Chris Harper AKA Nasty Nathan in Corrie dishes the dirt on his trial ahead of tonight’s episode

Chris Harper who plays paedophile Nathan in Coronation Street has spoken on This Morning about tonight's episode which sees the criminal awaiting his trial.

We don't know about you, but we've been absolutely gripped by Bethany and Nathan's storyline on Coronation Street.

It's been a horrifically tough watch at some points, but even though we've been left emotionally drained, we know deep down that it's all for a good cause - to highlight that child grooming is actually happening, and what we can do to stop it.

WATCH: Chris Harper AKA Nasty Nathan speaks out ahead of his trial in Corrie | ITV/ This Morning

And today, Chris Harper, the actor behind evil child groomer Nathan, has spoken on This Morning about the importance of showing a storyline such as this pre-watershed - and all the goss behind Nasty Nathan's trial, which starts in tonight's episode.

Chris, who previously spoke on Lorraine with his co-star Lucy Fallon who plays his victim Bethany Platt about this issue, said that he applauded the writers of the soap.

He said: "I think Coronation Street have been brilliant in doing it in a pre-watershed way and bringing the conversation into the living room.

"By nature this is a family issue. Victims can be six, eight they can be 18. It affects everybody. There are people of any age being abused and it’s not the weird, creepy guy necessarily. It's someone you might trust or think you know or someone who can leverage the relationship of the family and tell you not to tell anyone."

The actor, who has worked with charities to speak to victims, added: "I was put in touch early on with victims, social services and police who deal with these sort of people.

"You still have cases where people are in prison and then people in care writing to them and saying they will be together when they get out. It's that level of cruel manipulation that really scars people."

Thankfully, it has been long-accepted that Nathan will get his comeuppance, something Chris alluded to when he mysteriously said: "The whole story is being told through Bethany's eyes. Nathan is not sticking around."

Speaking a few weeks ago in a Q&A session, Chris said: "I spoke to a police inspector who said a man charged with grooming had tried to seduce her while he was being interviewed. Nathan is largely based on him. His self-confidence is delusional."

He even spoke about what we will see in this week's episodes: "Without Bethany testifying, the case is weak enough to let him wriggle out and carry on doing what he is doing. He's already making plans."

But it sounds like it doesn't all go according to plan: "Nathan's barrister has done a good job selling the story that Nathan has constructed, but it is clear Bethany's barrister doesn't believe a word of it. When Nathan realises the jury don't seem to be falling for his charm he suddenly gets stage fright."

YES! This is exactly what we wanted to hear.

He went on to say: "Nathan's been a joy to play, because he is one of those pig-headed people who think that if they say something it's therefore true. He convinces himself he's done a good job, therefore he must have done. He's convinced himself he's innocent, so he must be.

"Remember, he thinks everyone around him is playing a small role in the movie about his life. He thinks he'll get off, he's the hero."

Chris added: "All the way along I have had help from members of the police, social services, charities and survivors. They have provided me with confidence at every step. I am very proud to be Patron of Voicing CSA and to work so closely with the NSPCC too."

However, having seen what we saw in the trailer for the upcoming weeks on Coronation Street which was released last week, we're really quite worried about what will happen to Bethany tonight.

In the 3-minute clip, Bethany is seen being driven off in a car by the double-crossing Mel, who Bethany thought was on her side - but actually it looks as though she's STILL been working for Nathan, despite everything he's done to her.

We then see Bethany's mum Sarah frantically calling her as she doesn't turn up to the court case, and her best friend Craig Tinker working as a police officer as a female's body is found - and the one piece of evidence they've got is Bethany's necklace...

Will you be watching Coronation Street this week? Let us know over on Facebook and Twitter.

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