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It’s heavy over in Weatherfield this week, as Liam’s bullying ordeal intensifies, Maria does her best to support her son, but when she discovers the true depths of his despair her world is torn apart. Here, actress – Samia Longchambon, 41, who has been in the soap nearly 25 years, reveals why she can relate to the heartwrenching storyline, as she looks back at her own childhood...
Maria finds out about Liam’s cyber-bullying this week. How is she coping with it, as a mother?
She’s absolutely horrified by it. It’s heartbreaking for her to see what her son’s been going through and that he felt that he couldn’t talk to her or Gary, that’s what really hurts her.
Maria had her own difficulties with online trolling, does that help her understand his emotions?
Totally. There’s a really nice scene between Maria and Liam in Victoria Gardens, where she remembered her own experience with online trolls and assures him with time that it will get better. When she finds out the extent of how depressed it’s made him, and he feels he can’t carry on with his life, it’s utterly heartbreaking for her, especially after what she went through with Aiden, she will not let Liam out of her sight when she sees he’s been looking up ways to end his own life. It’s horrifying for her.
It’s hard-hitting stuff. Did you do any research
for this storyline?
If I’m completely honest, I was bullied throughout my entire childhood – all the way through primary school and then into secondary as well. I can go off how it was for me. It’s important to talk to people and not bottle things up. As much as people are scared of being a snitch, the bigger picture is that you need to tell an adult, you just need to keep talking.
● Coronation Street continues on Wednesday, 7pm, ITV1.
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