Calum Lill has broken his silence in his official exit interview with the ECHO and other press
Calum Lill bowed out of Coronation Street in dramatic scenes tonight. The soap star has wrecked havoc on the Cobbles over the past 15 months as Joel Deering.
The fictional solicitor abused Lauren Bolton and sunk to unimaginable lows as he tried to keep his sinister secret hidden. However, the character’s reign of terror was brought to an end last month when he was found murdered.
Corrie has since turned into a whodunnit as viewers tried to work out the identity of Joel’s killer. A series of flashback episodes have explored the movements of potential suspects on the night Joel was killed.
However, the true killer was unveiled in tonight’s hour long episode when Lauren was revealed as the character who struck the final, deadly blow. Friday’s Corrie marked Calum’s final appearance as Joel – and he told the ECHO and other press that his onscreen counterpart’s end couldn’t have been more fitting.
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He said in his official exit interview: “That’s the best justice he could have got. He attacked her viciously and nearly killed her so for it to come full circle and for him to get his comeuppance from the person he attacked when she was vulnerable and defenceless, it’s what he deserves.”
Calum reflected on his time on Corrie as the best period of his life as he said how much of a joy it was to play such a layered character as Joel. He added: “I’m proud of what I did, but I also feel so honoured and proud of everyone else involved.
“There’s 100s of people involved in the making of this storyline and I’ve just been able to have been put as the spearhead of it at the front. I’m the one that gets the credit for it in the street and I’m so grateful to have been given this opportunity.
“I miss it here so much. I miss the people so much because they’re the most incredible people. It is such a magical place to work. Although I only got 15 months here, it’s probably the best time of my life.”
The role in Corrie was Calum’s first acting job in two years and he lifted the lid on how he was initially wracked with self doubt and relied on the support of his fiancée, Roberta. He said: “I really struggled to find my feet.
“As I started and for about six months, I’d watch myself back and beat myself up. I’d watch the episodes with my fiancée and she’d know to leave me for a bit because I’d just be beating myself up. It just took that time to get into that character.”
However, Calum worked extensively hard to get to grips with Joel’s psyche and spoke about how he lived and breathed his character to get the portrayal right. He said: “There’s definitely better actors than me but I don’t think anyone could have put in as much work as I did. If I give this 100% and I leave and I don’t work for years, at least there was no more that I could have done.
“I was up at 5.30, I’d be in work for about 15 hours, get home about 10.30 at night, eat some food quickly, then I’d go and do another two hours of learning lines. Do it again for about three or months.
“Looking back now, I’ve finished and I can sleep. I have time and I can see my friends. But that’s probably the happiest time I’ve had. I am proud of my work. Not necessarily because I think I’m great. I’ve just not had the opportunity to work that hard before.”
Calum is proud of what he achieved at Corrie and is grateful of the acting experience he has accumulated as his exit scene gave him the chance to work on a huge Hollywood style action set piece. He said: “We had all these different cameras and green screens and I’d never experienced anything like that before. It was incredible.
“I’ve played Joel nice, played him funny, boring, I’ve played him horrific. I’ve managed to do the soap stuff, the on location stuff and also this movie set. Where we were filming was [the same location as productions such as] Peaky Blinders, House of Guinness, Anna Rice’s The Talamasca. These big Hollywood films and then us. It was incredible to be given that opportunity.”
Calum is now excited to see what the future brings as he looks to build on his experience. He is playing the villain in the Jack and the Beanstalk pantomime over the festive season and laughed he is excited to have a breather over Christmas when he isn’t playing such a mentally taxing role.
He said: “I was reading the scripts the other day and my approach for Joel was like, ‘What’s he thinking and what’s he doing?’ Listening to dark music with headphones in, rocking in a corner.
“I was trying to do the same approach with this and I was like this is a gag to the audience about magic beans vs baked beans. I don’t need to tear myself to pieces in a corner listening to scary music.
“I think it’s going to be a nice welcome break from attacking teenage girls. I’ve got the unbroken streak of playing villains. .Maybe one day someone will give me a chance to play some one who is not a baddie, we’ll see.”
Calum leaves with the support of his Corrie co-stars as he is still close friends with Channique Sterling-Brown, who played his onscreen fiancee, Dee Dee Bailey. He also has the unwavering support of his nan, who went viral after her response to the reveal that Joel was behind Lauren’s disappearance earlier this year.
He said: “I get a text still after every episode. After the last one, she said: “Blinking hec, is Kit in the frame now? You really know how to antagonise people. I’m so glad it’s not real’. She’s so adorable, I love her so much.”
