Amy Barlow’s sexual assault storyline continues.

By Stefania Sarrubba

Published: Friday, 16 June 2023 at 12:00 am

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This article includes discussions of rape which some readers may find upsetting.

Coronation Street saw Aaron Sandford leave Weatherfield tonight following the latest developments in Amy Barlow’s rape storyline.

The character played by James Craven raped Amy (Elle Mulvaney) following a night out earlier this year but insisted that the encounter had been consensual.

In recent scenes, Amy – disappointed in the police for failing to hold Aaron accountable – decided to expose her rapist in a blog post. Aaron lost his job at the garage as a result, with his father Eric (Craig Cheetham) vowing to sue Amy. Realising that a libel case could cost her family a fortune, Amy took her post down.

However, when it came down to the issue of writing a retraction, Aaron began to realise that his version of events did not fit the truth of what happened.

As Aaron struggled, Eric finally realised the horror of what his son had done.

In a final confrontation with Amy, Aaron revealed that he was dropping the libel case against her. In response, Amy detailed the events of the night of the rape once more, resulting in Aaron fleeing and while he does not admit what he did, he does tell her he is “sorry”.

We last see Aaron as he gets in Eric’s car and departs the street, resulting in Amy breaking down in tears before she is comforted by Aaron’s former boss and defender Abi Webster (Sally Carman).

So, is Aaron gone from Coronation Street for good?

Has Aaron Sandford left Coronation Street for good?

Yes, Aaron Sandford has left Coronation Street for good.

The episode on Friday 16th June 2023 was the last appearance of actor James Craven in the role.

Speaking about Aaron’s exit, Craven commented: “Yeah, I think I was always hoping that he would admit it or have some sort of admittance. I liked that there wasn’t anything particularly overly dramatic about it, and I think unfortunately that is quite realistic because there are so many of these cases in real life where people don’t face justice and people aren’t prosecuted for it.

“So I think whilst that’s obviously quite a hard thing to come to terms with for Amy, it is sadly quite realistic. I never wanted him to get away with it but I think it’s one of those things that he’s now got to live with it, knowing what he’s done.”

On leaving Coronation Street behind, the actor noted: “It’s obviously very sad, it’s been a lot of fun and I’ve really, really loved my time there. I met so many great people and I’ve made so many good friends for life. But I’m excited, I’m really, really excited to get on and go on and do other things.”

What happened with Aaron Sandford in Coronation Street?

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Aaron’s first appearance in Weatherfield dates back to April 2022, when he met Summer Spellman (Harriet Bibby) at a diabetes support group.

The two started dating, with Aaron being supportive of Summer when she discovered she was pregnant and intended to give her baby up for adoption. After she suffered a miscarriage and went through a kidnapping ordeal at the hands of couple Mike (Tom Lorcan) and Esther Hargrave (Vanessa Hehir), they broke up and she moved out of their apartment.

Aaron then began spending more time with their roommate Amy. The aspiring mechanic raped a drunken Amy and has since maintained that she’d given her consent.

However, as Amy refused to be gaslighted into believing she had consensual sex with him, Aaron slowly became abandoned by all of his friends and allies until his father returned to his life.

After this, his father took libel action against Amy and her family for a written piece she wrote about her experiences. Amid this struggle, Aaron began to doubt himself.

ITV

Actor James Craven revealed: “He started to have slight doubts about the court case prior to this, because when he had that first meeting with the solicitor and the solicitor mentioned that even if there’s a 51% chance that they are leaning in Amy’s favour, then it would go to her.

“So that was already concerning him and he was already starting to have doubts about how reliable the outcome was going to be. Then when he found out that Amy’s family were selling the business it was really the guilt at that point, it was almost overwhelming for him what he was putting them through.

“He will always care about Amy and whether he did it or not he was already starting to feel responsible for putting her through all of this in the first place, because he’s the one who took out the court case.”

However, it was Amy’s retraction that caused Aaron to finally realise he was denying what had happened.

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“When he read it, it seemed like she was backtracking on things that they’d both admitted in the past which worried him, because to him it made it obvious that she was just writing the retraction to make it all go away,” commented Craven.

“Obviously, he wanted and needed something that was concrete and solid that would prove his innocence. It wasn’t until he went to write it himself that he actually struggled to put it into words and started to realise that what he believed was the truth maybe wasn’t the truth.”

Describing the final meeting between Aaron and Amy when he dropped the libel case for good, Craven added: “She knows that he knows what he’s done is wrong, even though he never quite admits it, and the fact that he does sort of run away highlights that.

“But I think for Amy it was just so overwhelming because whilst it’s not necessarily the closure that she wanted, in some respects it’s possibly as much closure as she needed. Although definitely not the closure she deserves.”

If you have been affected by the topics raised in Amy’s story, you can find help and support by visiting The Schools Consent Project and Rape Crisis, and by calling Rape Crisis’s 23/7 support line on 0808 500 2222.

Read more:

• Coronation Street’s Tina O’Brien teases Sarah’s surprise baby – who’s the daddy?
• Coronation Street’s Todd Boyce on Stephen’s next victim: “She’s not in a safe position”

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