Cosy crimes and gritty sagas by Corrie Blog editor Glenda, published by Headline. Click pic below!

Saturday 25 May 2019

Sue Nicholls Interview: Audrey learns the awful truth


Has Audrey resigned herself to the fact that money has gone now? Has she moved on from that as they plan for the holiday?
Yes she has in a way but she isn’t one to show that she still thinks of Lewis, she has said that she feels a fool and that she shouldn’t have got drawn in by him. She was in love with him, it wasn’t just fling. Somewhere along the line Lewis stayed in her heart so she feels very let down and hurt. As time has gone by she doesn’t want to think about it that much.

Was it about the money or more about the fact that she believes he now took it?
Yes, when he first died she didn’t know the money was missing so she was very angry at the family, she felt that they had tried to rob her of her happiness. She was hurt, she is cross with herself for being taken in she had chosen him over Gail. She had to face up to the fact that she had been horrid to Gail. But now she thinks Gail was right. And it suits the boys to let her carry on believing that. She didn’t need to feel any of those things because he hadn’t actually done it.

Is she looking forward to this holiday? What is she thinking putting all of those people together? Is it a recipe for disaster or does she think it is a good idea?
Well she knows that the family has always been slightly dysfunctional so despite what the viewers might think it is actually fairly much the norm of Platts, all the bickering and stuff is part and parcel of their everyday life. It is the usual thing that families do, they get together at Christmas or for family events and they believe it will be fun and it will bring them all together and calm them all down. That is how she thought of it, that’s family life. The others are probably less optimistic than her.

What she doesn’t know is that there is this huge secret which is rumbling and as the holiday gets closer it is starting to surface a bit.
She is blissfully ignorant and that is part of the strength of the story. It is great because it puts a real edge on the whole holiday, Nick knows everything is closing in and he just has to put a brave face on it and get on with the holiday.

Does Audrey think that she has the measure of her grandchildren?
Well Gail can see no wrong and but Audrey isn’t in any way suspicious. She kind of thinks she understands David because she gets more back from David than most people as she has spent more time with him than anyone else does. She even lets him get away with the terrible things that he says on occasion. She understands where he is coming from.  She gets on with Nick but she hasn’t had an awful lot to do with him as he hasn’t been around as much.

Is she proud of them?
She is very proud of her family and she loves them all. They are all different, David is Martin’s son and Martin could be quite abrasive, Sarah bless her is quite like Gail, she has her worrying characteristics, she is terribly worried about everything. Nick is more like Brian because he is a jack the lad and he has lived a different type of life. Gail takes everything so personally. But Audrey takes one step back and sees the bigger picture. Which makes what has happened so much worse as she thinks she knows them.

Does the holiday start off well? What was it like filming out on location?  
It was lovely and I enjoyed it very much, it as a lovely place. Everyone had a lovely time and the weather was beautiful, we all get on so well and look out for each other. We had many laughs filming it. The holiday is all ticking long and it is the holiday Audrey hoped it would be, if they knew what was going on in the background, obviously it would be a different story but for now it is just a fun family holiday.

Why do you think David has decided he is going to come clean?
WelI I think it is guilt that pushes David to confess as Audrey was nonplussed about the fact that Natalie had turned up, she believed it was just something to do with the business and wasn’t really interested at that point. David has always felt guilty I think, and he wasn’t part of the robbery, he was just hurt over everything that happened with the Salon.

What does she think when David asks to speak to her?
They are on a walk by the lake and they are having a chat and he is trying to tell her something but he is going round the houses and Audrey is just wanting to look at the view. But he then decides to tell her everything. Audrey just doesn’t take it in, as you can imagine it is a lot to get her head around. It is a huge thing for her to comprehend and then the argument starts between David and Nick with Nick throwing accusations and she is even more muddled.

What is going to hurt her the most?
For her it is not even about the money it is that they allowed her to think that Lewis, the man she loved, had done this to her. You can repay money but they can never give back to her the fact that they ruined the name of the person she really loved. She is devastated at that.

Is she wants to go to the police do you think she will find herself at odds with Gail?
Gail has let those boys get away with so much over the years, at this stage Audrey is feeling very hurt and the fact that Gail will probably try and back the boys it is like opening that wound again. She had reconciled with her family when they were so against her and Lewis being together, then when she thought he had stolen from her she had to make up with her family. At the heart of this Audrey has had wrong done to her by her own family.

Do you love that in your 40th year playing Audrey you are right still at the heart of the big stories and the heart of that family?
I am enjoying it immensely, I am loving this storyline, I was quite fascinated when I did these scenes as I deliberately don’t read the scenes I am not in, so I am sort of unaware of what has unfolded between the two boys. I like not knowing their side of it. I am very lucky and I am enjoying Audrey in later life. It is great to see how she has changed as a character. In real life I am a different person now in my 70s than I was in my 40s, 50s and 60s , I am finally vaguely perhaps growing up a bit! Audrey is the same, she came into the show a bit common, then she went through the stage of being very grand because she met lovely Alf, who calmed her in one way but then gave her pretensions of being someone different. Then she had all the other people in her life and now she doesn’t have anyone in her life following Lewis, that was going to be her future and they stopped her having that life, it has been brilliant playing all those different stages.

Do you like Audrey would you be friends with her?
I think so now, she is the kind of person that you would perhaps grow up with and if you grow up with them enough  you find out the things that you go home and gossip about them but you kind of like them I have lots of lady friends who you love and call them your dearest friend but it might not have always been the case because you have got to know them you forget about the things that might have annoyed you about them. So what would have annoyed me in the beginning about Audrey would have long gone. I am liking her more now, I am enjoying this era but I don’t look back as a person particularly apart from fond memories because nobody knows what might happen.

Are you relishing playing the fall out amongst the family?
Yes the family has never been this fractured, I am interested to see how it is going to develop, this is my word as well as the real word so in the real world I don;t know what is going to happen to me in a month and nor do I know what is going to happen to Audrey, I will enjoy finding out. I will enjoy getting the scripts and reading them.

What sort of public reaction do you get about this storyline?
The ladies in Sainsbury’s say that I should watch out for that Nick, even before they knew what he was up to. I get a lot of comments about lovely Lewis and what a shame that he got away. People do see to care about Audrey which is lovely, I get lovely letters and I am very grateful for everything. I am so proud and lucky to still be a part of this Coronation Street family and that is all I can say, it is just wonderful

Glenda Young
Author: Belle of the Back Streets

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GRITTY SAGAS BY CORRIE BLOG EDITOR GLENDA YOUNG, PUBLISHED BY HEADLINE. CLICK PIC BELOW!

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