David Platt (Coronation Street)

David Platt
Jack P. Shepherd as David Platt (2007).
Coronation Street character
Portrayed by	Thomas Ormson (1990–2000) Jack P. Shepherd (2000—)
Introduced by	Mervyn Watson
Duration	1990—
First appearance	26 December 1990
Classification	Present; regular
Profile
Date of birth	25 December 1990
Home	8 Coronation Street
Occupation	Hairdresser
Family Wife Kylie Turner (2011—) Father Martin Platt Mother Gail McIntyre Half brothers Nick Tilsley Half sisters Sarah Grimshaw Caitlin Platt Grandfathers Barry Platt Ted Page Grandmothers Barbara Platt Audrey Roberts Uncles Stephen Reid Nephews Billy Platt Nieces Bethany Platt

David Daniel Platt is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. The character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 26 December 1990 and is portrayed by actor Jack P. Shepherd, who took over the role in 2000 from Thomas Ormson who had portrayed the character since his inception.

Creation

Jack P. Shepherd as David Platt in 2000 after the recast.

Background

A character that viewers saw born in the soap, David's birth was part of the Coronation Street Christmas storyline in 1990. He was the only child of couple Martin and Gail Platt (Sean Wilson and Helen Worth), although Gail had two older children from her first marriage. David was the second of two Christmas births featured that year, as Sally Webster gave birth to her daughter Rosie Webster the day before.

Casting

Since David was days old and for most of his childhood years, the character was played by child actor Thomas Ormson. He played David in various minor storylines. In 2000, it was announced that young actor Jack P. Shepherd would be taking over the role he joined the soap on 26 April 2000 and has played the character to this day.

Development

Personality and identity

In 2005, the character changed from a normal schoolboy to a psychopath after his father Martin leaves for Liverpool with his new girlfriend. He begins sending cards to his mother Gail which she believed were from Richard Hillman, and pushing her down the stairs and even putting drugs in his niece Bethany's toys resulting in her go to hospital (even though Bethany wasn't meant to be home). In 2010 he ran over his best friend Graeme Proctor after stealing his grandmother Audrey Roberts's car. However, it was revealed that he was suffering from Epilepsy and had collapsed over the steering wheel.

However, David has also shown signs of compassion, love and kindness. When his mother Gail was wrongfully imprisoned for murder, David supported his mother and tried to prove her innocence. After he became engaged to Kylie Turner, his grandmother Audrey Roberts, for whom he works as a hairdresser leaves him her salon in her will. David also showed affection for his new stepson, Max Turner and offered to help raise Max.

Storylines

David is the son of Martin Platt and Gail Tilsley. He is born on Christmas Day 1990. David had few major storylines until the breakdown of his parents' marriage in 2000 when he was 10 years old. David was unhappy and began misbehaving in the hope that they would get back together. David was also unhappy when his mother married Richard Hillman in July 2002 but grew to accept him.

In March 2003, when Hillman is discovered to be a murderer, he tries to the whole family and himself. David, his mother, sister Sarah, and niece Bethany are kidnapped, bound and gagged by Hillman, who then drives his car, with all of them in it, into the canal. All of the family survive except Richard. In the years following this storyline, David gradually turned from an innocent schoolboy into a sociopath with a penchant for lies, manipulation and scheming.

The Platt family look on in horror as Richard's reign of terror ends.

The sudden change in David's attitude begins when his father, Martin, leaves Weatherfield and moves to Liverpool with his new girlfriend; David is upset and hurt by this and when his mother begins dating Phil Nail (Clive Russell) he begins a hate campaign against their relationship. David does not trust Phil as a result of Gail's relationship with Richard. When Phil has to move in with the family after his flat is flooded, David goes round to the flat to double-check if Phil is telling the truth.

In January 2006, Phil reaches breaking point with David's attitude and one day when his mother is out he throws David up against a wall and threatens to beat him up. Phil then realizes what he is doing and lets David go. However, when his mother comes home David tells her what has happened but Phil manages to lie his way out of it and Gail believes him, later that day Gail slaps David for telling a 'lie'. She does not know he is telling the truth.

A few days later the Platts receive their first Hillman card from Gail's deceased husband Richard Hillman.

In March 2006, Gail suspects Phil of sending the cards, as Gail and David and Phil are sat eating Phil argues his innocence but David protests and following this, Phil snaps and throws David across the table in front of Gail. Gail is stunned and throws Phil out for hitting David.

The Platts are still receiving Hillman cards and Gail tricks David into stating that it was Richards birthday coming up in June 2006. Nevertheless, a card comes. Gail then knows that it was David sending them, as Richard's birthday was actually in December. Gail blames herself for David's behaviour.

After setting fire to an exam paper, David is expelled from school, but manages to gain an A* in the one GCSE that he took. David is given a job at the builder's yard, but is sacked twice for misconduct, before being given a job in his grandmother's hairdressing salon. On one occasion, Gail catches David shaving the head of one of Bethany's (Emily and Amy Walton) dolls with a pair of electric clippers. He informs her that he was merely practising for his grandmother’s salon.^[1]

In late 2006, David begins to form a crush on his hair salon colleague Maria Sutherland (Samia Smith), but is shocked to learn that she having a secret relationship with builder Charlie Stubbs (Bill Ward) behind his girlfriend Tracy Barlow's (Kate Ford) back. He is threatened on a number of occasions by Charlie when he claims that he will reveal the truth to Tracy. He is forced into the back of a van by Charlie and threatened to stay quiet, only to be saved by Liam Connor (Rob James-Collier) who is passing by and hears the commotion. Charlie then tries to drown David in a bath of water when a horrified Maria walks in and stops him.

In January 2007, Tracy murders Charlie, staging it to look like self-defence. David's opportunistic nature comes to the fore as he offers to give a false testimony that he witnessed her acting in self-defence when she struck Charlie, on the condition that she provides him with sexual favours. A desperate Tracy agrees to the scheme, however, the prosecution see through the lack of credibility in David's version of events. Following his disastrous testimony, Tracy angrily tells him that she had never intended on sleeping with him, much to his annoyance. Tracy is eventually convicted of murder in April 2007.

In September 2007, David hides some Ecstasy tablets, which belong to a friend of Darryl Morton's (Jonathan Dixon), in one of Bethany's dolls. David is left to babysit but fails to notice she has taken one of the pills. Bethany is taken to intensive care, and David is almost arrested for possession of a Class-A Drug. Bethany makes a full recovery, and David is let off with a warning.^[2]

Gail kicks David out of the house, and he is taken on by his grandmother Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls). When Sarah refuses to invite him to her wedding, David vows that there will be no wedding. He loosens the bolts on the scaffolding at the builder's yard, causing Sarah's fiancé Jason to fall and end up in hospital in October 2007 nearly dying but makes a full recovery. Upon Jason's release, he and Sarah begin to piece together evidence that David was behind the "accident". Jason tells Gail about the conversation he had with David, regarding his murderous fantasies, but she refuses to believe him.

The day before the wedding, David leaves Gail a note threatening to commit suicide, but Sarah finds it first and destroys it. On the morning of the wedding, David drives his car to the canal, and leaves a phone message for his mother. Then, at the exact point where Richard Hillman tried to kill the Platt family, he drives the car at full speed into the canal, witnessed by a passer-by. Later, David turns up at the house, having escaped from the car. He makes it clear to Sarah that he had not intended to kill himself, he orchestrated the event merely to ruin the wedding. However, Gail still believes it to be a suicide attempt.

In January 2008, David begins sleeping with Tina McIntyre (Michelle Keegan). Tina discovers she is pregnant a few months later, and Gail helps her get an abortion without telling David. During an argument with Gail following this, David pushes her down the stairs. He persuades Tina not to tell the police and to give him an alibi, but she dumps him. A furious David proceeds to smash up various vehicles and windows on the Street with a metal pole, attacking Ken Barlow (William Roache) and elbowing a policewoman.^[3] On 18 April 2008, he is sentenced to four months in a Young Offenders Institution.

He is released in June 2008, after serving less than two months. David's cellmate from the institute, Graeme Proctor (Craig Gazey) comes to the Street in November to stay with David. Audrey refuses to have him back at Audrey's Salon, but he manages to find employment in Peter and Paul's salon with the aid of a fake reference. David and Tina break up again when he hacks into her email account and discovers she has been emailing her ex-boyfriend. As revenge, Tina has David fired from his new job. He begins seeing Amber Kalirai (Nikki Patel) in an attempt to make her jealous, but he and Tina are soon reconciled in August 2008.

David begins working with Tina's builder dad Joe (Reece Dinsdale) in October 2008. The following month, David becomes involved in a feud with dodgy family, the Windasses. After they refuse to pay for the new kitchen David and Joe had fitted, David threatens husband and wife Eddie (Steve Huison) and Anna (Debbie Rush) with a crowbar until they hand over the cash they owe. A horrified Graeme later tells David that they are not a family to be messed with. After Len (Conor Ryan) and Gary Windass (Mikey North) steal Joe's work tools, David, Tina and Graeme break into their house and destroy the kitchen by ripping out the new fittings and setting fire to them, only causing the Windasses to remove the kitchen in No.8 Coronation Street. When Gail and Anna have a heart-to-heart to sort out their families' differences, they decide to call a truce at the Rovers Return. David refuses to shake hands with Gary and storms off with Tina.

In April 2009, David comes back after visiting Martin and partner Robyn (Claire Calbraith). He later tells Joe and Gail that he knows he was a pain but wants a new chance after seeing his dad with his new family and that he wants an easy life by ending the feud with the Windasses. He then tells Graeme that he told them what they wanted to hear. He subsequently sees Tina and Gary in the pub talking and he assumes they are together. On Easter Sunday, he hides Joe's painkillers and then 'finds' them in Gail's dressing gown. He then buys everyone a Easter egg including Tina, which contains the details of a flat that they could move into together. However, she tells him that she isn't interested in his offer. This leaves David upset and worried that Gary could make a move on Tina.

A few months after the verdict David begins plotting against Gary. He steals tools from Bill Webster (Peter Armitage) and lets Gary take the rap for it, only to defend him, this is a way for him to make Gary believe the air is clear between them as they shake hands and make up. David tricks Gary into buying stolen goods off him - but they actually belong to Graeme. In June 2009, David takes full revenge on Gary when Gail and Audrey go abroad to visit Sarah and Bethany. He convinces Gary to rob a house - which is Audrey's - David steals the keys and hides all photos of his family so Gary won't know whose house it is. David pretends to call off the robbery, knowing that Gary will carry on with the plan alone, and asks Graeme to spy on Gary as he goes to the house. The plan goes wrong when David's grandfather Ted Paige (Michael Byrne), who is housesitting, arrives at Audrey's. Gary pushes Ted as he tries to apprehend him. Ted recognises him and calls the police. Gary returns to the Street only to see a police car outside his house, and runs away. Ted then has a heart attack, which he survives. Gary tells his parents and the police that he wasn't robbing Audrey's house, however, he later tells Eddie and Anna the truth and decides to confess to the police. Following Gary's confession the police set out to find David. Meanwhile, David has been unable to put back the photographs he had hidden in time to stop Audrey from finding them. The police arrive to interview David, and his family guess the truth. Ted, deeply hurt, becomes despondent, whilst David is disowned by his family leaving him with nowhere to turn. However, they decide to let him continue to live with them, but only if he pays rent.

When David finds out about Tina's new relationship with Jason Grimshaw, he spirals out of control and throws items from the builder's yard at Jason. Meanwhile, following his back injury it becomes increasingly clear to everyone, David included, that Joe, who is now in a relationship with Gail, is becoming addicted to prescription drugs. By June 2009, Joe is becoming increasingly dependent and trashes the kitchen when he can't find the medication. In July 2009, Graeme spots Joe's painkillers and Joe is interested to hear how there was a black market for such drugs when Graeme was in the Young Offenders' Institute. Later, a desperate Joe finds Graeme and asks if he can obtain some painkillers until his back is better. Graeme agrees to speak to his contact and, as promised, gets Joe the painkillers, but tells him it is a one-off favour. David later finds out about Joe's addiction and persuades Graeme to stop Joe's supply. David then tells Joe he will supply him drugs in exchange for a 'favour'. Much later on, David reveals this to be a deviously underhand attempt to force Joe to split up Jason and Tina. Joe doesn't want to, but David tells him he will tell Gail about the drugs if he fails to do so.

After Joe is killed in a boat accident in the Lake District with new wife Gail in February 2010, David and Gail decide to cover up the death by telling Tina that Joe got a job near the lakes. David even sends Tina flowers on her birthday 'from her dad' just to calm her down. When David confesses to Tina about Joe's accident, Tina is left shocked. Tina later blames Gail for Joe's death by banning her from Joe's funeral and by then telling the police that Gail did it. After the police had already suspected Gail they arrest her during Joe's wake in the Rovers. David, Nick (Ben Price) and Audrey are shocked while Tina shows no guilt.

David and Nick pay a cleaner £4,000 to pretend to be a witness to Joe's accident. She is paid £2,000 to tell the police that Gail was pushed off the boat by Joe before Joe sailed off and is told that she will be paid £2,000 to say that in court. However, she does not turn up and David takes to the witness box instead. It emerges in the court that David sent the flowers and messages to Tina, not Gail as the court had thought. David returns to court soon after to hear the jury's verdict, and is relieved when the jury find Gail 'not guilty'.

In June 2010, David is furious when best friend Graeme tells him that he is now dating Tina, for whom David still has feelings. He conspires to come between the couple by telling Graeme that Tina is on the rebound from Jason Grimshaw, but the tactic fails as Graeme and Tina continue seeing one another. David later assaults Tina in the flat she shares with Graeme. She tells Graeme, who confronts David. Later, while Graeme is walking home from work, he crosses the street to speak to Tina, only to be hit by Audrey's car, driven by David. After the accident David says he has no recollection of what happened: not a single person believes him, with Ashley attacking him verbally, Tina repeatedly calling him an attempted murderer and even Gail having a "flicker of doubt". However, one person does believe him: grandmother Audrey. On 21 October 2010, the evidence against David stacks up enough for him to be charged with attempted murder and chances of him being found innocent remote. However, just before his court appearance, David's insistance he doesn't recall the incident when just as he gets up, he blacks out and collapses. The case is postponed until next month, much to Tina's anger who believes David is trying to get out of it all. However, doctors think otherwise: they believe he might have a form of epilepsy, which cause him to black out while driving; Audrey instantly believes this to be a reason why he ran over Graeme, with the police slowly realising this could be true, but Tina doesn't believe a word of his explanation.

Later in the day, David "disowns" Gail for not believing him, despite her pleas that it was one flicker of doubt, but he doesn't budge and says Audrey never had a flicker of doubt and even if she did, she would have kept it to herself. David is granted bail, but has to stay with Audrey. which he does until the hearing and in that time, he "re-owns" Gail and forgives her. The case is dropped when it is confirmed he has epilepsy and Graeme both apologises (for accusing him of attempted murder) and forgives him. The doubtful residents also apologise for disbelieving him, but Tina continues to insist he's lying, telling everyone that David hasn't got epilepsy, insisting he's decided he has epilepsy rather than being diagnosed and making Graeme go home from the Rovers, refusing to let him drink in a pub that "serves psychos". However, on 29 November, David goes to the Rovers and is invited by Graeme, recently-back-from-the-army Gary (he returned after a bomb explosion) and Gary's girlfriend Izzy Armstrong to join them at their table, much to Tina's annoyance. She refuses to accept that David is automatically forgiven, but when Gary tells her "life's too short for grudges", she finally accepts the truth, ends her feud with David (ending nearly 20 months of hostility) and calls a truce with the Platt family.

On 6th December, disaster and chaos reign when brother Nick's new wine bar explodes, destroying it. To make matters worse, one of the tram-lines crossing the viaduct collapses and brings a tram off it, battering the southern part of the street. David helps in saving residents and is worried about Nick when he can't be found. He is relieved to find Nick safe and sound when he's rescued from the ruins. On Christmas Eve 2010, David is livid after Tracy Barlow is released from prison pending a retrial. Tracy had previously attempted to frame Gail for Joe's death, in a scheme to secure an early release. After Tracy continues to taunt his mother, as well as stealing a job at Underworld that Gail was going to apply for, David confronts her at her house about her malicious behaviour and threatens her. However, a twist of events occur when Tracy starts seducing him and he ends up having sex with her, much to his regret later when a spiteful Tracy reveals their one-night-stand to an enraged Gail.

In February 2011, Audrey reveals she would like David to succeed her and Maria quits, angered by this prospect. A few days later, he leaves to go to Tenerife for a holiday. He arrives back in early March and, to Gail's horror, is engaged to a cage dancer. His fiancee, "Candy", is actually Kylie Turner (Paula Lane), half-sister to Becky McDonald (Katherine Kelly). Gail and Becky are horrified, whilst Becky's husband (Steve) and Audrey are quite cool about it. Eventually, after a client dies at the salon, Audrey decides to retire and give the salon to David, who is pleased and offers Kylie a job there.

In the ensuing weeks, David and Kylie start making plans for the salon and the wedding. David makes it clear he doesn't even want to consider inviting Sarah to the wedding and also informs his family that Graeme, who is marrying Tina's friend Xin Chiang (Elizabeth Tan), will also be getting married at the same place. The big day of the wedding arrives but there is no sign of Kylie, much to Gail's delight has she secretly bribed her with 1,000 pounds to leave David. Much to Gail's horror, Kylie turns up at the registry office, proving her genuine love for David and the couple then get married.

David then fights to take custody of Max Turner (Harry McDermott), but ends up in a war with Steve and Becky, with Kylie trying to avoid it. David insists that Steve and Becky aren't fit to look after Max, proving this when he saves Max from being run over. Eventually, Kylie is interviewed by Social Services and lies to them. Steve then reveals the truth that Kylie sold Max to the McDonalds. Luckily, David isn't angered, he's just surprised that Kylie never told him and makes it clear that they won't divorce. When Tina throws Graeme and Xin out, David offers them a place at Gail's. When the two leave for London, David bids Graeme farewell.

In July 2011, David finds himself being fought for affection by Kylie and Gail, with Kylie winning. The next day, when Marc comes round, Kylie drops the bombshell about Gail bribing her, disgusting David who vows they'll get their own home. The following day, Kylie decides to ask Audrey to evict Maria from the salon flat (much to David's annoyance) and asks, though her pleas fall on deaf ears. The next day, Kylie winds Gail up to the point that she insists that any food, clearing up and ironing must be done by the young couple alone.

In the salon later that day, David finds himself ganged up on by the women. In August, he is horrified to learn from Gail that Kylie is putting Max up for adoption and she doesn't want to attend the hearing. David confronts her and she still insists she doesn't want Max. However, following a confession with Gail (who sacrifices her interview at the bistro) that she does want Max, but has only ever let him down, Gail encourages her to attend the hearing. She agrees and both her and David plan to go together. In Mid-August, Audrey decides that David and Kylie should get a chance to prove they can run the salon and takes Mondays off, to give the couple trial runs.

However, on the first trial run, David does well with clients, but Kylie screws up by accidentally insulting Audrey's friends Rita Sullivan (Barbara Knox) and Betty Williams (Betty Driver) about their age, injuring Julie Carp and whilst giving Gail a good nail service, also falls flat when one falls off at the Bistro. Audrey sends David on a 2-week residental business course, in order to give him a clearer image on running a salon and insists Kylie, until she is qualified, sticks to nails.

But, in the two weeks he is absent, chaos reigns in the Platt household. On Kylie's birthday, he seemingly forgets it and as a result, flirts with other men. To teach her a lesson, Gail locks her out of the house and Kylie stays with her new friend Eva Price at the Rovers. The next day, Kylie has a go at Gail for what she did and Audrey sacks her for it. In revenge, Kylie and Eva inadvertently discover Audrey and her boyfriend Marc Selby, who is dressed as his alter-ego "Marcia". They film them and Kylie uses it as blackmail to get her job back. The plan, though, misfires when Marc walks into the Rovers dressed as Marcia. Audrey is forced to break up with him and upon learning this, Gail kicks Kylie out of the house and she is forced to stay with Eva.

In revenge, Kylie steals' Nick's keys and locks Gail and Nick out of the house. David returns at the same time and is splashed by water from a pan, held by Kylie. David learns of the situation and calms Kylie down. He then reveals to his family that he has been offered a job by the course as salon manager and has been offered a flat for it as well. However, when they meet with Max's social worker, they learn that the job and flat offer would dent their adoption process. Realising the situation she has put them in, Gail tells David and Kylie they can stay at the house for as long as it takes.

Reception

Fearing real-life imitation of the scene in which David was tortured by Charlie Stubbs, many formal complaints were filed by viewers with the Government’s Office of Communications. In the end, "Coronation Street was cleared by TV watchdogs after 31 complaints about scenes of ‘bullying and torture’." Investigators eventually ruled that the torture scenes "were editorially justified by plot development, characters involved and the manner of editing."^[4] Tony Stewart of The Mirror refers to the character as 'David Pratt' when writing reviews of any storyline he features in, due to the character's way of seemingly always getting away with outlandish things. In magazine articles he is often referred to as "Demon David", "Teen Tormenter" or "Psycho Platt".^[5][6]

See also

• List of soap opera villains
• List of Coronation Street characters (1990)
• Jack P. Shepherd
• Thomas Ormson

References

1. ^ "You’re only meant to Platt it!". The Sun. August 30, 2007. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article266761.ece. 
2. ^ "Corrie kid swallows E pill". The Sun. 2007-08-08. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article263452.ece. Retrieved 2008-02-12. 
3. ^ Digital Spy
4. ^ "Coronation Street in the clear". The Sun. March 13, 2007. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article16967.ece. 
5. ^ Tony Stewart (30 May 2009). "Coronation Street: Ted man walking". The Mirror. http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/soapland/2009/05/coronation-street-ted-man-walk.html. Retrieved 2009-06-13. ^{[dead link]}
6. ^ Tony Stewart (8 November 2008). "Coronation Street: Kitchen sink dramas". The Mirror. http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/soapland/2008/11/coronation-street-kitchen-sink.html. Retrieved 2009-06-13. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• [1] Official ITV Coronation Street