Coronation Street love rat Peter Barlow spirals further out of control next week after he is arrested and charged for the murder of ex-girlfriend Tina.
Peter's arrest takes place in the middle of the street while his son Simon (Alex Bain) watches on.
Wrongly-accused Peter is quick to protest his innocence and fires his solicitor when he encourages him to take a plea deal.
Here, Chris Gascoyne - who plays Peter - reveals all the gossip on what's next for his character.
How is Peter coping at the minute with all the madness going on around him?
"He's struggling, massively. He's torn between trying to desperately cling on to Carla in the hope that she can forgive him, to almost giving up on everything and drowning his sorrows.
"Peter's also clinging on to any ounce of support he can get, but as time goes by he's struggling to find anyone that will believe him, especially the more Rob insists that Peter is guilty."
Does he continue to drink?
"He's still drinking. Drink is the only thing Peter feels he has left. He struggles to stay strong when things don't go his way and he's wallowing completely in his own self-pity.
What to Read Next
"The problem with him is that he's too weak to give up the one thing that might actually help him out and that's the booze."
Does Peter still want Carla in his life? Does he really think he can win her round?
"Peter desperately wants Carla back in his life, but because he's drinking so much he can't control his actions and he comes across as self-pitying which I think angers Carla even more. He does try to make gestures towards her to try and show her he's serious. She wants to buy him out of the factory, but he recently refused to take any money for it because he's trying desperately to do what he can to make her see he's serious about how much he still loves her."
What does Peter feel when he thinks of Tina? Does he blame himself for what happened to her - even though he didn't kill her?
"He goes through different stages, from feeling guilt that a young girl's lost her life because of him, to feeling anger towards her. In Peter's mind she ruined his life, lost him his marriage and his unborn child. Peter's gotten good at passing the blame over the past few years, and despite the fact that Tina lost her life, he still feels very badly done to by her."
How worried is he that he'll be arrested for Tina's murder?
"I think he's almost been expecting it, although when it does happen he's completely broken by it. I think his main concern at the minute has been to persuade both Carla and Simon that he's innocent that when the police do come to arrest him, it's almost like the domino effect. As is usually the way with Peter, it all seems to be spiralling completely out of control."
Does he have any inkling at all that it's Rob who is guilty?
"No, none whatsoever. I think Peter's main concern is getting people to believe he's innocent and defending himself. He hasn't got the strength of mind to think logically about who Tina's murderer might actually be. I think Peter's just so caught up in himself and getting Carla to believe that he's sorry and that he loves her.
"Also Rob seems so adamant that the killer is Peter, it doesn't cross Peter's mind that he might just be detracting the attention from himself. Like everyone else, Peter has no reason to suspect that Rob might have been behind it all along."
Is he aware that Rob's trying his hardest to implicate him as the murderer?
"Peter and Rob have always hated one another so I don't think it comes as any massive surprise to Peter that Rob is pointing the finger at him. Rob's had it in for him since day one and even more so since he discovered the truth about Peter and Tina. Peter can see why people might think it was him - I guess the evidence is stacked against him in more ways than one."
When Peter gets arrested for Tina's murder, is it a very public thing in The Rovers where he's led off in handcuffs in front of everyone?
"Peter is coming out of the chippy when Rob accosts him again in the Street, accusing him of murdering Tina and telling him to do everyone a favour and hand himself in. Peter tries to get Tracy to shut Rob up, but before they know it the police are approaching them.
"It happens really quickly - for a split second Peter thinks that they must just be there to split Rob and Peter up and question one of them again. Then they home in on Peter and arrest him, just before Peter realises Simon has seen the whole thing. Simon is crying out for his dad and it's that that makes Peter crumble. He's been trying so hard to make peace with Si and make him believe that he had nothing to do with Tina's murder. It breaks Peter's heart that Si has had to witness him being carted off by the police."
How does he feel when they tell him they're charging him with murder?
"Peter can see why people think he has a motive, but he doesn't stop protesting and maintains his innocence when he's first arrested and charged. He gets to the stage where it seems that no matter how much he denies it, nobody will believe him anyway. I think once he starts to think his own family, and Carla, believe that he could have done it, he starts to give up hope."
What's his reaction when his solicitor tells him to strike some sort of a plea bargain?
"Peter hits the roof because he assumes this means that his solicitor doesn't believe in him, so he sacks him there and then. Peter can see why people think he has a motive, but his solicitor suggesting he plead guilty pushes him over the edge. He feels like he's losing every ounce of support."
What about his family? Do they believe in him?
"Deirdre and Tracy visit Peter in prison and are shocked to hear he's sacked his solicitor and can't understand why. At that point Peter realises they agreed with the solicitor about the plea bargain and obviously assumed he is guilty."
How does Peter cope with that?
"Not very well. Without anyone behind him he questions what he has to fight for. He's really hurt by it. Peter also assumes his dad is aware of what's going on, but he hasn't heard anything from him so Peter assumes they've all given up on him."
Is Peter strong enough to survive in prison?
"Peter would completely crumble in prison. He's a weak man anyway and I don't think he would have the fight left in him to prove his innocence.
"Without Carla behind him and believing in him, I think he would get to the point where he would think that he might as well be in prison because he has nothing outside anyway..."
Read more Coronation Street spoilers and news
Coronation Street airs Peter's arrest drama on Monday, July 14 at 7.30pm and 8.30pm on ITV.
