Coronation Street Blog: Lorna Laidlaw interview: Aggie goes to war with Bernie

What is Grace and Aggie’s relationship like prior to this week?

Very fractured. Aggie has always been aware of Grace but under the instruction of Ed and everyone else she has tried to be civil and she has tried her best with her. But Aggie has always known that Grace has layers to her.

Why is Aggie angry that Grace sold the sofa to Bernie?

She is absolutely fuming that she sold that sofa simply because it was given with love and under the instruction that her grandchild got somewhere decent to live. When Aggie finds out that she has sold it for money, she is fuming because they are giving her a lot of money. It’s not just the flat, Michael is also paying Grace money and she knows that. Aggie feels that there is a lot of money going in that girl’s pocket and somehow she still can’t hold on to it.

Would she have apologised if Ed had urged her to smooth things over?

Absolutely not! In that situation, it’s not just about that sofa, but Ed says to Aggie, ‘You will not be able to see your granddaughter,’ and that’s a massive thing for Aggie, she can’t imagine not seeing that baby so she bites her tongue and goes to apologise. Aggie puts her big girl pants on, she absolutely does not want to do it but she knows it’s something she has to do.

What’s Aggie’s first thoughts when she finds out from Bernie what Grace did?

There are a lot of things that are going on in Aggie’s head. She is furious over the sofa but this is another level. Aggie is really disappointed but she is also really angry on a level that the sofa situation can’t even compare with. She is concerned about her granddaughter because Aggie is a nurse and there is a health and safety issue here with a child. Aggie knows if she calls social services there will be massive problems and so she is in turmoil because she feels like if it was someone else’s child that was in this situation she would have called the authorities. She has given Grace the benefit of the doubt at every opportunity to put things right and Grace is still so dismissive of Aggie so Aggie is feeling full of regret.

Without saying what it is, how does Aggie feel about Grace’s shock proposal?

It absolutely tears Aggie’s heart apart. Regardless of whether it’s her grandchild or not, in any circumstances the proposal is awful. Aggie takes it really badly and it really upsets her.

Does Aggie consider what Grace is proposing to her?

When she first hears it from Grace, she is absolutely disgusted that she would even make such a suggestion and she also thinks, is this legal? Her mind is going all over the place. It’s devastating.

What would be the ideal situation that Aggie would like for Grace and Michael?

Aggie would like Grace out of the picture. Aggie knows that Grace and Michael have got to a point in their relationship where it is not working and Grace is staying around because she wants to be with him but he doesn’t want to be with her so it is very disruptive for a little child to grow up in that environment. Grace isn’t doing anyone any favours by doing that. Michale is such a good dad and he absolutely wants to be there for his daughter and it’s not the most ideal situation but he has got a lot of support around him. But Grace is quite toxic and as much as the Bailey’s have tried to support Grace as much as they can, it has never really worked out because her motives are not to be a part of the family, her motive is to be with Michael full stop.

What advice would you give her?

My biggest advice to everyone in the Bailey’s family is to be open with everyone. Everybody has a secret in the family! If everybody was open about everything that was happening then they would be able to fight as a team but at the moment everyone is trying to protect everyone else and actually what is happening is they are destroying each other.

What is your favourite thing about playing Aggie?

There are quite a few! I love that she is quite bossy, you know who wears the trousers in that house. I would see a bit more of that too. I also love the fact that this woman cannot cook for toffee. I love that when she has sit down meals with her kids, they look absolutely frightened, like their meals have been laced with scorpions and everyone is a bit scared about eating it. I love that they pretend that she can cook just because they love her.

Glenda Young

Novelist published by Headline