Coronation Street Blog: Julia Goulding interview: Devastating news for Shona and David

How does Shona feel when David fails to take her along to her scan?

She doesn't know what's happened with him and Kit, and she's just so let down because it's happened before, when David got stuck in the lift buying cheap shampoo, and so she's already missed the first scan. She just feels really let down that he's not going to be there for her because, obviously, her first pregnancy at the age of 13 probably wasn't as joyful. So, she's just really cross with him, and luckily, she manages to persuade Sarah to give her a lift.

Does David get there in the end?

Yes, Kit drives David there, and then they’re able to go in together, and they’re really excited. It’s not often that you get married couples that have been together for a while having a child on Coronation Street, it’s usually a product of an affair or something, so it’s actually really sweet that Shona and David are having a baby, I think.

How do David and Shona react when they discover that there is a mass on the baby’s neck?

It’s crushing. Absolutely crushing. It would be for anyone. They were really difficult scenes to do. Because I’ve got children of my own and I’ve had scans, I know how excited you feel before them, and then for them to come out and not to be able to celebrate and have joy with something so joyful, is really, really sad.

What are Shona’s thoughts towards David before their appointment with the consultant?

She’s thinking that he’s not that bothered. He’s thinking that he’s doing a really good job of seeming okay with it. And I think the whole point of the special episode is to show how isolated they both feel, and how much stronger they are when they’re together and on the same track, as it were. She just feels very alone, lost, scared, all the things that you would do, and it hasn’t helped with him not turning up to the first scan and being late for the second one, so she’s not feeling as confident in his support, whereas he’s feeling really lousy about probably knowing that’s how she’s feeling but not really being able to express it because it’s David Platt.

When Shona hears that her baby has a tumour, is her instinct to have surgery or is termination an option for her?

Termination isn’t an option for her. She’s just like, ‘Yep, surgery, we’re doing it.’ And I think that’s where a lot of the conflict comes in, because it’s a particular type of operation and it’s incredibly rare, and there is a risk to mother’s life and baby’s life. And that’s where David’s arguments come in, to at least think about the pros and cons of having a termination or having the surgery.

Glenda Young

Bestselling novelist published by Headline