Coronation Street: Lucy Fallon was "nervous" about Bethany's lap dancing storyline

Craig is understandably appalled - but how will he react when Bethany tells him that if he can't accept what she's doing, then it's over between them? Here's actress Lucy Fallon with her take on all the upcoming drama:

So, first of all, why does Bethany enjoy working at the lapdancing club?
In Bethany’s mind, she is laughing at all of the men - she is taking back control of her body and over the way men look at her and approach her. If she is giving them a lap dance, she controls what they do to her, for example they can’t touch her and she takes their money.

Has this come from what happened to her with Nathan?
Yes, it’s not a case of Nathan has gone to prison so now everything is fine. The effects of what has happened to her has forced her to go down this path where she is now a lapdancer.

What happens when Craig turns up at the club?
One of the dancers has a tiff with one of the punters, so the police are called. Bethany is about to come out to do her dance on the stage but she sees Craig so she runs back in the back. But because Bethany was there when the tiff happened she has to talk to the police so she comes out, no make-up and with her joggers on.

What are Bethany’s first thoughts when Craig sees her?
She’s mortified that Craig has now found out that that’s what she does. And Craig is mortified that she's there.

Bethany is quite straight with him, isn’t she? Is that her taking control again?
She basically says, “This is my job and if you can’t handle it then you know where to go.” Bethany isn’t going to let anybody say that she can’t do it and that is something she feels very strongly about. If she lets Craig say that she shouldn’t do it, then she's let Craig take control of the situation. Bethany feels really in control here.

What do you think Bethany’s family would say if they found out about what she is doing?
They would be really, really mortified, especially Sarah. It would be hard for everyone to understand why she would want to do that after everything that has happened. They would be really shocked and angry.

Does she feel like there are some things she still can’t confide in her family about?
She isn’t really bothered about them finding out - it’s more to do with the aggravation she knows she will get from them if or when they find out. She feels really confident in what she's doing and that she's taking control of her life, so it's more about what her family will do and say to try stop her.

What was your reaction when you found out about this storyline?
I was nervous, personally, at the thought of skimpy outfits, but it was very much left up to me about what I wanted to wear. The outfits are more like Little Mix’s stage outfits. I wanted to understand how Bethany reached the decision to work in a lapdancing club and when Kate Oates explained it’s all about control, I realised it’s a journey for Bethany. This is one step in her journey and whether it is the right thing for her or not, it’s her journey that she has to go down.

How important is it that Coronation Street shows that Bethany is still feeling the effects of what happened to her?
That’s the most important part of this storyline. Even though the grooming storyline is over, if that happened to me I wouldn’t suddenly be OK and this is something that will stay with Bethany forever. It is really important to show her journey from what happened to her then to her future.

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