Coronation Street spoilers: Prison twist for Simon Barlow in exit storyline as Alex Bain quits show

Since Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne) left Coronation Street, his son Simon (Alex Bain) has gone off the rails to a large extent after feeling abandoned by his father.

This has led to Simon turning to the bottle in an attempt to make himself feel better, behaviour which his alcoholic dad had warned him against before he left.

Recently Nick (Ben Price) asked Simon to drive Sam (Jude Riordan) to a chess competition, not realising that Simon had already been drinking that day. The inevitable happened and Simon lost control of the car and crashed into a road sign.

Luckily Sam appeared to be unhurt – but in coming episodes his behaviour gives Roy (David Neilson) cause for concern when he seems unable to concentrate on his chess game.

Later Hope (Isabella Flanagan) makes a worrying discovery when she finds Sam unconscious on the floor at school and the boy is rushed to hospital.

Nick is shocked when Leanne (Jane Danson) tells the doctor that Sam as recently in a car accident and admits to Nick that she lied about the car having faulty brakes. She’s forced to tell Nick the truth – that Simon was over the limit when he drove Sam and he put both their lives at risk with his reckless behaviour.

Nick is horrified by Simon’s behaviour, and Simon is overwhelmed by guilt and decides to take responsibility for what he’s done.

‘He feels dreadful, Simon’s already put this kid through so much’, Alex Bain told us.

‘He has already been the catalyst for causing him to have so much heartbreak and struggle. He is the reason in a roundabout way that Sam lost his mum through Simon getting involved with Harvey’s gang. He’s got a lot to answer for and now he’s put him in hospital.’

We know that Alex Bain is due to leave the show soon. Could Simon be heading for prison after admitting his crime?

‘He’s a broken person,’ Alex said. ‘He’s not outwardly a villain. I think he’s just a broken individual who really hasn’t got anyone properly looking out for him and who has dealt with a lot from losing his mum at such a young age to now being left behind by his dad.’