Coronation Street Blog: Jane Danson interview: Leanne and Harvey in Hallowe'en horror

As we move into this week as far as Leanne is aware Harvey’s safely tucked up in prison and she’s starting to move on with her life after Oliver a little bit, is that right?

Yes, we’ve seen quite a bit of progression for both Nick and Leanne, they’ve bought back into the Bistro, they’ve started to turn a corner, they’ve accepted that they’ve lost Oliver and life has to go on and this is their way of coping with it. Her experience with Harvey was a nightmare but he’s in prison now so all that is done and dusted and they’re starting to come back to life a bit. Then all this just comes out of the blue for both of them.

Has Leanne started to form more of a bond with Sam now?

Leanne lost her son as Nick gained his and there have been some really nice moments recently where Leanne has said he is part of the family, he can go in Oliver’s room because it feels alive again when he’s in there. They’re starting to build a new family unit.

So is the first she sees of Harvey when she comes face to face with him?

Yes it’s completely out of the blue, she’s in the Bistro, there’s a power cut, she hears his voice then she turns round and there he is. None of them on the street see this coming.

How scared is she at that moment?

Harvey is a really frightening character who’s involved in this awful world and she’s fearful for her life. She knows that he means business and he’s not going to mess about. Leanne’s pretty savvy and streetwise but she knows a bad egg when she sees one. It’s pre watershed but within the realms of that it’s as serious as it gets and we certainly played it as her fighting for her life.

He makes it clear he’s come back to kill her but is it his aim to torture her and play with her mind first?

She’s like a little play thing for him but she knows that too, she knows that at times she has to play along with it and there are moments where that inner Battersby is still there and she tries to outsmart him.

All the initial storyline with Leanne and Harvey was played at 2 metres due to covid restrictions, was it nice to be able to play this out in much closer proximity?

It was great to be able to work closely together, because for the most part of Will’s time on the show we’ve not been able to do that. Will’s an actor who really commits to it, he’s totally in the moment. So after we’d been Covid tested in our bubble we were really able to get up close in the safest way possible. I’ve had some of the biggest storylines of my career in the last few years and weirdly all done at two metres which has been a job in itself. This gave us much more freedom and I’m always up for that.

The character of Harvey is terrifying in these scenes, were there ever times when you were actually a bit scared?

In the moment, yes absolutely, that’s when you really believe someone as an actor. What is nice about having that physicality is you can do things that we’ve not been able to do previously. There are particular lines that he made really dark just because of the way he touched me and that took me by surprise a bit. You feed off each other because that reaction is really real and it was really exciting to film.

Leanne’s life is in jeopardy here but do you think he should be slightly worried if the Battersby comes out?

She’s got the nice flat now, the nicer clothes, she lives at the posher end of the street but that yappy, scrappy, feisty Battersby is still in there. He will always overpower her physically but she will definitely give as good as she gets.

You’re dressed as Morticia during these episodes for the House of Horrors, how was your costume?

It was horrific, I look like Ozzy Osbourne, black is not my colour! Then in the rain, with makeup pouring down my face was not the most glamorous of looks. Morticia in my mind is quite glamorous but I certainly was not. Hopefully it will add to the scariness of it all haha.

How did you find filming the scenes, did the set design really add to the drama?

It was great being able to collaborate with the production team and all the different directors, seeing their vision. There’s a lot going on in the scenes, it’s visually different and I think the weather element will play a huge part in the story, we almost felt like the weather was another character in this week. It was quite exciting in terms of special effects, even though it was freezing we all pulled together and these brutal rain bars lent a different kind of feeling to the scenes. The crew were able to get all their toys out, all the gadgets, and make something a bit out of the ordinary which was fun. It almost felt like we were filming a movie.

You’ve filmed a lot of stunts over the years, how does this one rank amongst the big weeks of the past?

We’ve had loads of things over the years; fires, boat accidents, car crashes, a tram crash, explosions and this is really different because this is a chain of events where one thing leads onto another. I can’t wait to watch it as a viewer and see what everyone else was doing while I was doing my bit. Everyone says it’s looking great so I can’t wait to see it.

Glenda Young

Novelist published by Headline