Coronation Street star Charlotte Jordan has defended the soap against claims that it has become too dark – so long as the storylines are handled right.
Her character Daisy Midgeley has been central to the ongoing acid attack plot, which saw Ryan Connor (Ryan Prescott) scarred for life.
When the storyline was announced, some issued their distaste at the idea, with others even boycotting the show.
However, following the episode’s airing, performances and the approach to the emotional aftermath have been met with viewer acclaim.
Charlotte has expressed her belief that this has offered vindication over Corrie’s decision to run the story, and reckons that many fans are very open to the more intense storylines.
‘I think a lot of the conversation around Corrie at the minute, people do say there’s a lot of dark stuff going on,’ the actress reflected in an interview with Metro.co.uk.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a webbrowser thatsupports HTML5video
‘When we were filming it, we were thinking, “how is this going to go down?” but the response was so overwhelming and so positive it showed that yes, the show can be dark but I think if it’s done right people do want to watch that.’
Charlotte was also in two minds regarding the level of pressure she felt herself, reasoning that there’s only so much you can prepare for as an actor.
‘When you’re doing issue-based storylines and they’re based on real life events there is always a bit of “ok, we need to get the tone of this right and to represent it correctly,” she told us.
‘I don’t think acting-wise you can put too much pressure on yourself. You have to just do the best you can and do your homework and just go with it on the floor.
‘Ryan [Prescott, who plays Ryan] spoke to acid attack survivors and the make-up team obviously had to get the prosthetics right and there was a lot of homework in that sense.
#For the scenes that we were doing, when they’re so physical and there’s a lot of crying and a lot of screaming, you can’t really research that too much.
‘It has to all be felt in the moment and it has to feel really genuine and truthful so you can’t be over-rehearsed, in my opinion.
‘All the background work and the stuff going forward with Ryan, that was researched a lot. We worked with the Katie Piper Foundation and the Acid Survivors Trust International.’
Charlotte told us that the storyline has a long way to go, with feelings between Daisy and Ryan becoming complex and creating a question of whether Daisy can love two people at once.
When the character made her debut, there was an edge of scheming and cattiness to her, so Charlotte is delighted to be able to explore other layers to her alter-ego.
‘I think that’s why as an actor I tend to get drawn towards the darker characters because I like finding out why they are the way they are and what else you can add to them,’ she mused.
‘That’s the beauty of a long running drama – you’ve got the time to really explore background and add in these stories. We just keep finding out more and more about her, which is wonderful for me.
‘She wasn’t supposed to be liked when she first rocked up, and even though fans didn’t like her at the start, they weren’t ever mean to me.
‘People understood that she was supposed to be unlikeable for that time.
But especially since the acid attack aired, I can’t actually believe how many messages and how many people have said such lovely things. It’s overwhelming.’
Source: Read Full Article
