Corrie's Channique Sterling-Brown: 'Racial injustice storyline makes issue individual and human'

Coronation Street is working with three organisations – Birthrights, Motivational Mums Club and Five X More – on Dee-Dee's story, with the soap striving to represent the harrowing reality for many Black mothers and following Dee-Dee's search for justice.

It's a plot line that is not only steeped in reality, but is also one that is intertwined with racism and unconscious bias.

But why are soaps like Coronation Street so important for shining a light on stories such as this, as well as diversity and representation on screen?

When chatting exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Sterling-Brown said: "I think its really important both behind and in front of the camera.

"Soaps are a great training ground for any role in the industry, you can learn so much – we work so quickly, you find ways as an actor to get to your art a lot quicker and learn everything there is to know about TV."

She continued: "[It's] important for everyone to have that accessibility. For representation, it's important because they sit in the heart of the home, [it's] important for young people to see themselves represented – got to see it to be it.

"What I hope with this story, you follow these characters who are your friends, therefore it stops it being about an issue and it becomes about an individual. A human story. [There's] been a lot of mixed reviews of this story, as we expected.

"One of the biggest takeaways I’ve seen is people saying, 'Gosh, I didn’t know this happened,' whereas they might watch it on a documentary and not take it in the same way.

"When they see it from Dee-Dee’s perspective, they know her, it's really powerful. Same with the MND storyline – it humanises it, helps people connect and hopefully extend their empathy."

Sterling-Brown's role as Dee-Dee marked her first major television role when she joined the soap back in 2022, but in terms of feeling represented herself, the actress revealed that was actually in the realm of theatre.

When asked about her first experience of feeling represented in the arts, Sterling-Brown revealed: "Mine was actually theatre, it wasn’t till I was about 19, not to say I hadn’t watched anything before [where] I’d felt represented, [it] was more that it struck me.

"I went to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, I was in my first year of drama school, it had just opened. Noma Dumezweni was playing Hermione, we went to stage door afterwards, me and my friend.

"When she came out and chatted, I burst into tears, [it] really took me by surprise and [I] started crying. Noma just kept saying, 'I know!'"

She continued: "I loved Harry Potter growing up, always thought of myself as a Hermione. I’m a bookworm [and] very studious. Because of [Noma], I could play Hermione one day, this heroine of my childhood who I’ve always related to but have never seen myself as. It was really powerful."

As for now, soap fans will be able to see just how Dee-Dee's story continues to unfold, with it proving that soaps can often be a great medium for digging into the grittiest of real-life scenarios and opening up conversations amongst its fans.

For support on Dee-Dee's story, you can visit Birthrights, Motivational Mums Club and Five X More.

Read more:

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• Coronation Street star confirms he's quit after 5 years with final scenes airing in summer
• Coronation Street cast: who is leaving, returning to and joining the soap
• 6 Coronation Street spoilers: Carl Webster exit fears amid Abi clash and Debbie faces up to her future

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