Amy has been going through a really tough time after her ordeal with Aaron, watching him getting on with his life, having this relationship with Mia and moving on, how does that make Amy feel?
She instantly feels protective of Mia because she thinks, does this girl know what he's capable of? Has this girl been affected by him in the past? She's just got 1000s and 1000s of questions running through her mind. Her main goal is to try and protect this girl and warn her. There were never any feelings from Amy towards Aaron, other than that one kiss, so it’s not a jealousy thing. It's more of a protective thing, she doesn't want anybody else to have to go through what she's gone through.
So how does Mia react when she tries to speak to her?
Mia shuts it down, Mia feels like she knows what Aaron's like, she's known him for years, they've been in a previous relationship. She thinks that she knows exactly what he's like. She's never met Amy before and just assumes that she's lying because Aaron has got to her, saying she’s just jealous, she's being bitter because I broke up with her best mate. So Mia is very reluctant to listen to Amy and just thinks she's making it up.
Obviously it’s really upsetting for Amy and then the police come calling. How does she feel towards the police, after initially they wouldn’t proceed with her case but now they’re here to talk to her about harassment. How does that make her feel?
She's just in disbelief that this is what the system is. She went to them and they did nothing to help her in the slightest but then when somebody else goes to the police they’re first round to Amy's house to tell her off. She just feels absolutely betrayed by the system because she feels like she's done everything that she was supposed to do, she went to her mum and asked her advice, they went to the police, she's done everything by the book. She's gone through the system and done what she was meant to do, yet still she feels like she's the person who's committed the crime. She's facing more consequences for trying to warn another girl than Aron is for raping her, which just feels crazy.
Amy decides to write about her ordeal. What does she get out of writing her thoughts and why does she decide to put it online?
So Amy's been putting all of her thoughts down on a page for quite some time since the ordeal because it feels like the only way that she can get it out of her head. Amy's very conscious that she doesn't want people worrying about her, she doesn't want her friends or her family thinking is Amy okay all the time. So she thinks I'm just going to write it down instead. So she writes it all down and as she's typing it up she shows it to Summer who agrees and encourages her to do whatever she can to help herself. Then Steve sees her writing it and comes up with the idea that she should just post it because everybody deserves to know exactly what he's like. After Mia shutting her down and not listening to her, not believing her, Amy thinks yeah, actually, I've tried to warn the people who are close to him, I've tried to tell people and nothing's happened, so yeah I'm going to post it as everybody should know. She’s gone through that initial feeling of shame, initially she didn't want the street to know, she didn't want anybody to think of her differently or to connect her name and rape in the same sense. But when Mia delivers that final blow up of I don't believe you, Amy's just like I'm done, I'm going to tell everybody whatever the consequences are because the world has to know.
What's the reaction like from people on the street towards her and him?
So Aaron loses his job. Abi and Tyrone have a conversation after seeing the post, and basically tell him you're not working for us anymore. Amy's somebody we know, somebody who has grown up on the street, we’re friends with Steve and Tracy and we can't have somebody working here who's done that. So Aaron immediately feels shunned by the street. Everybody starts coming onto Amy's side because she isn't the type of girl to lie about something like this, she wouldn't just be saying this for no reason, which does create a bit of a dilemma for Abi at first because Aaron’s almost like a second son to her. She backed him before she knew it was Amy but this adds a different level to things because she knows Amy and she knows she wouldn’t lie. Abi and Tracy have been friends and Abi then feels a responsibility to do something about it.
Eric, Aaron’s dad, then suddenly appears and announces that he's going to sue Amy for libel. How does she react to that, it must be a massive shock and not something she expected at all?
No, Amy didn't even think about the consequences when she put it online, she just wanted everyone to know. And as far as she was aware, Eric was nowhere to be seen. Eric had been off in rehab, he was the last of her thoughts but then he comes back into the picture and he is a nasty man. He basically just rocks up at the house and says a letter will be delivered. He instantly bags his son and tells them he’s going to sue for everything they’ve got.
How does Amy feel at this point, does she regret having posted it?
It’s hard to say that she regrets it because I don't think she does because it's her truth. She thinks that what she is doing is right and she feels like she is protecting people. The only time when she does start to feel a bit of should I have done is when the consequences start coming in because Amy recognizes this is going to be a really expensive court case for her family. So that's the only kind of regret as such that she feels but equally Amy backs herself and she stands by her word and she knows that she's not a liar. So yes, all of these things are bad and the money situation is terrifying but equally she doesn't regret what she said and she doesn't take it back because that's the truth.
Are you enjoying playing this side of Amy’s character, seeing her coming out fighting again?
Definitely. I think it was about time because, yes she's been affected and yes she's traumatised, but under it all she's still feisty, fiery and strong and level headed. I was just waiting for her to get her mojo back and to be able to get back at him and you know, really just stick it to him and go actually you're not making me feel like this because I don't deserve that. Although she's always going to live with this, I'm really glad to see her coming out of her shell again, and start having that fire again. It's not going to be an overnight thing and it's not an easy thing for her to do, for her to stand up to him, it's really, really difficult but I'm glad that she's trying.
Do you think it's important for people to see that there are different ways of dealing with this, the police route isn’t always the way for everyone, there are other ways of helping yourself heal?
Definitely and I also think it's investing to show a true journey because I think that is the truth for survivors. When I’ve spoken to people who've been victims of rape or when people have confided in me, they've all said, there isn't an easy road to just, oh I'm fine now. That isn't how people work. So I think it's really interesting seeing somebody go down all these different paths, first going back on her allegation and saying I take it back,, and then putting it out again, and then posting it. That's the truth, that's the truth of the story. Survivors deal with things in different ways, there's no one right path and there's no easy route to just accepting what's happened. I think that's something that Corrie has done really well in making this story into what it is rather than just she's been raped, she's devastated, end of, because that's not real.
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