Coronation Street Blog: Coronation Street Blog Interview with Julia Goulding

“I’m hoping that they’ve got to know her enough to hold onto her. She is a good egg. She’s a survivor”

Hiya! It’s just Jordan with the third installment in my cast interviews regarding storylines exploding this Spring. This time, it’s an interview with the lovely Julia Goulding who plays newcomer Shona Ramsay. Like many classic Corrie characters, Shona came to Weatherfield harbouring a dark secret. It is only in the episodes shown in the last few weeks that her secret has come to light. We, as the audience only learned of it when she went to visit Clayton in prison a few weeks ago. He was of course imprisoned for the murder of Kylie Platt and Shona is, as we learned then, his mother. She has since only told Gail, but with the annual big week edging closer and closer, Shona’s secret looks set to rock the cobbles, especially as it seems she is going to play a part in rescuing Bethany.

Dressed in characteristically typical Shona attire– casual, inexpensive clothes and her hair thrown into a messy bun atop her head – Julia began the interview by explaining Shona’s backstory and her life with Clayton in a detail we have not seen on the show yet:

“She was 13 when she had Clayton. They were on the Dog and Gun estate and she raised him until he was about ten with absolutely no contact with his dad whatsoever. She kept this tiny little world, just those two. They were both safe and then the father got in touch and Clayton wanted to know more about his dad which Shona absolutely did not want to happen.”

The actress went onto explain that a series of rows between Clayton’s parents and Shona’s persistence that Clayton should stay away from his father eventually pushed him to do the opposite. He moved in with his dad permanently and this developed his character from a sweet little boy to the eventual murderer of Kylie Platt. Naturally, Shona has a lot in common with Kylie. Both characters who grew up in the same rough areas, had children young and have fought rough fights. Most actors wouldn’t want to play a character similar to another and Julia addressed the obvious similarities in the interview:

“At first, I was worried about that but they are completely different characters. Shona has an optimism about her character which Kylie didn’t. She’s not as brash. Paula is a fantastic actress and I feel that I’m not following in her footsteps, but walking next to them”

“She’s got a good heart. I know she’s lied but it was for the right reasons”

After discussing the big secret, Julia began to reveal more about herself and she spoke of her excitement at working on the cobbles.

“It’s my dream job!” said the actress, as she spoke of having mainly done Shakespeare since she graduated from RADA in 2012.

Julia hails from Middleton, North Manchester and has been a life-long Corrie fan. For her fifth birthday, she insisted on spending the day at the Granada Studios Tour because she wanted to be on “that street”. But it wasn’t a completely enjoyable day for the budding five-year-old actress:

“I was fuming ‘cause I couldn’t go in the Rovers!” She got there eventually!

“I know where the kettle is in Roy’s Rolls before I’ve been on the set!” A hard working actress who appears to be truly grateful to part of the “institution” that is Corrie, Julia mentioned that Shona is set to stay until at least October. Having done a few unsuccessful TV auditions, Corrie was the first show to offer Julia a screen test. It was also the first of those TV auditions that she really wanted. Like many actors on the show, she even tries to only learn about her own storyline, so she can still enjoy the show. When asked who her favourite character was at five years old, Julia answered without hesitation “Ooh, Bet Lynch. Without a doubt. I loved her slippers!”

This was my personal favourite of the four interviews I attended that day. Julia Goulding is very much a classical actress. She has come up through the ranks and achieved her dream through hard work. She’s got Coronation Street in her heart and it was lovely to hear her story. Her love of the show shone throughout. I would like to see Shona stick around on the Street for some time. She has come in with the cataclysmic secret that is almost an entry requirement now for the character and I believe she has major potential. Corrie has always been about strong, fighting women and – if used correctly by the writers – that potential can shine.

“I’m really happy. So happy”

A lovely interview with an inspirational woman.

As always, Thanks for reading!

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