Corrie’s Ben Price admits he ‘doesn’t like’ Simon Barlow following alcoholism battle

Coronation Street favourite Ben Price – who plays Nick Tilsley – has confessed he “doesn’t like” Simon Barlow and fears he will follow in his father’s footsteps.

Over the past few months, ITV viewers have watched tensions rise in the Tilsley household ever since Simon moved in after Peter Barlow left the cobbles at Christmas. With no return in sight, his son slowly started to spiral into alcoholism which has dramatically changed his life.

Since his father left, Simon has lost his job at Underworld and even got into a car crash while driving over the limit to drop off Sam Blakeman at one of his chess tournaments. At first, Simon lied to his mum Leanne but when she discovered that he had been drinking before getting in the car, she reported him to the police.

Next week, fans will see the troublemaker face the consequences of his actions as he prepares to attend court to receive a sentence for his offence. Now, the 51-year-old soap stud has shared what his character really makes of Simon’s downfall.

Speaking to Daily Star and other press, the actor shared his fears that Simon will end up becoming an alcoholic just like his father. He told us: “I think the thing is, Simon isn’t his [son], but he’s sort of been a dad to Simon for quite a long time.

“And he feels like now Sam’s there that I suppose Leanne isn’t doing the same back. So we’re seeing him kind of like, ‘Well hold on, I think you need to want to protect my son as well as yours’.”

He went on to compare Simon to his estranged father as he pointed out their similar flaws. Ben explained: “He’s a bit like his dad and it does Nick’s head in.

“He’s like Peter isn’t he? Like a little Peter and you’re just like, ‘Yeah, don’t get in the car with my son. Don’t get in the car with anyone and do that. And haven’t we done this with your dad? And am I gonna have to do it now with you?’”

The TV favourite confessed: “I just don’t like him. There’s a time when you’re like, ‘That’s not right and you’re an adult’. So I think Nick’s got to the point where he’s not really wanting to listen to it anymore because he’s listened to his dad do the same thing.

“Peter was exactly the same and he had to do the same with Peter. Nick was always saving Peter for a period, and he just thinks ‘Ugh’.”

Ben pointed out that his character would help a member of his family work through similar issues again, but he doesn’t want to do it with Peter’s son. The dad-of-two explained: “He’d do it to his own family, he’d do it to the Platts but they’re Barlow’s and he’s had enough.

“Simon still has Leanne and Peter but Peter has gone off, Peter’s not great. But Sam just has Nick and the Platts and he wasn’t there for the first 12 years or whatever.

“And I feel like Nick anyway as a character sort of looks after the Platt family in a way, not looks after but tries to hold it together. And I think he feels like he needs to do that for his son and not have whatever happened to Simon to be repeated.

“So I think it’s totally different now. I think he’s like, ‘Look, I’ve got a unit, I’ve got a good family in the Platts so I want to protect that’.” Fans will have to stay tuned to see whether Nick and Leanne will be able to work through their differences or whether this will tear them apart.