Corrie star reacts to Jacob's surprising new romance

Coronation Street spoilers follow.

Jack James Ryan has shared some exciting new details about his Coronation Street character Jacob Hay's budding romance with Amy Barlow.

Soap bosses have confirmed an unlikely romance will blossom between the two characters, even after Jacob played a role in grooming Amy's cousin Simon Barlow for the drug gang.

Speaking to Digital Spy exclusively, the actor opened up about whether Jacob is telling the truth when he assures Amy and Summer that he's put the drug gang behind him for good.

"Well, I think he's always, in one way or another, going to be tied up in his unsavoury past. I think it's going to be a defining feature of him moving forward, whether he likes it or not. But I think he genuinely wants to change. He genuinely wants to be a better person and create a new life for himself," Ryan told us.

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"I think it's important to point out that Jacob is a victim as well in regards to the whole drug situation. He's a young lad, in the same way that Jacob groomed Simon, Harvey groomed Jacob in the first place to get him involved in this gang. So I think the reason he was doing all the stuff that he was doing was because he was being blackmailed, he was being forced into it.

"So I think now that Harvey's back in prison, I think this is the perfect time for Jacob to like, 'Okay, this is my opportunity, this is my chance to get out to create a new life for myself'. Even though that's not going to be easy for him – to leave the gang. In regards to why he's decided to do it, I think he just genuinely wants a new beginning and he wants a fresh start for himself."

Amy is initially wary of Jacob, going so far as to warn him to stay away from the Barlow family after everything Harvey and the drug gang put them through.

"I think there's a definite naivety to Jacob when he first comes back, I think, although his intentions are good," Hay said. "I think he almost expects everyone to instantly forget about all the bad things he ever did. He comes back and he's like, ‘Yeah, well, you know, I'm starting to change now’.

"And he thinks everyone's going to go, 'OK, great!' But at the end of the day Amy and Simon are cousins, so of course, she is going to be extremely hostile towards Jacob. But I think he just feels totally rejected and a little bit lost, to be honest.

jacob, amy barlow, summer spellman, coronation street

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"I think he's struggling to see like a way out or the light at the end of the tunnel. In his head, he's like, 'I've made this decision to change now, so why isn't anybody accepting me?' But I think he is going to be a long road for him."

Before long, Amy does see that Jacob is trying to change his way and takes a liking to him – though Ryan has acknowledged that the Barlows aren't thrilled about the two getting closer.

"As mentioned with the family connection with Simon, they already know Jacob, they already hate Jacob," he explained. "Well, they think they know Jacob but will they give him opportunity to prove that he's changed? Who knows?

"I think one thing for sure, is that you do not want to get in the way of Steve McDonald and his girls. And you don't want to get on the wrong side of Tracy Barlow full stop. So I think that he’s going to have a difficult time."

Ryan now has one of the soap's most-anticipated 2022 storylines on the horizon, which he admits is beyond his wildest expectations for his character Jacob.

"I hope the writers won't mind me saying this. But I think when Jacob was first conceived, the character was quite divisive, but he was that to serve a purpose. He was there to come in, be horrible, cause lots of trouble and then sort of vanish into the ether," he said.

carla connor and jacob hay in coronation street

ITV

"But I think while I was filming the first time, I was working really hard to find some elements of different qualities to Jacob. Obviously, he was terrible, we knew that. But I tried to show that although he was flawed, he was human as well. That was what I was trying to get across. And to be honest, I really didn't expect the reaction from the fans - it was huge and overwhelming. It was amazing, and I think that was also a big factor as to why they decided to bring me back.

"I remember one fan on Twitter tweeted me and said, 'I love to hate Jacob. He's like a likeable artful dodger'. And that's always stayed with me, that's a really good way of describing him. And it's something now that I take forward with me in the character."

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