Waterloo Road fans divided by Karl Davies' 'rushed' grooming story with Portia: 'I feel horrible'
Portia and Tony's story comes to a head in episode 5
Waterloo Road series 17 episode 5 is pivotal for Karl Davies’ Tony and Maisey Robinson’s Portia, with viewers finding the grooming storyline “difficult to watch”.
Davies, best known for his roles in Emmerdale and Happy Valley, was one of the most curious additions to the series 17 cast. We knew he was playing Nicky’s ex-husband Tony, but that was about it.
In the first four episodes, it became clear that he’d be part of one of the series’ darkest plots.
Things come to a head in episode 5, with Tony putting more pressure on Portia than ever. However, it’s drawn criticism from fans.
What happens with Tony and Portia in Waterloo Road episode 5?
Things took a disturbing turn in episode 4, with Tony being aggressive towards Portia as soon as he found out she’d told people about being in his scar.
She later apologised, so Tony gave her a new football top… but made her change in front of him. “I thought you wanted to make it up to me,” he said. At the end of the episode, she ran away crying.
Episode 5 takes things further. When Portia tells him she can’t go to a football training camp, he tells her she’ll need to train extra hard… and stay behind.
That night, Tony is supposed to take Tonya out for dinner, but he makes up a work excuse so he can be alone in his club with Portia. He gives her beer (even though she says no), and shows her a scar on his knee.
Thankfully, Nicky figures out what’s happening. She initially thinks Tony bought Tonya a bracelet for her birthday, but she gets concerned when she sees Portia wearing it.
Nicky confronts Tony, who dismisses all of her suspicions and asks her to leave; more specifically, he tells her to “do one”.
She walks away… at first, but when she catches sight of Portia’s bag, she storms in and sees her standing beside him.
Portia makes it out, but Tony throws Nicky to the floor and won’t let her leave. He knows it’ll ruin his life if it gets out, but without him knowing, Portia phones the police. They arrest and charge Tony, and the episode ends with Nicky and Tonya crying in the car, struggling to accept what happened.
Waterloo Road fans criticise ‘rushed’ grooming storyline after emotional episode
Waterloo Road fans have been left in two minds: as emotionally taxing as Portia and Tony’s story was, did it end too quickly?
Think about it: within the space of just two episodes, Tony flipped on Portia and got caught. If you want to find out what happens next, we have all the Waterloo Road series 17 spoilers – but don’t expect to see him again.
As one fan on Reddit wrote, “we’re introduced to Tony in one episode, and then at the end of the next episode it’s all blown out of the water”.
“Really he should’ve been introduced from the beginning of the season, and then the whole grooming plot was gradually worked through to mid-series, with the fallout being explored in the second half of the series. It all feels a bit rushed,” they added.
Other viewers agree. “I feel they rushed the grooming storyline a bit,” one commented.
“I feel like Kym Marsh’s limited availability truncated and weakened the grooming story,” another fan speculated.
When the storyline was originally announced, one user also wrote: “It’s only going to be featured in 2 episodes, which is a bit weird considering it should be cross-season to build it up better.”
However, it’s still garnered praise, particularly for Davies and Robinson’s performances.
“This was absolutely heartbreaking and acted so well. I feel horrible for everyone in this situation,” one fan wrote.
“My standout character this season was Portia – her storyline was so well done,” another commented.
If you’re watching the series on iPlayer, be careful: a ‘glitch’ is causing people to miss two episodes.
Read more: Waterloo Road fans can’t believe another star isn’t coming back for series 18: ‘Really upsetting’
