Yahoo Sports Coronation Street star Andrew Still on new shocks at Justin's trial
Coronation Street spoilers follow.
Coronation Street villain Justin Rutherford could finally be brought to justice next week, as he faces trial for the acid attack that changed Ryan Connor's life forever.
Justin is desperately hoping to avoid a prison sentence for his awful crime, with help from his scheming sister Karen and his defence team.
Here, Andrew Still – who plays Justin – shares more details of what's to come.
What can we expect from Justin when he turns up for the trial?
"It's a new Justin that we are going to see. There is a lot going on in his head with the trial under way, as he feels backed into a corner. He is willing to go to whatever lengths he has to, so he can gain the upper hand.
"Justin has manipulated his sister Karen and he is lying to anyone and everyone around him. There is a very definite fear of going to prison for a very long time, so he is desperate.
"This is Justin's big chance to be seen and to be heard, particularly by Daisy, so he is happy to grab that opportunity with both hands. As the trial progresses, we are going to see Justin wrestling to stay calm and collected as this inner tension is bubbling under the surface."
Does Justin feel any remorse for what he did to Ryan?
"Justin is in survival mode. He did realise he had done wrong, moments after the attack took place, but he has since decided that he is going to do anything and everything to protect himself. He has almost convinced himself that he has done nothing wrong and decompartmentalised that.
"Because he is such a truly phenomenal liar, he utterly believes his own lies. Weirdly, I think Justin does feel remorse for Ryan but not in an overly sympathetic way. He feels remorse that this has led him to where he is and he regrets the situation he has got himself into.
"Justin has no appreciation or understanding of the damage he has caused Ryan, and he is looking at it through the prism of how it has affected him."
Next week, Karen manipulates Daisy and ends up passing on some useful information to Justin's defence team. Can you tell us about Justin's role in this?
"Justin and Karen have been in contact. Justin has been incredibly manipulative and actively working behind the scenes to orchestrate his defence by putting his sister in a position that she feels incredibly uncomfortable about.
"Justin is guilt-tripping his sister by talking about their mum and really pushing that heavily on her. He's the only family she has got now, so he is using that against her. It just shows his ability to use people to get what he wants. He doesn't even see his behaviour as using people, it's a means to an end for him."
How confident is Justin when he gives evidence?
"Justin has a well rehearsed speech, as he knows this trial is important so he sees this as his golden opportunity to convince the jury to let him go. He is going to put on the full charm offensive and he will use all of his manipulation tactics to win the jury round.
"Justin is not confident that this is going to all pan out for him, but he knows that this is make or break and he has to put on the performance of his life to get away with this.
"It's a very stakes, high pressure situation for him. We are going to see the most manipulative Justin yet.
"We have already seen little hints of Justin being able to manipulate people - he has done it to Daisy, he has done it to Daniel, and they have worked him out and pushed him away.
"But the jury doesn't know anything about the situation or what Justin is like. For most people, when they meet him for the first time, they are won over by his act. He can be quite unassuming, but this is the be all and end all, so he is going to pull out all the stops."
How was it to film the court scenes on location in Bolton?
"The trial scenes were filmed over a course of a week and obviously because Justin is on trial, he is inside a big glass case defendant box in the court. It was the court that they used when they filmed Happy Valley, so the defendant box is the one that James Norton's character, Tommy Lee Royce, climbed out of!
"There's so much history in that court too. There are old, Victorian cells underneath the court, so I was going straight from there up into the box, which was weird.
"The days were long and the very last scene we filmed was when Justin takes the stand and I had a three page monologue to say, so it was quite nerve-racking. I remember waiting all week for this one big scene.
"I felt a lot of nervous energy going into that scene, which was good because that's exactly how Justin would feel too because it's his last big gamble. It was definitely the longest speech that I have had while being in Coronation Street, and it was quite cathartic to get it all out there."
How did you feel when you first read the script for that?
"I was like: 'Okay, this is the time for him to put everything on the table!' I knew this was going to be the most difficult scene I've ever played as Justin, because it's his chance to manipulate the jury and give everything he has got.
"It felt like the entire six-months run that I have done on Coronation Street was distilled into that one monologue, because it's very rare in television that you're going to have a big monologue like that.
"It also felt quite theatrical as it was in the courtroom, so I really wanted to make the most out of the scene. It felt like a challenge and because of how Coronation Street is filmed, I only had one or two chances to get it right but I feel happy with how it went and we will see what the viewers make of it when it comes out on TV."
Have you enjoyed playing such a sinister character?
"Yes, it's always fun to play a bad guy. I do usually play troubled characters and Justin is definitely troubled. I have had to try and find the truth and the realism in him, otherwise it just comes across as an inauthentic villain.
"I know this sounds crazy but as an actor, you have to try and find that sympathy in the character and relate to them on a human level. So I thought about his mum passing away, his isolation and loneliness, the fact that he doesn't have anyone, and that he's latched on to Daisy due to a really tenuous connection that he feels is something more.
"I've just had to try and play that all believably and make it all feel real."
What's been the hardest scene of the storyline to film?
"There have been loads because the really great thing about this character is that he has developed and changed as the storyline has gone on and I've been really lucky to have been given such well written, engaging scenes to perform.
"The scenes when Justin turns up at the wedding fair were difficult because I was trying to play it as believable as possible because I think the less creepy I played it, the more creepy Justin came off.
"Justin's monologue during the trial scenes was difficult because it was just me talking for a long time so I had to find a way to keep people engaged and take the audience on a journey."
What reaction have you had from viewers?
"I've had a fair few people come up to me in pubs and they are like, 'Are you the boy off Coronation Street?' and asking for a photo. Everyone has been really nice and they know it's not real life, but I did have one guy come up to me and he was like, 'You're really scary!' and he did actually seem a wee bit scared of me! I was like, 'Honestly mate, that's not who I am!'"
What can you tease about the outcome of the trial?
"It's a bold play by Justin. Viewers are really not going to know until the end which side the coin is going to fall on."
Have you enjoyed working on storylines that have sparked public conversation?
"Yes, it's been great to be involved in storylines that make a point and have weight to them but also have the drama. As an actor, that is something that you really want to play so I've enjoyed sinking my teeth into this role."
What has been your most memorable moment being at Coronation Street?
"Definitely meeting Princess Anne when she visited the set. When else are you going to have the chance to say that you've met a royal in the Rovers Return – it's pretty mad! That's a 'tell your grandkids' type of thing!
"She took a great interest in the acid attack storyline so I got a chance to talk to her, which I hadn't really expected. She was very knowledgeable and knew what was going on in the storyline."
Do you think it's important for Coronation Street to show that Justin will get his comeuppance?
"Yes, definitely. When I have been a viewer of a show and watched a character do terrible things, I can't help but hope that it's going to come back to bite them and I think that Justin certainly deserves justice to be served, because what he has done has been horrendous. I definitely think he should get his comeuppance."
Coronation Street has a special schedule next week, airing at 7.30pm from Monday to Friday on ITV1 and ITVX.
Read more Coronation Street spoilers on our dedicated homepage
Coronation Street has been working on Ryan's storyline with guidance from The Katie Piper Foundation and Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI), which both offer help and support to real-life survivors.
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