Coronation Street star admits exit was 'hard' as they hoped for alternative storyline

Aaron Sandford, a resident of Coronation Street, left Weatherfield on Friday after he at last acknowledged he had attacked Amy Barlow sexually.

James Craven, who played Aaron Sandford, acknowledged that it was “hard” to leave Coronation Street after his challenging plot, in which he raped Amy Barlow (played by Elle Mulvaney).

Aaron came to terms with his actions in Friday’s episode and promised to drop the libel lawsuit against Amy. However, he refused to tell his friend that he had sexually assaulted her.

Regarding his departure, James stated that he had hoped that his character would be able to stay on the ITV soap opera and Amy could have received the deserved closure.

Even though he never quite admits it, he knows what he’s done is wrong, and the fact that he sort of flees highlights that, he said.

But I believe that for Amy, it was simply too much because, even though it wasn’t necessarily the closure she desired, it may have been the amount of closure she required.

Although unquestionably not the resolution she deserves.

James said this in response to the possibility of a different resolution to the plot: “I think I was always hoping that he would admit it or have some sort of admittance.

“I appreciated the lack of anything particularly overly dramatic.

“And I think regrettably that is quite realistic because there are so many of these cases in real life where people aren’t brought to justice or charged with anything.”

So, while that’s obviously quite a difficult thing for Amy to come to terms with, it is sadly quite realistic, the young actor continued.

I never wanted him to get away with it, but I believe that now that he is aware of what he did, he must live with it.

But James went on to say that he is “very proud” to have been a part of the consent storyline because it “sparked a conversation”.

Fans were given this promise from James regarding his plans for life after the soap: “There’s a couple of things I’ve got coming out, but I can’t really say too much at the moment.”

In addition, he said, “I met so many great people and I’ve made so many good friends for life” during his time on Corrie.

However, James added, “But I’m excited, I’m really, really excited to get on and go on and do other things.