Coronation Street’s Alan Halsall confirms how Tyrone will defeat vile dad Ross

If you’re eager for the villainous Ross Wilkes (Ian Burfield) get his comeuppance on Coronation Street, don’t worry. According to actor Alan Halsall, who plays his son Tyrone Dobbs, it’s the beginning of the end.

Ty’s toxic dad has been bad news from day one.

Not only did Ross sexually assault Tyrone’s mother Cassie Plummer (Claire Sweeney) when she was underage and addicted to drugs, but he turned Tyrone against her, leading to her leaving Weatherfield with a broken heart.

He might have even murdered Cassie.

Now, Tyrone’s dastardly dad continues to spread his toxic influence over his son, and his grandson Dorin (Henry Nye Meller), by trying to get them involved in boxing.

It might seem like harmlss fun, but beneath the surface lies toxic masculinity andmisogyny, which is on full display when Ross convinces Tyrone to deliberately Ruby (Billie Naylor) from boxing.

This obviously does not go down well with but  Fiz (Jennie McAlpine) . But to her frustration, Tyrone just cant see the danger in his dad’s attitude, as Alan Halsal explains:

‘Tyrone sees him as just a bit old-fashioned and set in his ways. Obviously, in today’s age, as parents, we want our kids, regardless of whether they’re a boy or a girl, to try everything they want to try. Tyrone just sees it as, “Oh, it’s not really a problem, he’s just a bit of a dinosaur.” He actually mentions that Ross is a bit of a dinosaur and that’s all it is, there’s no harm in it. Whereas Fiz obviously sees it as something a bit more sinister.’

It’s true, there’s no love lost between Fiz and Ross.

Ty’s better half has been suspicious of his long-lost dad ever since Cassie disappeared in mysterious circumstances. She previously warned Ross to tread carefully, but had no hard evidence so decided not to rock the boat.

That was before Ross started threatening her marraige.

This week’s episodes see Tyrone neglect Fiz by staying out drinking with his dad, allowing him to confiscate his phone. This obviously does not go down well with Fiz, who takes Ross to task.

Alan Halsall shares some insight on how Ross is causing cracks in Tyrone’s marriage to Fiz.

‘When Ross takes the phone, it’s more like, ‘Oh come on, ignore that,’ in a playful dad-and-lad type of way. Tyrone doesn’t feel like he’s being chastised or told off; he just thinks, ‘What is the harm in it all?’ Fiz clashes with Ross over it, but because Tyrone doesn’t see it as really bad, he’s like, ‘Okay, we can get past this, it’s just a bit of a clash.’

‘Ross continuously worms his way back in. Even buying flowers is significant because Tyrone sees that and says, “Look, he’s making the effort.” So they look like small hurdles to Tyrone that they can get past, and he tells Fiz to stop being so harsh. It’s constantly little jibes, mostly to Fiz, so Tyrone really isn’t seeing the bigger picture.’

However, a bit of casual sexism is just the start.

Next week’s trip to Coronation Street will see Tyrone react badly when he discovers that Dorin has a bruise on his arm, and claims that he was punched by Aled Winter-Brown (Joseph Woods).

Goaded by Ross, Tyrone confronts Chesney Brown (Sam Aston) over his son’s behaviour. Ross purposely ignites a row between Tyrone and Chesney. Tyrone, desperate to prove he isn’t a pushover, punches Chesney.

While Tyrone is filled with immediate regret, Ross validates the violence. Will Tyrone realise he’s in the wrong or has Ross manipulated him too far?

Everyone who watches Coronation Street knows that under normal circumstances, Tyrone doesn’t have a violent bone in his body. Alan Halsall highlights how Ross is able to manipulate Tyrone into doing the unthinkable.

‘Ross continuously drip-feds him things like, ‘Ty, you need to stand up for yourself, you need to stand up for your family.’ Even though Tyrone initially sees it as a small thing where kids will be kids, Ross keeps telling him, ‘Come on, stand up for yourself, you can’t let this go on, tell Chesney.’

‘Then, once Chesney looks at Tyrone and says, “Come on mate, what are you doing? This is ridiculous,’ that gets Tyrone’s back up because he feels he has to do it to show his dad.’

‘He’s basically caught in the middle of it and causes a row that would never have happened prior to Ross being there.’

‘When something becomes physical like it does between Tyrone and Chesney, there’s an immediate realisation from Tyrone: ‘Oh God, this isn’t me. This isn’t right. I shouldn’t have done that.’ He immediately regrets it, though he might not be willing to admit to himself straight away that he only did it for his dad. He’s devastated because Ches isn’t just a friend, he’s family. Nobody punches Ches!’

Fortunately, hitting poor Chesney might just be the wake up call Tyrone needs. Alan Halsall gives us a small taste of what’s to come as Ty starts to see his dad’s dark side.

‘There are several indicators going forward where Tyrone sees little bits, but then thinks, ‘Oh, it might just be this or that.’ Ross actually turns on Tyrone at one point and gets right in his face, so Ty sees a very different side to him. But Ross is immediately apologetic, and Tyrone forgives him because of that willingness to just get past it and have a relationship. He starts to see very small moments, nowhere near as much as Fiz or others, and thinks, ‘Right, leave me alone, I don’t need this.’

‘But then that longing for a family comes back and he thinks, ‘Oh well, I can forgive it, it wasn’t a big thing, he bought me a beer, everything is fine.’ Then it happens again, so there’s a lot of back and forth where he says, “I forgive you,’ then ‘Get out of my life,’ which frustrates Fiz more than anybody else.’

This is not the first time that Tyrone has been manipulated by a toxic influence close to him. Fans will no doubt remember his domestically abusive partner Kirsty Soames (Natalie Gumede).

Coronation Street has chosen to revisit that story recently, by having Tyrone encourage Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) testify about Theo’s abusive behaviour at Sarah Platt’s (Tina O’Brien) murder trial.

Of course, Ross has his own opinions about coercive control, especially when a woman is the perpetrator – and according to Alan, his opinions didn’t go down well with Tyrone.

‘Ross mentions coercive control early on, and it really got Tyrone’s back up—he said something like, ‘Who would get hit by a woman and put up with that type of thing?’

However, as Alan explains, sooner or later, Tyrone will see the light… and it will be because of the people who love him the most.

‘Right now, Ross is trying to control Tyrone, but Tyrone sees it as very different to what Kirsty did because it’s a different person doing it in a different way, plus Ross is a big, intimidating chap. In the end, Tyrone will realise, ‘Hang on a minute, I’m not thinking for myself here, why is that?’

‘It might take Tyrone longer than other people, but he’ll get there with the help of Fiz, family, and others.’

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