Corrie airs '24-style' murder plot

2:24pm Saturday 11th October 2008

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Actor Gray O'Brien said that he was bracing himself for heckles after Coronation Street villain Tony Gordon murders heart-throb Liam Connor next week.

Furious to have discovered that Liam has been having an affair with his bride-to-be Carla Connor, Tony has planned the perfect murder under cover of his stag night.

Corrie viewers will finally discover exactly how the evil businessman snuffs out his popular love rival (played by Rob James-Collier) in a "24-style" climax.

The "murder week" hits screens next Monday and three different killings have been filmed to keep the storyline secret. Unusually for the soap, all five episodes that week will cover one 24-hour period.

Speaking at a press conference in London, O'Brien said: "It was hard work. Very draining. It was a long shoot - we normally do 10 days, we shot it in 19. So there was a lot of night shoots."

O'Brien said of his character: "I knew he was going to have villainous traits. But it was certainly up to the audience's reaction as to how far he was going to go."

The three alternative endings were all filmed in secure locations. In the first scenario, Tony uses his stag do paint-ball outing to kill Liam. As the pair become separated from the rest of the stags Tony pulls out a real gun and shoots him.

In the second ending Liam is mown down in the street by a "hit-and-run" driver and left to die in Tony's arms. The third alternative sees Tony take Liam to one of the flats in his luxury Victoria Court development and as they admire the view from the balcony he pushes Liam over the edge to his death.

Liam's wife Maria has just discovered that she is pregnant but does not even get chance to tell her husband about the baby before he dies. And a distraught Carla is forced to hide her grief and continue with her plans to marry Tony - unaware that he has murdered the man she really loved.

On playing a baddie, O'Brien said: "It's great fun, it's a role that's always eluded me. It's interesting that people seem to forget that I used to play nicer guys in the past. I'm sure there'll be plenty of heckles after next week!"