List of Coronation Street Characters (2000) - Phil Simmonds

Phil Simmonds befriends Toyah Battersby after landlord Duggie Ferguson makes him homeless in September 2000. He takes legal action against Duggie but later settles out of court. He reappears on 9 April 2001, when Toyah encounters him on the street. Four days later Phil brutally rapes Toyah in the ginnel. Toyah is left clueless as to the identity of her attacker as Phil pretends to support her through her ordeal. On 30 April 2001, when Toyah is on her own in her house with Phil she suddenly recognises his voice as being that of the rapist. Peter Barlow hears her screams from the street, breaks into the house and saves her from Phil.

In August 2001, Toyah visits Phil Simmonds in prison, after he sends her a letter pleading for her forgiveness. She is shocked to see that he has attempted suicide. She gets Phil to agree to plead guilty to the rape charges. However, Toyah later discovers that Phil has no intention of pleading guilty, despite the DNA evidence. He later changes his plea to guilty, meaning that no trial would take place, much to Toyah's relief. On 7 September 2001, Phil is sentenced to ten years imprisonment for Toyah's rape.