Coronation Street star Matt Milburn addresses possible exit for Tommy Orpington
"It's up in the air."
Coronation Street star Matt Milburn has spoken about the possibility of his character Tommy Orpington leaving the cobbles.
Tommy is facing an uncertain future in Weatherfield after his affair with Tracy McDonald was exposed in Monday’s episode (February 26).
The latest visit to the Street saw Tracy’s husband Steve find out that she’d been cheating on him with Tommy, who has been working as their painter and decorator in recent weeks.
Steve’s discovery paves the way for Tracy and Tommy to potentially become a proper couple. However, this Friday’s episode (March 1) reveals that Tommy has accepted a job as an assistant coach at a football academy in Spain, sparking speculation about his longer-term intentions.
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Speaking to Digital Spy about Tommy’s future, Matt teased: “Tommy has been quite stern in his view that long-term relationships aren’t for him any more.
“However, the fact that he’s crossed that bridge and not only got into a relationship, but taken a wife away from her husband and split up a marriage, suggests that he’s pretty serious about Tracy.
“In terms of the longevity of that, who knows? If he’s still got those thoughts in the back of his mind that he doesn’t want a serious relationship, then it needs to be a real strong bond for him to stay put.
“I think it’s one of those things where it’s up in the air and we’ll just have to see.”
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Asked about Tommy’s possible departure for Spain, Matt replied: “I think he’s maybe a little bit torn. I think in the back of his mind, he probably would want to give it a go with Tracy.
“But then at the same time, I think there’s the fear that should he drop his guard and maybe ask Tracy if she wants to go with him, but if she wasn’t on the same page, he won’t want to get burned again. He’s fighting with that.
“It’d be interesting to show a little bit of a relationship and maybe see what happens in the future. From a Matt Milburn selfish point of view, I’d love him to stay with Tracy, because that would mean I stay for longer from an acting perspective!
“It’d be quite fun if he stayed with Tracy and it was long term. There’s this continuation of the drama and the banter with the other characters who are linked within it, which could make it a long-term fun story.”
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Matt also spoke about whether Tommy feels any guilt for betraying Steve, who’d previously treated him like a hero after his footballing career.
He said: “I think Tommy feels sorry for Steve. He never wanted this to happen. He never saw Steve as a threat, from a confrontational point of view or physically.
“But when you’re crushing someone’s view and dream of their idol, it’s not very nice. On top of that, it’s his wife so it’s not the ideal situation and Tommy is very aware of that. He doesn’t want to rub Steve’s nose in it more than the actual situation has itself, I suppose.”