Coronation Street Blog: Spike in Smear Tests following Sinead's Cancer Storyline #Corrie

Coronation Street has been very issues-based of late, and particularly in Wednesday’s episodes the theme running through each story seemed to be “it’s good to talk”. Toyah was lending a sympathetic ear to Ali who’s been trying to detox by going cold turkey. Daniel was struggling to cope with Sinead’s diagnosis and reaction to chemotherapy so he once again turned to Bethany who was all too keen to provide warm words and a shoulder to cry on. Audrey had earlier visited Bethany for a grandmotherly chat knowing there was more to the friendship than she was letting on.

Billy continued to pursue Paul, sensing something terrible had happened to him when he was younger. Paul is obviously yearning to open up, but his autopilot kicks in and he continues to push Billy away.

Derek opened up to Izzy about his drink problems, leading her to offer support which he took as a cue to ask her on a date.

All across the cobbles, characters are encouraging each other to open up and ask for help. Whether this is just a coincidence or not, it will hopefully have an impact on viewers. And it has been reported that something positive might be happening as a result of Sinead’s heartbreaking cancer storyline. Katie McGlynn, who will soon leave the show, tweeted a message she received from a nurse thanking Corrie and the actor for raising awareness of cervical cancer and screening. The nurse suggests there has been a “huge increase in uptake” of the tests in the past few weeks in her area, as Sinead’s condition worsened in the show.

However we feel about Coronation Street covering human issues to raise awareness – sometimes it can seem like a public service programme rather than a soap - if these topics are making a real difference to people’s lives, long may it continue.

The NHS have an information page about cervical screening tests HERE.

I am on Twitter: @StevieDawson