AFTER eight years of playing one of Coronation Street’s most notorious villains, Christopher Harper has
confirmed that he is officially leaving the iconic ITV soap.
The actor, who brought the dark character Nathan Curtis to life, revealed that he is “definitely not
coming back” to Weatherfield.
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Nathan first appeared on Coronation Street in 2016 and quickly established himself as a major antagonist.
The character was introduced as the ex-boyfriend of Shona Ramsey, before becoming involved with young Bethany.
He plied the teen with booze and drugs before abusing her in harrowing, award-winning scenes in 2017.
She tried to escape after being raped by Nathan and his gang, at which point he attempted to sell her into sex work abroad.
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The storyline culminated in Nathan’s arrest and imprisonment after Bethany bravely exposed his crimes.
But he made a reappearance in Weatherfield recently as he became involved in the investigation surrounding Lauren Bolton’s disappearance.
In order to get him away from her daughter once and for all, Sarah Platt planted evidence in Nathan’s van to suggest that he had murdered or kidnapped Lauren.
She was caught in the act by new police officer Kit who warned her off, but ended up arresting Nathan anyways on suspicion of breaching his sexual harm prevention order after searching his van and finding some concerning USB sticks.
Now Christopher Harper has made it clear that Nathan’s storyline has come to an end for the last time – as there is no way someone as evil as him will get a redemption arc.
In a candid interview with Digital Spy, Christopher said: “Coronation Street is not a place for the journey of a paedophile to recover and become loved.
Coronation Street character abruptly leaves Weatherfield in tear-jerking final scenes as star quits soap after 13 years
“That’s not a thing you should be doing on a soap. And so, I was absolutely adamant that if Nathan ever came back, then he mustn’t be forgiven. But I did also know that it was about time he would be coming out [of prison], so I did wonder.
“I’m definitely not going back, but never say never, I suppose! I genuinely do not want him to have a forgiveness arc.
“So, I don’t know why he’d keep coming back to Weatherfield.
“It’s Bethany’s journey, not his. It’s got to be about Bethany’s life, and I think he’s done his time.”