While Maggie represents the crimes of the previous generation, Coronation Street continues to go straight into sensitive content areas with the storyline of Will Driscoll and Megan Walsh.

New episodes show that this relationship has moved far from the usual emotional drama zone and entered the dark territory of grooming, abuse of power and psychological manipulation.

Will is a teenager struggling to find his place in a chaotic family.

He sees in Megan – a sports coach – the image of an adult who understands him, listens to him and makes him feel special.

Megan compliments him more than others, spends time alone with him, uses intimate gestures that go beyond the limits of a coach and a student. To Will, that is a sign of love. To the audience, it is a textbook example of an adult using power and trust to drag a child into an unhealthy relationship.

Recent spoilers reveal that Megan lures Will to a hotel, with the promise of escaping all pressure, just the two of them together. The scene of the two of them dragging their suitcases into the lobby, Will’s eyes sparkling with excitement and anticipation, while Megan maintains a dangerous calm, is both frustrating and worrying. The feeling of insecurity grows as Will’s father, Ben, begins to suspect and track his son down. Corrie promises a tense confrontation at the hotel room door, where Ben might just be able to stop the tragedy from happening.

But this storyline pushes Will’s psychology further when another teenager appears to declare his intention to make advances on Megan. Instead of reading the situation as a clear warning that Megan is playing the multi-player game, Will reacts with a mixture of jealousy and disgust. He can’t bear the thought of the person he idolizes having his eyes on someone else, and he’s faced with the reality that he’s not as special as he thought.