Joe Layton has spoken out on the twist that has seen his character Mick Michaelis become a murderer after a dramatic week on the cobbles
Coronation Street star Joe Layton has spoken out on the twist that has seen his character become a murderer after a dramatic week on the cobbles.
As fans of the ITV soap know, the actor only made his debut back in February as Mick Michaelis. Mick followed his wife, Lou, to Weatherfield and the pair were seen moving into Mawdsley Street at the back of Chesney and Gemma Winter-Brown’s house.
They quickly befriended their new neighbours but while the penny didn’t drop until later for Chesney, it was quickly revealed that Mick was the van man who had been targeting him for weeks.
As for the couple, it was known that they had a number of children, who at that time hadn’t been seen on-screen, however, fans quickly worked out that Brody was their eldest child as he made comments in the Secure Training Centre (STC) about his parents moving to Weatherfield to Dylan Wilson.
At the time of Mick and Lou’s arrival, it was confirmed that the pair will be central to revealing DC Kit Green’s past. And the truth has since been revealed to viewers, with flashback scenes showing the teens as friends, only for a devastating decision to tear them apart.
As well as it being revealed that Mick was sent to prison for a crime both he and Kit commited, it also transpired that Lou had cheated on Mick while he was in prison – with Kit. Back in present day, Kit wandered into Speed Daal and spotted Lou and Mick enjoying a celebratory meal with Brody, who had just been released from the STC.
But he was stopped in his tracks, having overheard that Brody was 16, and he began to put the pieces together about his time spent with Lou, leading him to believe he could be Brody’s biological father and not Mick.
Since then, Mick has found out that he may not be Brody’s dad after a remark from Kit, and set off in a rage, leaving devastation in his wake as he took the life of innocent police officer Craig Tinker.
Joe previously reflected on his time on the soap and described working on the cobbles as a “real gift”. When quizzed on what attracted him to the role of Mick, he said: “I think for me, the opportunity to step into Corrie for six months with a start and a finish point is a real gift.
“A lot of people step in and they’re on a year contract or six months with a view to more and you’re getting the scripts as they come and working out how you slot in, whereas it was kind of a gift for me to know ‘you start here, and you finish here.'”
Joe continued: “I sat and had a Zoom call with Kate Brooks, the producer, and she walked me through all of it and my first reaction was ‘how are we going to cram all that into six months?’ But then I started working on Corrie and realised how fast it moves.”
Now, speaking about the shock killer twist, Joe, who will leave the cobbles this summer, said: “I know that when I got the offer through [for the job] it was going to involve killing someone and then when I has the Zoom with Kate, she said it was going to be Craig.
“Then on my first day, I arrived in the green room and I met Colson [Smith, who played Craig] and he said, ‘I think you’re going to kill me!’ And I said, ‘I think I might!’ It’s also credit to Colson because everyone at Corrie has been really lovely, but Colson inparticular has been so kind and welcoming to me.
“I put myself in his shoes, there must be loads of different things going on for him with being in the soap for so long and it being part of who he is really. So that’s credit to Colson. So I knew from Kate when I said ‘yes’ to the role.”
Speaking about the prep for the brutal scenes that involved Colson’s exit as Craig, Joe said they worked with a fight director when they shot the specific scene that saw Mick attack Craig. “Duncan Foster was the episode director and he’s such a brilliant director so a lot of it is down to him and the crew creating an atmosphere that’s safe and calm and gives both actors space to get into the headspaces they need to go to.
“In terms of the prep, for something like that, and that whole block was incredibly intense and emotional, I get all of my work done early so I’m not sitting in work on the day. I listen to a lot of music and try and relax. Generally, I’m quite quiet and keep myself to myself…”
