Corrie boss confirms Lydia will spark huge Adam and Sarah crisis

Coronation Street spoilers follow.

Coronation Street newcomer Lydia will spark a major marital crisis for Adam and Sarah Barlow over the coming months, culminating in a "nightmarish" situation.

Corrie producer Iain MacLeod has revealed to Digital Spy and other media during a 2022 preview that, following Lydia's (Rebecca Ryan) recent introduction as a new friend for Sarah (Tina O'Brien), her previous romantic connection with Adam (Sam Robertson) is set to bring "lots of excitement" to the cobbles.

"What we wanted to do with this story was an updated version of a '90s thriller," he said. "You might remember all the way through the '90s there were loads of thrillers like Fatal Attraction. Looking back on them now, they look horribly dated in terms of the gender politics.

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"So we thought: 'What might a story of that type look like in the 21st century?' And I hope we've cracked it. I think what we've got is a really nuanced story where everybody is capable of behaving badly, but there is no vilification of a scorned woman or anything like that."

It was recently revealed that Adam and Lydia had a relationship while at university together, but their perceptions of how serious their romance was appear to be quite different.

The soap's boss has promised that Lydia's continued presence on the cobbles as Adam and Sarah take steps toward starting their own family will become a real threat to the couple's marriage, as "lots of scheming" leads to a dramatic situation for the characters.

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"The bottom line is, Lydia will come to be quite a threat to Sarah and Adam's marriage – or indeed, perhaps more accurately, she will be the catalyst for Sarah and Adam to risk destroying their own relationship," he teased. "There's lots of secrecy involved, lots of scheming and incredibly intelligent subterfuge on the part of various parties.

"It does culminate in quite an exciting sequence, that I've just read which will be taking place at some point in the first six months of the year.

"It will start small, character led and nuanced but then gradually becomes more and more nightmarish, particularly for Adam and Sarah as the story unfolds."

Actress Rebecca Ryan recently spoke out about Lydia's potential new romance with Adam's uncle Daniel Osbourne (Rob Mallard), revealing that she thinks the pair have "a genuine attraction".

Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7.30pm on ITV.