'He is willing to go to whatever lengths he has to': Coronation Street's Andrew Still teases 'manipulative' Justin will stop at nothing to avoid jail as stalker faces trial for acid attack on Ryan

Coronation Street’s Andrew Still has teased that his character Justin Rutherford will go to ‘whatever lengths he has to’, to avoid jail amid 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 permanently scarred.

And as Justin is set to take the stand this week for his horrific crimes, actor Andrew has warned that his ‘manipulative’ character will stop at nothing to dupe the jury and ensure he walks free from court.

The last time viewers saw Justin, he demonstrated his ‘pathetic’ side as he grovelled to Daisy in the hospital car park before he was swiftly 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 head, he’s ‘the hero in his own story’ and cannot see what he’s done is wrong.

Wicked: Coronation Street’s Andrew Still has teased that his character Justin Rutherford will go to ‘whatever lengths he has to’, to avoid jail amid his upcoming acid attack trial

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 permanently scarred

But as Justin appears in court in upcoming scenes, Andrew warned that fans will see a ‘new’ Justin, who has amped up his manipulation in a bid to gain the ‘upper hand’ in court.

He revealed: ‘It’s a new Justin that we are going to see. There is a lot going on in his head with the trial underway as he feels backed into a corner so he is willing to go to whatever lengths he has to, to gain the upper hand.

‘He has manipulated his sister and he is lying to anyone and everyone around him. There is a very definite fear of going to prison for a very long time so he is desperate.’

He continued: ‘We will see a slither of the pathetic Justin but this is his big chance to be seen and to be heard, particularly by Daisy, so he is happy to grab that opportunity with both hands. As the trial progresses we are going to see Justin wrestling to stay calm and collected as this inner tension is bubbling under the surface.’

Andrew went on to add that Justin is confident that he’ll be able to paint Daisy in a bad light in court using his ‘manipulation tactics’, adding that the creep will pull off an epic performance to sway the jury to his side.

He explained: ‘Justin has a well rehearsed speech as he knows this trial is important so he sees this as his golden opportunity to convince the jury to let him go. He is going to put on the full charm offensive and he will use all of his manipulation tactics to win the jury round.

‘He’s not confident that this is going to all pan out for him but he knows that this is make or break and he has to put on the performance of his life to get away with this.

‘It’s a very stakes, high pressure situation for him. We are going to see the most manipulative Justin yet.’

Trial: As Justin is set to take the stand this week for his horrific crimes , actor Andrew has warned that his ‘manipulative’ character will stop at nothing to dupe the jury and ensure he walks free from court

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

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

He added of his character’s previous deviousness: ‘We have seen little hints of him being able to manipulate people; he has done it to Daisy, he has done it to Daniel, and they have 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 meet him for the first time, they are won over by his act. He can be quite unassuming but this is the be all and end all so he is going to pull out all the stops.’

Throughout the storyline, viewers have watched as Justin genuinely believed he had a future with Daisy, while after the attack, the character was convinced he’s done nothing wrong and had even began to believe his own lies.

On whether Justin feels any remorse to Ryan over his actions, Andrew explained: ‘Justin is in survival mode. He did realise he had done wrong, moments after the attack took place, but has since decided that he is going to do anything and everything to protect himself so he has almost convinced himself that he has done nothing wrong and decompartmentalised that. 

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

‘He has no appreciation or understanding of the damage he has caused Ryan and he is looking at it through the prism of how it has affected him.’

After having first appeared in the ITV soap in December 2022, Andrew has portrayed his character through tough scenes, most predominantly his sinister attack on Ryan in the pub.

However, the soap star told how the court scenes have been his most ‘difficult’ yet as it’s almost like the climax of his six-month run in the street.

The trial looms! In upcoming scenes, Daisy, who has been catfishing Ryan by pretending to his love interest Crystal, grows even closer to him as they both prepare to face Justin in court

HIS version! As Justin enters the witness box how will he describe his version of events and how will the court react to his claims?

On what it was like to read the court scripts, he shared: ‘I was like, “Okay, this is the time for him to put everything on the table!” I knew this was going to be the most difficult scene I’ve ever played as Justin because it’s his chance to manipulate the jury and give everything he has got.

‘It felt like the entire six months run that I have done on Coronation Street was distilled into that one monologue because it’s very rare in television that you’re going to have a big monologue like that.

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

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

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