How worried is Toyah about Leanne’s growing involvement in the Institute and Rowan?
She's hugely worried, she had quite a strong instinct early on that something’s a bit off with the institute and I think the change in Leanne’s behaviour and personality have verified that Toyah’s fears are correct. Leanne’s becoming very emotionally disconnected from both Toyah and Nick in a way that feels quite out of character because even though Leanne's a very tough woman she's loyal and she does love her sister. So when she starts pushing her away, there are definitely alarm bells ringing.
The sisters have always been close, do you think this could come between them?
Yeah, definitely, I think it already is coming between them and certainly what we're seeing is that Leanne pushing Toyah away and Nick away is potentially damaging both her relationships.
Toyah hasn’t always been the biggest fan of Nick, but do you think they could come together here to try and take Rowan on?
Yeah I think so, they’ve found something in common here. What they have in common is that they both love Leanne, they’re seeing a change in her and they feel like they're losing her. That’s inadvertently pushing Toyah and Nick together to take Rowan on. I also think how emotionally available Nick was for Toyah when he found out about Rose, perhaps shifted how she views him a little bit and made her look at him in a different way.
In the midst of all this Toyah is going through her own heartache and it’s Nick who’s been there to support her. How is she coping without really having Leanne in her corner?
I think it's really difficult because Leanne's always been her biggest ally and her biggest support. They've seen each other through so many difficult times, so many relationships and however many times they've been married or divorced or cheated on what's remained consistent is their sisterly bond. So I think Toyah is really struggling not having that as she navigates her way through her own trauma.
Do you enjoy how the amount of years you’ve been in the show and all of Toyah’s history are able to shape her character now?
I think that's what's so brilliant about soaps is that we have this long form storytelling because we see these characters over multiple years, even decades. So the writers can draw on the history of that character, their relationships with different people, how those relationships shift over time. Looking at Toyah’s fertility journey and how that has shaped the woman she's become and the choices that she's made, some of which have been potentially ill advised and have impacted on her relationships, that's the beauty of being in a soap because we've got this really rich history to draw upon.
When do you most enjoy playing the Battersby sisters, when they’re close or at war?
I can’t choose because we love both but we don't want too much of either! We did a huge argument scene a few weeks ago and we were both physically shaking afterwards, I could feel my heart beating out my chest. It goes without saying that Jane is my best friend and we've never, touchwood, had an argument in real life so it's quite a thing to be expressing those emotions and shouting at each other. But I hope our friendship adds an element to that because there's such a deep affection between us and I think we have good chemistry. So those scenes are enjoyable and a challenge but I also love, of course, when we have scenes where they're supportive and they're close like the scene we recently did at Rose’s graveside where Leanne gives the teddy bear from Oliver. We shot that really quickly, there was only about 20 minutes left of the day and I think we pretty much did it in one take because we have such a close connection as friends that those emotions come quite freely and quite naturally. So I love both sides to playing them as sisters.
As you mentioned you and Jane have become great friends over the years, you also met your partner Charlie here. Did you ever imagine the show would be such a big part of your life when you first started?
No not at all, when I joined the show I was on a five month contract and I didn't see anything beyond that. So the fact that it's really shaped so much of my life and my personal life is quite extraordinary. It really is a gift and it makes that place even more special to me. Going away and coming back, meeting Charlie, being reunited with Jane at work and now being back up north near my family, I just feel incredibly lucky and thankful for the people that the show has brought into my life.
What does it mean to you to be on Corrie in 2024 and have that 27 year history?
It's just an extraordinary turn of events that my younger self would never have believed, that I’d still be in this position and still be relishing a role that I started when I was just turned 17. It's a really unusual position to find yourself in and actually very rare as an actress. I feel incredibly lucky, to be the caretaker of your own character is something you can’t do on a lot of shorter jobs. You maybe don't feel you have as much agency or the characters aren't always as fleshed out whereas on this show I’ve played this woman for more years than I haven't. The character of Toyah was created when I was 17 and I'm now 44, she’s just a huge part of my life.
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