Brooke Vincent, who plays Sophie, has confessed how hard it was to glimpse life with a disability, in preparation for the storyline. Corrie has had Brooke working with Jamie Rhind, a community support officer with the Spinal Injuries Association (SIA), who was left paralysed when he broke his neck at the age of 19, diving into shallow water in a disused quarry.
Following nine months of rehabilitation Jamie, 34, has rebuilt his life and now lives independently. He volunteers as a mentor for the SIA to help newly injured people come to terms with disability.
Brooke said of the storyline: "It has been really hard and, for me personally, it's been so restraining on what you can actually do. You can't put socks on or anything. I just don't know how people physically live like that or cope like that."
She said playing the part had given her greater understanding of the lives of wheelchair users. She added: "I can remember a few weeks ago I had weights on my legs, and I was only trying to change my top but I couldn't get up to do it and I was so frustrated. That's when it hit home for me - you can't just nip upstairs and you can't jump into the car and drive off. All I want is to get it right for the people who are watching and who have gone through a similar experience."
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8 comments:
Publicity rubbish to give the programme brownie points. She'll be on her pins again in a couple of months.
The reason I'm not looking forward to this story one little bit is that Brooke Vincent is a terrible actress and to hear her whine anymore that I have to will have me reaching for the mute button. It will also give her far too much air time.
I agree with anonymous above, she will be walking again within weeks, just like Peter Barlow was before her after the tram crash. It's a nonsense.
Agree with both comments above and wonder how people who are really in this situation feel about this. That's assuming that Sophie has a miraculous recovery; of course, tptb could shock viewers and give us a realistic storyline.
I'm getting extremely sick of this nonsense, where Coronation Street tries to claim it is shedding light on some issue. Most people told they will never walk again don't spring out of their chairs in weeks without so much as a limp. Frankly, such stories are an insult to those who can't attend magical Weathy General
Maybe fewer people would be inclined to go tombstoning or diving into shallow water, if soaps did not make out that injuring your spine was no big deal.
I agree with Beth. No doubt Sophie won't be in the chair permanently. That's pretty insulting to the truly disabled, but unfortunately it's a fairly standard plot device. The bit I'm really dreading is the return of Sophie to centre stage. I can't understand a word she says, and I find the shrieking that passes for emotion pretty much unbearable. Pass the remote.
Why the heck do we need this storyline to explore the lives of people in wheelchairs? Isn't Izzy able to shed some light? I realize she's not paralyzed but surely she could have been relied upon to give us an idea of how restrictive life in a wheelchair can be? Better than her silly surrogate storyline, particularly because we could have also learned what it's like for those who love, live with and care for individuals who are in wheelchairs.
I'm looking forward to this.- Shows the result of someone throwing their life away on booze and drugs (Ryan)..they're not the only ones who get hurt.
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