Could Summer Spellman soon be a prime murder suspect? Actress Harriet Bibby reveals it “would not be a shock” if her character was to blame for next month’s horror death on Corrie
Mild mannered Summer Spellman is the last person Corrie fans would suspect of murder. But with her emotions running high, after a triple dose of grief in the nine years since she set foot on the cobbles, she could soon be a prime suspect. Harriet Bibby, who plays Summer, says: “I think if you push someone far enough, eventually they are going to snap”
Summer moved to Coronation Street after her dad Drew Spellman died, having asked his ex, vicar Billy Mayhew, to raise her with Todd Grimshaw – who was then his partner. When Billy and Todd parted and the vicar fell for Paul Foreman, they became her ‘three dads’ until Paul died from motor neurone disease.
Then Billy died in the recent Corriedale minibus crash, which Summer thinks was caused by Debbie Webster. In fact, her son Carl caused the crash, but viewers know that Theo Silverton fastened Billy’s seatbelt, so he was trapped when the van exploded. Now fans are on tenterhooks after the soap’s bombshell flash forward episode showed that a character – one of either Megan Walsh, Theo, Maggie Driscoll, Jodie Ramsay or Carl – will be murdered next month.
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If it’s Theo, Harriet says she will be a prime suspect – especially if she discovers the twisted scaffolder has been abusing his boyfriend Todd for months. She says: “So many things have happened to Summer. Is this the straw that breaks the camel’s back? It would not be a shock if it was.
“The loss of Billy and the abuse of Todd are huge injustices. They’re down to one person and that’s Theo. So, if she found out, would she be as logical and empathetic as she has been in the past? I wonder if she would actually become quite angry and try to balance the scales of that injustice. It’s very possible that Summer would want to kill Theo. If Theo is the person that is murdered, then definitely, eyes would be on her.”
Harriet joined Corrie in 2020, taking over the role of Summer from actress Matilda Freeman. At the time, Summer was 16 and Harrie was 21, which led to confusion when she tried to order drinks in pubs. She says: “I got asked for ID, but I still get ID-ed all the time now, I have to take it everywhere with me!
“I’m 27, but people tend to assume I’m younger than I am. An energy company knocked on my door the other day and when I opened it, they said: ‘oh, sorry, we need to speak to the owner of the house.’ I said ‘that’s me! I’m in charge of the bills.’ I think they were about to say ‘is your mum i?’”
Harriet grew up in Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, where she joined drama clubs and acted in school plays. She says: “It was always just a hobby. It was only when I was older and I did a summer school with the National Theatre that I heard people talk about drama schools.”
Studying at drama school in Wigan, Harriet then made her TV debut in an episode of Doctors in 2020. She received the life-changing call offering her the role of Summer the same year, while she was teaching a children’s drama class. She says: “I had to say ‘can I just nip out? I’m getting a really important call that I’ve been waiting for.’ Once I’d taken the call I went straight back in and finished the class before phoning my family to tell them I’d got the part. I had to keep my cool, but it was hard to concentrate.”
Now she is stepping into unknown territory again – taking a break from the cobbles to star in a multi award-winning one-woman play, My Name Is Rachel Corrie. It tells the tragic story of young American activist Rachel, who travelled to Gaza in 2003 as part of an international peace brigade – living with Palestinian families, resisting the destruction of their homes. She died, aged 23, after being crushed by an Israeli armoured bulldozer.
Directed by Alan Rickman, the play premiered at London’s Royal Court Theatre in 2005 and has since been performed all over the world. Of the latest production at Manchester’s 53two theatre, Harriet says: “I’m on stage for an hour-and-a-half and there are 52 pages to learn. I’ve done theatre before, but not for years and I’ve never done a one-woman show before, so I was scared, but that made me want to do it more.”
Coronation Street writer Ian Kershaw invited her to take the role. She says: “He saw the play 20 years ago and caught me in work and asked if I’d be interested. It’s beautifully put together. It’s all Rachel’s own words from her diaries and emails home. A lot of the play is quite light-hearted. You are meeting this young woman who is curious, smart, weird and funny, but it’s also very poignant, so it’s emotionally draining and challenging too.”
But Harriet, who lives in Manchester with her boyfriend Max, has a simple remedy to combat stress. She laughs: “Usually, when I’m at home, I’ll either be cleaning, sorting, or cooking. I find cleaning and pottering about quite therapeutic.” This sounds like the kind of stress-busting strategy viewers would expect from Summer, who Harriet shares several characteristics with.
“Summer always gets made fun of because she’s a bit of swot,” she smiles. “She tries really hard and she’s methodical and a bit geeky and I’m very similar. I have a colour-coded folder of my scripts that I take on set with me. People are like ‘you’re so Summer!’ And I say: ‘I know.’ Jodie Prenger [Glenda Shuttleworth] was taking the mick out of me on set the other day, because I said to her ‘what are you having for your tea?’ and she didn’t know. I said ‘what do you mean you don’t know? Do you not do a shopping list for the week and plan it out? I know what I’m having for the whole week.”
Despite her Corrie demands, Harriet still spends Saturday mornings teaching at the same Manchester children’s musical theatre club that she worked at when she was a student. She says: “I’ve done it since 2018. The owner really looked after me before I joined Coronation Street and gave me lots of opportunities to teach, which kept me going. It keeps me busy and it’s fun and a nice release – it takes me out of things for a few hours.”
Life on the cobbles has been filled with drama for Summer. After helping Billy beat drug addiction, she has faced diabetes and bulimia. She suffered a miscarriage after falling pregnant at 17 and has experienced grief by the lorry load.
Meanwhile, in real-life, Harriet was devastated by actor Daniel Brocklebank’s departure. She says: “He kept saying to me ‘I’m not actually dying, you can still see me.’ But it was upsetting, because since I joined the show, Dan’s been like my little guardian angel. He really did take me under his wing and we became good friends. We keep in touch regularly, but it was upsetting to know that I wasn’t going to see him every day in work.”
As for her dream role, Harriet would love a stab at Shakespeare’s Juliet. She laughs: “I’m 27, so I don’t know if I can wait much longer.” But, while she continues to be asked for ID in bars, anything is possible.
*My Name is Rachel Corrie runs from March 18 to March 22 at Manchester’s 53two Theatre. For tickets: www.ticketsource.co.uk
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