Billy (who is played by Daniel Brocklebank) is set to become heavily reliant on pain medication after his dark past was revealed.

The vicar's troubles will stem from a crime he committed more than a decade ago as it recently came to light that he was involved in the death of Susan Barlow (Joanna Foster) in 2001.

On Christmas Day, Susan’s twin brother Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne) nearly killed Billy when he dangled him from a cliff edge.

Although, Peter never intended to harm him, Billy fell and may never walk again.

Now, Susan’s son Adam Barlow (Sam Roberton) is plotting revenge and will use Billy’s dependency on painkillers to destroy him.

It is this chilling twist that will see Billy hooked on drugs and unable to properly care for Summer Spellman (Matilda Freeman).

At present, he is only Summer’s legal guardian, therefore the painkiller addiction could seriously harm his chances of adopting her.

Despite this, Billy will continue to rely on pain medication as he thinks it will help him look after Summer.

Daniel told TV Times: “He needs stronger tablets to ease the pain so he can look after Summer properly.”

Yet, this may never happen as Adam will offer to help him recover and then secretly swap his medication for plain paracetamol.

This could completely destroy Billy and his relationship with Summer, Daniel explained: “He’s very conscious of his physical disability, and the pain he’s in is reducing the amount of care he can give Summer.

"Billy’s main focus is protecting her, which is what leads to letting Adam Barlow pick up some extra-strong painkillers.”

But the drug addiction could prove damaging for Billy’s plans to adopt Summer

Daniel explained: “Ultimately, it will prevent him from being able to look after her. He’s only Summer’s legal guardian and hasn’t adopted her yet, so anything pointing to him being an unfit parent could wreck everything.”

This week, Billy will try to mend a broken heart after his partner Todd Grimshaw decides to distance himself from him.

Daniel said: “Billy is baffled that Todd could just walk away but, to be fair, he doesn’t know what’s happened since he last saw him on Christmas Eve.

“So Billy’s grieving for his relationship with Todd and cries himself to sleep, but his priority is to be strong for Summer.”

The full interview can be seen in the latest issue of TV Times, which is out now.

Coronation Street continues Wednesday at 7.30pm on ITV.