We have seen Alya increasingly struggling to cope with everything since Yasmeen’s heart attack. Can you describe how she has been feeling, does she feel like she is carrying the weight of it all herself?
Alya is the only family Yasmeen has on the street right now so yes Alya feels an immense pressure on her shoulders. I think it’s more than just stress, it’s a very real fight to find justice and keep her family alive. As soon as one problem is sorted another one rears its ugly head. It’s all bubbling away under the surface right now but I definitely think this will push Alya to breaking point.
Does she enjoy taunting him about how well Yasmeen is doing? Is she at all scared of Geoff, knowing what he is capable of is she underestimating him?
This might be hard to believe but I genuinely don’t think Alya enjoys taunting Geoff! He just has this incredible gift where anything he says seems to boil her blood! The truth is that Alya actually has a lot of power within their dynamic because she knows the genuine truth and Geoff can’t persuade her otherwise. The problem is that Geoff is so unpredictable so Alya has to tread carefully around him. Elaine’s revelations have undoubtedly scared Alya and she doesn’t know what else he could be capable of but despite this she can’t always stop herself from biting back at him.
The restaurant seems to have become very important to Alya, how does she feel when Geoff reveals he has applied for the alcohol license?
Alya’s wish is to look after Speed Daal and her grans house at No6 until Yasmeen is freed from prison. Frustratingly, she already lost the fight to keep Geoff out of her family home so now the business is all the Nazir’s have. Alya is so angry when Geoff applies for the liquor license. He knows that Zeedan built the business from scratch and didn’t want to sell alcohol at Speed daal which is precisely why he’s doing it, to wind Alya up.
What was it like filming the scenes where she finally loses it and throws everyone out of the restaurant and starts smashing it up?
It was so much fun to film those scenes. There was a small ‘stunt’ element involved so I got to work with Kate Waters who is the fight arranger at Corrie. She gave me some great tips on how I could physicalise Alya’s rage, in a safe way!
Is there a chance that she could be playing into Geoff’s hands by letting her emotions get the better of her? He seems to be able to hide his anger and only lets it out behind closed doors.
I’m sure Geoff would’ve loved the chance to gloat at Alya’s distress but he doesn’t get the chance, there are too many other people around. Yes, Alya could be playing right into his hands. There’s no way to know with Geoff, he’s so conniving, you never know what he’s going to do next.
Ryan seems to have been a real tower of strength for her and a real ally. He seems to have really stepped up to the plate when required, how important is this relationship for her?
Ryan is Alya’s rock. He’s been so supportive and understanding. He’s also seen Geoff’s behaviour first hand so knows how manipulative Geoff can get. I hope we see Ryan and Alya’s relationship flourish after this, there is so much more to explore with those two. My biggest hope is that Alya can change Ryan’s dress sense, it is appalling!
What sort of reaction do you get from the public being at the centre of such a hugely important storyline?
When we first started this storyline I think the audience found it quite frustrating because they were the only ones who could see how scheming Geoff was. Things have definitely changed now, we’ve had such positive feedback. I’m so proud to be a part of this storyline, learning about coercive control has been incredibly informative, being able to raise awareness to a mass audience is a big achievement for us all.
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Glenda Young
Twitter: @Flaming_Nora
Facebook: GlendaYoungAuthor
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