diagnosis

Coronation Street spoilers follow.

James Bailey actor Nathan Graham has weighed in on his Corrie character's life-altering diagnosis.

During yet-to-air scenes on ITV, the footballer suddenly collapses on the pitch, with brother Michael forced to perform CPR on him. Dashed to hospital, James is told by doctors that he has a condition known as cardiomyopathy and must be fitted with an ICD (implantable cardioverter defibrillator) to prevent more cardiac arrests.

According to Graham, who is actually nine years older than James in real life, the story parallels with Danish footballer Christian Eriksen, who collapsed on the pitch after suffering a cardiac arrest during Euro 2020.

ITV

"I guess for James, as a footballer, he kind of has a reference point because obviously he's seen Eriksen – as we all saw in the European Championships – pretty much the same thing happened to him, and he was then fitted with an ICD.

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"Obviously it's scary going to have surgery," the soap star continued. "But I think he also knows that going through this process gives him hope, and belief that he will be okay and he'll be back to full health."

As for what the future holds for James, the actor admitted he's "really worried" and "anxious" about potentially moving forward without the sport in his life.

"I don't think he can imagine himself working for his dad or pulling pints in the Rovers, football and sport are all he has ever known. When he was injured last time he got his coaching qualifications, so that is an option."

ITV

Graham also revealed his reaction to the original storyline pitch, saying:

"I've been given some great stories since I joined so it is brilliant to have another one that might help people. It feels nice and humbling that people trust you with these stories. So hopefully I've done it justice."

Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV and streams on the ITV Hub.