Sally Ann Matthews & Tina O’Brien interview: Stephen’s Showdown

The time has come that Corrie fans have been waiting for - but will justice be served to Stephen, or will he get away with his crimes? 

Having a quiet chat in the Rovers, Jenny and Sarah soon realise they’re not alone, and Stephen certainly makes his present felt as he turns on those he loves the most. Hitting Sarah over the head, desperate Stephen is on the edge as Jenny is on a mission to finally learn the truth. 

At a press event for these spectacular episodes recently, we caught up with Tina O’Brien and Sally Ann Matthews to talk about their encounter with a desperate and dangerous Stephen. 

Stephen has had a long run. The net is finally closing in. As Jenny starts to listen to Carla and put the pieces together, what emotions is she going through?

Sally: She doesn’t listen to Carla! She just thinks, “Carla, you’re a bit of a psycho, you’re having a moment,” because Stephen hasn’t done anything wrong in Jenny’s eyes. She’s never seen him be violent, he’s only ever been supportive and kind to her, and that’s because he loves her, and he’s not had an ulterior motive with Jenny at all. 

It’s only when the net is closing in on Stephen, and he says about moving to Thailand tomorrow that she suddenly starts to go, “Oh,” and maybe Carla was right, so she tests the water, some kind of self-preservation kicks in and wants to delay going to Thailand. Then he says he found the bank account, and she starts to go, “He does want my money,” and I think she has flashbacks of what her dad did to Rita. 

And she has that moment where she realises this isn’t love. But actually, it is! But he wants her money, and Jenny has that moment of loss. And then the same for [Stephen] when Jenny says, “Let’s delay it,” and he goes to the kitchen, and you see his heart break, and I think it’s really important because ultimately, it is a love story as well. If he’d not been such a murderous bastard, they’d have had a really good time together! She’s heartbroken that he’s done this, but as far as she’s concerned, he’s a conman and a fraudster, and he’s after money. She doesn’t realise that he’s murdered anybody. She’s not privy to any of that information, which is when Sarah says that to her in the pub, unawares that Jenny doesn’t know any of it. It’s a HUGE shock. 

As his behaviour starts to confirm her suspicions, how scared does she become?

Sally: She’s terrified and suddenly realises that… Very quickly, it all starts to gather that if he did this with Leo, how long has this con of his been going on for? Leo’s been dead a year – was this his intention all the time? But then he was comforting her, so a betrayal on every level. 

This is Sarah’s uncle. Can she really believe he’s capable of all of this when the Platts start to put it together?

Tina: I think she’s in denial. I think it’s David that’s really kind of going, “Hang on a minute.” She doesn’t want to believe it. I think she wants to believe the uncle she went to Milan with, the man who supported her and helped her in her career, that isn’t what he is. So I think it’s a shock when that starts to realise.

Does she realise that the family could be in danger, or is it too much to process?

Tina: I don’t think she would think for a second that he would ever hurt any of the Platts. You know, that’s family. And I don’t think she would ever think that she or anyone else in her family would be in danger. 

Sarah’s stood up to Stephen before. When they come up against him in the pub, does she think she can get through to him?

Tina: I think if she thought he was dangerous, she never would’ve tried to, you know, have a word with him. I think she still believes at the end of the day that it’s her uncle, and maybe there’s been miscommunication. So I think she believes that they, as a family, could get through to him.

We end up in this situation where he has both of them in the Rovers. Do they realise at this point that this is going to be a fight for their lives?

Sally: When he clonks her on the head, yeah! Before then, I think it’s really cleverly done that Dylan and his dodgy friend have been in the pub, so she feels confident to go in there. It’s only when Sarah says she saw her upstairs, it’s like, “Whoa, hang on.” I love that moment. It is, “Get out of dodge,” and they go to get out of dodge, and he whallops her one, which breaks Stephen’s heart to do that to her. And I think that sends Stephen into a spin because he loves Sarah, he loves his family, he loves Jenny. He doesn’t want to do these things.

Tina: He’s a desperate man.

You can see how upset Stephen is when he hits Sarah. Is it a bit of a wake-up call that no-one is off limits?

Sally: Jenny’s definitely terrified. She does believe what she’s been told that he killed Teddy, and therefore it makes sense that he killed Leo. I think at that point as well, she’s angry, and she wants to get the truth out of him. I think she doesn’t think she’s going to get out, she thinks Sarah’s dead, and then she wants to find out exactly what Stephen did, and I think she’s disregarded her own safety to just get to the truth.

Do you like seeing Sarah and Jenny working together?

Sally: We only had that little bit, but it’s nice to kind of be initially in the Rovers in our joint, “What a bloody day!” He duped us both, and we share that moment of drinking the dodgy sherry.

Tina: Obviously, they both kind of cross paths because Sarah doesn’t know that Jenny doesn’t know Stephen’s maybe a murderer. That moment of going, “Yeah, this is what we’ve heard,” and then again, the fact that Sarah assumes that it was Jenny upstairs. I quite like how that all then comes together for a little moment, to kind of go, “Oh, gosh, this is time to go.”

Stephen drags Jenny outside with a bottle to her throat. Does she really believe her could kill her?

Sally: She thinks she’s a goner, but I think she’s also thinking… I don’t think she thinks about her own safety. She wants the truth. She wants to know why he did it, what he’s done, and in that moment, she sees that is far more important than her own safety.

With time quickly running out for Stephen, just how far will his desperation take him? Will he kill again?

Tune in to Coronation Street tonight to find out!

Sophie Williams 

Find me on Twitter @sophie_writer1

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Sally Ann Matthews interview: Jenny's sinkhole terror!

During super soap week, one resident who finds themselves in grave danger is Jenny Connor, as the ground opens beneath her, and she falls into the sinkhole. Johnny attempts a rescue, but as the water starts to rise, can they get out on time? 

Before this week of nightmares begins, Jenny is perfectly happy as she moves on from her marriage and starts a relationship with sinkhole expert, Leo. “I think it was the last thing on her mind,” Sally tells us. “There’s this handsome young man, so when [Jenny] finds out she is the object of his desire, she doesn’t quite know what to do with that. She has a conversation with Johnny, and he says, not realising she’s thinking about Leo, that life’s too short for waiting, so she decides, why not?

“She wasn’t looking for a relationship, and ultimately, she loves Johnny, and I don’t think finding another partner is on her radar. She has a really lovely friendship with Johnny at the minute and I think if life hadn’t got in the way and caused all of these upsets, that Jenny and Johnny would still be together. They just kind of thought that they’re a bit toxic together and even though they love each other, they actually can’t live together and make each other happy.

“She feels that Johnny will always be a big part of her life and that because they do love each other, there’s no animosity there. They’ve been really grown up about it and they’ve supported each other through it. I think [Jenny] thinks they’re quite together, just not in a romantic sense.”

During this week, Johnny makes the decision to leave Weatherfield and move to Bali where he can be closer to Kate. However, this isn’t good news for Jenny. Sally said: “Where she thought they were at was that they were friends. He was the one that initially told her to go for it with Ronnie, so she thinks that he’s fine with her moving on with her life and that they’re great friends and they will always be in each other’s lives. When she finds out he wants to move away, she’s devastated.” 

On the night of Horrornation Street, Jenny is enjoying a date night with new man Leo, but the night soon takes a nosedive. “[Jenny] goes to check out her rival, Debbie Webster’s House of Horrors evening, and Johnny happens to be there as well in the beer tent. That’s when they have a chat about him moving away and she’d hate for Johnny to feel edged out because that’s not the situation.” 

As the storm closes in on the street, David and Ryan implore Leo to have a look at the sinkhole as they know something is wrong. Soon after, David announces that they must evacuate the area, and Jenny goes searching for Leo. 

“Now it’s torrential rain. [Jenny]’s worried about Leo, what he’s doing and for his safety, so she goes to try and find him, and she can’t find him. She’s stood there in the rain, very late at night, very cold, and suddenly the earth opens up…”

Despite Jenny’s bad luck this week, Sally told us how much she enjoyed filming it. “How many times have I said in interviews: ‘Give me a ten-page monologue, don’t give me anything to do. I don’t like action.’ I thought getting tasered was bad. But, I get there and I do it, and I bloody loved it. I did write to Iain and Verity [MacLeod] after we’d finished the main six-day section and said: ‘Please can I be in a sinkhole every week?’

“The way we worked over the last 18 months is all the lighting department go into studio, then they clear out and so other people go in and clear out before we arrive there, so this was the first time in about 18 months that we saw every other department and we really worked as a team.

“George Siougas, the director, was brilliant. I instantly trusted him; he gave brilliant technical notes, he gave brilliant acting notes. Also, to be able to get close to Richard [Hawley, who plays Johnny] again was just a joy, and to work with other people closely who Jenny doesn’t normally interact with.”

Sally and Richard filmed for six days in the “wet shaft” that they had to swim through to film the scenes in the sinkhole. Sally told us: “We had wetsuits on, and then clothes on top. It was a monumental effort getting to a loo. 

“It was cold, but if you weren’t in the water, the crew were sweating buckets because it’s like when you’re at a swimming pool. We’d have hot water bottles in the pool, and they’d periodically pour the contents of a hot water bottle into my wetsuit to warm that up. The bizarre thing you don’t realise as well is how quickly you dehydrate in that situation. Keeping hydrated was really important.”

As Jenny tries to remain calm in the sinkhole, she’s shocked when Johnny appears to try and rescue her. Sally said: “She is terrified, she’s injured, she’s cold… she knows that Leo is on the case and that people know there is an issue, so I think she’s quietly confident initially that she’s going to be found. When Johnny arrives, she’s like: ‘What the bloody hell are you doing here?’” 

As they await rescue, Jenny and Johnny have plenty of time on their hands, and the topic of conversation soon drifts towards their relationship. “They’re forced to discuss how they feel,” Sally said. “When you’re in a situation like that, you have to work together. 

“You’ve got to keep each other’s spirits up until you’re rescued and within those conversations, maybe things are said, and real feelings are exposed.”

If Jenny and Johnny escape in time, could this be a new chapter in their relationship? 

Sophie Williams

Find me on Twitter @sophie_writer1

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When #CORRIE hits back

Corrie fans, like Manchester United supporters and Scientologists, can be very loyal to their cause. And at times they can be the most honest. Brutally so. Especially in the era of social media.

Twitter more than any other medium gives television viewers the unique opportunity to engage with cast and crew like never before. We can critique storylines, send gushing praise about individual performances or have a good old rant about there never being enough Rita on screen.

Former Exec Producer Kieron Roberts explained how important social media is to the soap, especially during awards season:

“We’ve done a lot of work on our website and on Facebook and Twitter to persuade people to get involved. That’s what you have to do these days. It’s no longer about filling in a form in the back of the TV Times. People vote by clicking a button on their phones and on their computers.”

He continued:

“A lot of the cast are on Twitter, too, so they are able to drum up support by building a relationship with fans as well.”

I’ve praised Corrie a lot on this Blog and on social media - I always prefer to keep my musings positive. But healthy critique is good and we should never shy away of speaking our minds (remind me of this when I'm next sending a barrage of abuse to Boris Johnson on Twitter).

Here, in my catchily-titled blog from 2015 “Corrie Superfan Seeks Paint Drying Companion”, I explained how I was watching the show more out of habit than enjoyment. And I wasn’t alone. Now though it’s all too easy to write a cutting little tweet directly to the source of your dissatisfaction - be it the writers, actors or producers. I’m never personally too harsh but some of you Corrie fans DO NOT hold back!

Apologies for the expletives and reference to football. 

It can be an unfriendly place the old t'internet, even here on the Coronation Street Blog we get some very unpleasant remarks in the comments section from time to time. In this relatively new era of engagement through social media though we on the Blog can reply to those comments, or delete them from existence if they are really offensive, and Corrie cast and crew themselves can hit back on Twitter. And they often do.

Tristan Gemmill has taken to Twitter this week to engage with a few of Corrie’s armchair commentators. His character Robert is, in Tristan’s own words in “a bit of a pickle” and some fans are not enjoying the long-running storyline and his love triangle with Michelle and Vicky.

Some people had a go at the character.

Others criticised the storyline.

And some just just let rip.

Sensing a social media storm, Tristan had his say.

There was even a hilarious intervention from his on-screen fiancée (or one of them) Kym Marsh.

And Tristan’s not the first to engage in Twitter drama over Corrie feedback. Dan Brocklebank, who plays Vicar Billy received a torrent of hate online after an on screen kiss. He didn’t stay silent.

Actors often use Twitter to respond to media stories about them.

The sassiest of online Corrie stars has to be Sally Ann Matthews. She’s probably the cast member that engages the most with fans, but she doesn't always receive the nicest comments. One particular ‘critique’ Sal gets when the show is on and Corrie Twitter awakens is…her hair colour. She now has a short but effective response.

TMI Sal.

And when it comes to responding to more serious criticism of the show, simple facts are all that are required.

So there.

In responding to some social media users, Corrie stars can reveal some big behind the scenes secrets.

Yummy.

Jane Danson felt she had to set the record straight over comments about her walk when filming pregnancy scenes.

And others simply put people, rightly, in their place.

But Kate has also made a serious point about the down side of social media.

Tina O’Brien, who plays Sarah Platt, let fans on Twitter know back in March that she was aware of their concern for her #BendyFingers

Try picking your nose with THAT. 

Engaging with your favourite soap stars online can be a mixed experience. A bit of sparring is fun. But it’s more fun to be kind. Don’t take it from me though. Take it from a fan.

Join me on Twitter if you dare @StevieDawson

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All original work on Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License