After Steve flies to Germany, where the doctors say they can’t support Oliver’s case, is this a turning point for Steve? Does he start to doubt what they’re doing or is it still full steam ahead with the court case?
Yes he’s got doubt but he has to hold on to that one little shred of hope, that’s been Steve’s whole journey throughout this. He’s doubtful about what the doctors are saying, they’re saying this is the end and it probably is but Oliver’s his son and he’s hoping against hope that Leanne’s right and they have got it wrong. As a parent he can’t let himself believe that this is it. If there’s any glimmer of hope then you’re going to hold onto it and that’s what Steve is doing.
As the court case starts how united are Leanne and Steve? Are Nick and Tracy pushed out in the cold?
Tracy and Nick have accepted what the doctors are saying, they’re being resolute in telling Leanne and Steve you have to accept what the doctors are saying and what you need to do now is spend time with Oliver, loving him, holding him, being there for him and preparing for that awful day rather than wasting your time going through all this. All the time, money, hurt, upset isn’t going to benefit anyone. Well Leanne won’t take this at all and ostracises them, keeping them away from the whole thing and Steve feels he has to support her.
Leanne makes a pass at Steve, how does that come about?
They’ve had a bad day in court, Leanne’s exhausted, maybe she’s starting to resign herself to the fact the doctors are right but she won’t admit it. Toyah tells Steve to get a glass of wine down her neck but she downs it then she downs a few more. I think to her it feels like Steve is being really kind and being there for her in the way that Nick hasn’t been and she makes a pass at him. In that moment she feels he’s the only one who understands her, she’s just reaching out for that short term emotional fix.
How does Tracy react? How strong do you think Steve and Tracy now are as a couple?
She isn’t happy, whether she can understand it at all we’ll have to see. The thing with Tracy is she has a daughter with Steve, he has a son with Leanne and despite the fact she doesn’t really like her she does like her kids so she kind of gets the emotion of what they’re going through.
Steve pleads Oliver’s case in court, how much of a shock is the judge’s ruling?
It’s a terrible blow but I don’t necessarily think it’s a full 100% shock. I think they had to go through the process so they could be sure they’d gone down every single avenue so when he does pass away they know there’s nothing more they could have done.
How does Steve react, does he want to continue down the legal route?
He has a change of heart and he says no I’m not doing this anymore and he tells Leanne she shouldn't either. He tells her they need to spend what little time they have left with Oliver because if they keep on chasing this false hope he could die while they’re in court. Steve just feels they need to be there with him now.
How difficult are you finding it to play these scenes?
It depends how much you invest your own mind into it, luckily the scripts are so good you can read them and do the scenes like you really mean them. There are some days when you’re giving it everything, you’re looking at this three year old child doll in the bed, which is the most lifelike thing you’ve ever seen, reading Mr Men stories to it then you go home and you’re reading Mr Men stories to your four year old straight after. That’s when it’s like wow, this is upsetting and you need to take a step back.
The research team have done a lot of work with the Lily Foundation? How important do you think it is to portray storylines like this?
I think it’s highly important, mitochondrial disease is something a lot of people aren’t really aware of, child life limiting illness often isn’t discussed as it’s so upsetting but there are families going through this and we need to highlight it so more research can be done with the support of organisations like The Lily Foundation. While looking at the research we did with the Lily Foundation it’s also important to realise that there are some people living longer lives with the condition. We’ve touched on the worst case scenario but there are children living longer, fuller lives so it’s important to raise awareness.
Glenda Young
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2 comments:
Good to see Steve tell Leanne to switch off the life support. At the end of the day, it is Steve and Leanne’s decision. The narrative that Nick has to be the one to tell Leanne was always wrong- it’s not Nick’s decision.
“I think to her it feels like Steve is being really kind and being there for her in the way that Nick hasn’t been”
Very strange wording. Nick has absolutely been there for Leanne, in fact some would argue he has been too supportive.
I’m expecting very emotional scenes with brilliant performances from Jane Danson, Simon Gregson, Ben Price and Kate Ford.
Anonymous[14;58]Although I agree that Nick has been very supportive,unfortunately the arrival of his son Sam seems to have lessened Nick's support [and complicated the storyline even more]as he did chose to spend time with Sam behind Leaane's back when she needed him most meeting the German doctor and at times seems distracted thinking about his son whereas Steve has always been focusing on helping Leanne.
I am glad that this storyline will wrap up before Christmas.
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