Bethany (played by Lucy Fallon) has had a turbulent time on Coronation Street since she returned to the cobbles from Italy in 2015, becoming embroiled in a dark grooming plot as well as having several failed relationships.
After taking a liking to her mother Sarah Platt’s (Tina O’Brien) boyfriend Gary Windass (Mikey North), the teenager has been getting closer to fellow Bistro waiter Ryan (Ryan Prescott) however, a romance has not yet blossomed.
However, when a new family arrives on the ITV soap later this year, Bethany will form a friendship with the youngest son of the clan, James Bailey (Nathan Graham), unaware he is harbouring a secret which could jeopardise any chance of a romance.
Unaware her new crush is gay, it seems Bethany could be on track for yet another failed relationship, but could Ryan finally pluck up the courage to admit his true feelings for the youngster as she reels from her discovery?
Accidentally leading somebody on a little bit
Iain MacLeod
Bethany will spark the friendship with James as he arrives as the first member of the Bailey family this summer, before the young footballer becomes embroiled in a sports homophobia storyline the ITV soap is set to explore.
Although James is content with his sexuality, he is hiding the fact he is gay from his family and fellow team members at Weatherfield county, fearing the reaction he would receive if he were to open up to them.
Speaking about the upcoming plot to press, including Express.co.uk, executive producer Iain MacLeod teased: “We wanted to look at a modern story of a young gay man. So, it won’t be your normal coming out story where we see James wrestling with his sexuality.”
With his friends and family in the dark, Bethany will be unaware of James' sexuality, leading her to develop feelings for the young football star.
Teasing the plot between the two youngster, Iain confirmed Bethany will be the young female James will spark a friendship with.
“What we don’t want from James is that he leads anyone on particularly. So, it’s more James at every turn tries to do the
