He’s battled the booze, but now addiction is threatening Corrie’s Peter Barlow again.
This time it’s an urge to have a bet that’s tormenting Chris Gascoyne’s screen favourite.
Viewers last week saw Peter get pumped up as a horse raced home, with schemer Rob (Marc Bayliss) telling sister Carla (Alison King) that she’s in business with a hopeless gambler.
And Peter’s desperation to keep the bookies open grows by the day this week.
“Peter’s feeling under a lot of strain at the minute,” admits Chris.
“Carla’s doing so well and he’s doing very badly and I think that’s affecting their relationship as well.
“He’s always happy for Carla and her triumphs but he can’t help being overtaken by his own situation.
“It’s really dragging him down.”
Carla’s business acumen has been invaluable but Peter still struggles with letting go and accepting help, according to Chris.
“He has an instant reaction to tell Carla to mind her own business,” explains 45-year-old Notts-born Chris.
“But then, in hindsight, he realises she’s only trying to help him and do her best by him.
“All of Carla’s intentions are coming from the right place and he does know that eventually.
“So he does apologise to her for seeming ungrateful.”
It all means a full-on schedule for Chris but he’s revealed how he’s coping better with the constant pressures of an iconic soap following a crucial break at a Scots Buddhist retreat.
The sheer strain of playing the troubled boozer took its toll on Chris who has a 10-year-old daughter, Belle, with wife Caroline last year.
Long days portraying the depressed life of Peter left him feeling more like his character than himself.
So, he told Street bosses he needed a break and spent part of it at the Highland hideaway.
A daily regime of meditation and no contact with the outside world helped Chris get a fresh perspective and new control.
And that’s come into place as it’s a flutter, not a snifter, that now has Peter’s palms sweating.
To try and get much-needed cash he’s been offering crazily tempting odds.
“At first he does make a bit of money and then he thinks he’s made the right move,” adds Chris.
“But, ultimately, it’s out of desperation.
“Deep down he knows it’s a dangerous move but Peter wants to be back on top too quickly.
“He wants to run before he can walk.
“He’s lost almost everything so he panics.”
Coronation Street, ITV, Monday, Wednesday and Friday
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