Coronation Street’s Andrew Still teases ‘manipulative’ Justin will stop at nothing to avoid jail

Andrew Still of Coronation Street has teased that his character Justin Rutherford will go to great lengths to avoid prison during his upcoming acid attack trial.

After weeks of stalking Daisy Midgeley, Justin horrified viewers when he tried to throw acid at Daisy on her wedding day, only for Ryan Connor to jump in the way, leaving him with permanent scars.

And while Justin will take the stand for his heinous crimes this week, actor Andrew has warned that his “manipulative” persona will do anything to mislead the jury and ensure he goes unpunished in court.

The last time viewers saw Justin, he was demonstrating his “pathetic” side as he crawled up to Daisy in the hospital parking lot before being quickly arrested and taken into custody.

Andrew explained that the stalker has the ability to “jump through mental hoops to justify his actions,” adding that in his mind he’s “the hero in his own story” and can’t see what he’s done wrong.

Attacked: Justin horrified viewers when he tried to throw acid at Daisy on her wedding day, only for Ryan Connor (pictured) to jump in the way, leaving him with permanent scars

But as Justin appears in court in the upcoming scenes, Andrew warned that fans will see a “new” Justin, who has stepped up his manipulation in an effort to gain the “upper hand” in court.

He revealed, “It’s a new Justin we’re going to see. There’s a lot going on in his head while the process is going on because he feels cornered, so he’s willing to go to any lengths to get the upper hand.

“He manipulated his sister and he lies to everyone around him. There is a very clear fear of going to prison for a very long time, so he is desperate.’

He continued, “We’ll get a glimpse of the pathetic Justin, but this is his big chance to be seen and heard, especially by Daisy, so he’s happy to grab that chance with both hands.” As the process progresses, we will see Justin struggle to remain calm and composed as this inner tension bubbles beneath the surface.”

Andrew added that Justin is confident he can put Daisy in a bad light in court using his “manipulation tactics,” adding that the creep will put on an epic performance to win over the jury.

He explained, “Justin has a well-rehearsed speech because he knows this trial is important, so he sees this as his golden opportunity to convince the jury to let him go. He’s going to deploy the full charm offensive and he’s going to use all of his manipulation tactics to win the judging round.

“He’s not confident that he’s going to succeed in all this, but he knows it’s make or break and that he has to give the performance of his life to get away with this.

“It’s a very exciting situation for him. We’re going to see the most manipulative Justin yet.”

Trial: As Justin will take the stand for his heinous crimes this week, actor Andrew has warned that his ‘manipulative’ nature will stop at nothing to defraud the jury and ensure his release from court

Victims: Andrew explained that the stalker has the ability to “jump through mental hoops to justify his actions,” adding that in his mind he’s “the hero in his own story” and can’t see what he’s done wrong is

Shocking: The deranged stalker pelted Ryan Connor in the face with a glass full of acid last month in shocking scenes after the bartender intervened to protect Daisy, who was the original target

He added of his character’s previous cunning: “Wwe’ve seen little hints that he can manipulate people; he did it Daisy, he did it to Daniel, and they worked him out and pushed him away.

“But the jury doesn’t know anything about the situation or what Justin is like and for most people when they first meet him they are convinced by his act. He can be quite modest, but this is everything and everyone, so he’s going to pull out all the stops.’

Throughout the storyline, viewers have seen Justin genuinely believe he had a future with Daisy, as after the attack the character became convinced that he had done nothing wrong and even started to believe his own lies.

When asked if Justin feels any remorse towards Ryan for his actions, Andrew explained, “Justin is in survival mode. He did realize he had done wrong shortly after the attack happened but has since decided that he’s going to do anything and everything to protect himself so he’s almost convinced himself he didn’t do anything wrong and decompartmentalized that .

“Because he’s such a truly phenomenal liar, he totally believes his own lies. Weirdly I think he feels remorse for Ryan, but it’s not in an overly sympathetic way to Ryan, he feels remorse that this got him to where he is and he regrets the situation he got into.

“He has no appreciation or understanding of the damage he’s done to Ryan and he’s looking at it through the prism of how it affected him.”

Having first appeared in the ITV soap in December 2022, Andrew has portrayed his character through difficult scenes, most notably his sinister attack on Ryan in the pub.

However, the soap star shared how the court scenes were his “toughest” yet as it’s nearing the pinnacle of his six-month run on the streets.

The test is lurking! In the next few scenes, Daisy, who is catfishing Ryan by pretending to be his love interest Crystal, grows even closer to him as they both prepare to face Justin in court.

HIS version! When Justin comes on the witness stand, how will he describe his version of events and how will the court respond to his claims?

On what it was like reading the court scripts, he shared, “I thought, ‘Okay, now’s the time for him to lay it all out on the table!’ I knew this was going to be the hardest scene I’ve ever played as Justin because it’s his chance to manipulate the jury and give it everything he’s got.

“It felt like the whole six-month run I did on Coronation Street was distilled into that one monologue, because it’s rare you get such a big monologue on television.

“It also felt kind of theatrical in the courtroom, so I really wanted to get the most out of the scene. It felt like a challenge and because of the way Coronation Street is filmed I only had one or two chances to get it right but I’m happy with how it went and we’ll see what the viewers think when it comes out on TV ! ‘

With Justin finally standing trial for his crimes, viewers will have to wait and see if the character is brought to justice.

Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX.