Coronation Street Blog: Lottie Henshall interview: Corrie's secret Stape

Saturday 18 January 2020

Lottie Henshall interview: Corrie's secret Stape

What has the public reaction been like since the revelation?

Amazing exactly what I hoped it would be, I get a lot of ooh you're the babysitter,or the nanny ooh nasty, you re evil. But it is all very good natured, nothing nasty. If people are not liking her then I am doing my job properly.

How has it been playing her since the truth was revealed. She has seemed to up her game, what is driving her?

Sheer desperation She still believes that Hope would be better off with her.She sees Hope as her priority. That is her driving force, she has tunnel vision and she doesn't care who she hurts to get to Hope.

Does she not ever take a step back and think about how this is affecting Fiz and Tyrone who are just trying to parent their children the best they can?

No, there is no part of her who thinks about them she is so blinkered about Fiz, she has been told one story all her life and that is her truth that is what she believes in, she is convinced that Fiz is not fit to look after Hope.

Does she see Tyrone differently?

To a certain degree I think she does think that. She thinks he is a good person and she doesn't understand what he is doing with Fiz and I think we will see more of that.

Has she found it easy to brainwash Hope?

She has tapped into the fact that Hope and Fiz have this fractured relationship and she takes any opportunity she can. She is constantly listening in to conversations and using what she hers to her advantage, she stores it up for later use to manipulate hope. They have a great connection, they are half sisters and that connection is definitely there.

This week we found out about the bruises, was that something she had in her back pocket as an insurance policy?

Back then only Evelyn had her suspicions and she felt that she could deal with her. But without a doubt she wanted things she could use if it started to get tricky to get Hope away from Fiz. She thinks is very clever but she makes mistakes and that will be her downfall

What happens when she finds Hope in the back yard and tells her she is taking her on an adventure?

By now she feels the net is starting to close in on her and she is in panic mode.Hope has not been answering her calls, the plan is unravelling so she goes to see Hope and she is pleased that she now knows the plan and it is all back on track.

What happens when Christine questions Jade about the bruising?

She just sticks to her story, she has no choice really she continues to say that Fiz was abusing Hope. She doesn't know that the truth has started to come out.

The consequences of her lies mean that Hope ends up running away. That is obviously not what Jade wanted?

Jade is horrified that Hope has run away, that is the last thing she expected to happen s/he had no idea but no one believes her and thinks she knows where Hope is. She is terrified that her attempt to rescue Hope may have resulted in her coming to harm. That is one of the first times we see jade realise what her actions have led to.

What makes her go to John’s grave to look for Hope?

It’s just the one place that she can think of and she is so relieved when she finds her there, that embrace says it all, it was emotional to film.She felt she had almost lost her for good.

What does she do then, we might expect her to seize this moment and run away with Hope?

You would think so but she does just the opposite and takes her home. The care and love for hope is real and she knows she had put her in danger. She does what is the best thing to do, as much as she doesn't want to take Hope back she knows that her plan is not working and the police are now involved , it is out of control. She is out of her depth.

What happens when Fiz returns?

Fiz comes in and just sees Jade standing there in the kitchen, she doesn't know that she had brought Jade back and she ends up hitting her over the head and knocking her out. We used a rubber chopping board but it had a hard strip down the middle so it didn't bend.It was my first fight scene and I really enjoyed it but I got a few bruises.

What happens when Fiz goes to tell Tyrone what has happened?

She just knows that she has to get out of there and when they come back into the kitchen there is no sign of her. She hadn’t realised how badly injured she was and she collapses in the ginnel.

Will she use this situation to her advantage?

Her thought process from being hit to a couple of days later when she recovers is that she has something now on Fiz and she can blackmail her to try and let her see Hope.

How do you think it will develop from here?

I am constantly learning more about Jade all the time, it is so exciting and I am looking forward to the scripts we are getting in the new year as the ones I have had so far have surprised me. She isn't mentlly ill, she is not a psychopath, she is a victim herself, she has a mother who lied to her for her entire life and did that she discovers didn't even know she existed. She is making very bad choices as a consequence of her upbringing. I think some people’s opinion of Jade might change as this story develops into next year but we shall have to wait and see they may think once a liar always a liar.

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Glenda Young

Author of historical novels with Headline