Coronation Street's Lucy Fallon teases Bethany Platt's role in soap's huge Lauren week

“The moment Bethany saw Nathan Curtis at the reconstruction of Lauren’s last sighting, she’s been convinced he murdered her,” says Fallon, who returned to the role of Bethany in December after nearly four years away. “Nathan was jailed seven years ago for grooming and abusing Bethany but was recently released. Seeing him again is triggering and she’s become obsessed with putting him back behind bars where he belongs, and where he can’t harm anyone else. Bethany wants Nathan to be guilty so he returns to prison, but she can’t see beyond the fact it might not actually be him.”

Nasty Nathan ran a sleazy child sexual exploitation ring, so he’s got form when it comes to preying on vulnerable young girls. He’s certainly one of DS Swain’s prime suspects, but then so are half the men in Manchester, including kindly Roy, and Bethany’s boyfriend Daniel Osbourne, who privately tutored tearaway Lauren which sparked unfounded rumours of an inappropriate fling that went awry.

Whoever turns out to be behind Lauren’s vanishing act, Nathan’s presence is definitely unwelcome. It has stirred up painful memories for Bethany of the darkest time of her life, and caused conflict with those closest to her, including mum Sarah Barlow, who tried to pay off and plant evidence on her daughter’s abuser to banish him. Nathan’s return is a stark reminder that Bethany still carries this nightmare with her.

“It will always be there, it’s something she can never get over,” sighs Fallon. “Working with Christopher Harper (who plays Nathan) again was really nice, but weird as it felt like we’d gone back in time seven years! When I did the story in 2017 I spoke to charities who put me in touch with a lot of people this had genuinely happened to, remembering them this time round made it easier to bring those emotions to the surface. Bethany and I are both older now, so playing her reaction to seeing Nathan again from a grown-up perspective came quite naturally.

“The grooming storyline was the most rewarding thing I did as an actor from when I was in the show before so I was pleased to revisit it. And when Corrie spoke to the charity they worked with last time, they learnt it's actually quite common for survivors to just bump into their abusers when they’re released from prison. Bethany didn’t know Nathan was out as the letters informing her had gone to an old address. It’s interesting to show the impact.”

Bethany’s hard-hitting exploitation plot was based on the real-life Rochdale child abuse sex trafficking case from 2012, which exposed a horrifying network of abusers targeting underage girls (the Bafta-winning BBC series Three Girls was a direct dramatisation of the events).

It elevated Fallon to A-list Corrie star status, rightly earning critical plaudits and numerous awards for her engaging performance, which heartbreakingly captured the trauma of lost innocence. A few years earlier, she became the first actress to play Bethany as a grown-up, when the character returned to the Street as a minxy teenager with mum Sarah after eight years abroad.

“Bethany was quite feisty and unlikable at first, then started getting bullied at school and began taking diet pills to deal with her growing vulnerability. Eventually, I was told this would lead to her being groomed which became this big story arc. I don’t think I really understood the magnitude of what was to come, and it was quite overwhelming. I was only 21.

“Being part of the Platt family meant I had good people around me who were always supportive and helpful. Tina (O’Brien, who plays Sarah) and I have always been super close, especially since I’ve come back to the show. My go-to person if I ever needed honest, level-headed advice was Ben Price (who plays Nick Tilsley, Bethany’s uncle).

“I remember my first day on Corrie, I was barely 19 and completely terrified! I sat on the sofa with Helen Worth (who plays Bethany’s granny Gail Rodwell) and she had her arm around me for the entire day, both as Gail during the scenes and as herself in between takes! It made me feel I was going to be fine with these amazing people.”

In 2020, Fallon left the role hoping to spread her professional wings, which unfortunately coincided with the industry effectively shutting down as Covid hit. “Yes, I left and we went into a global pandemic, what great timing! Once things opened up again I did a few jobs then had a baby (Fallon is mum to a one-year-old boy, Sonny, with her partner Ryan Ledson, a professional footballer with Preston North End), and I was getting to the point of panic about putting myself back out there and starting to audition again. I felt so much dread and anxiety about it. Out of the blue my agent contacted me while I was on holiday with Ryan and Sonny, asking if I’d be interested if Corrie wanted me to go back. I immediately said yes, it was such a relief.

“The timing was perfect in terms of where I am in my life. I always appreciated the job before, but even more so now. And I don’t regret leaving when I did, if I hadn’t then a lot of things in my life now would be really different. Everything happens for a reason and I’m pleased to be back, it’s good for me personally to be able to come to work then go home to my little boy and my partner. And some of my closest friends are here and I get to see them every single day.”

Fans have been granted a glimpse into Fallon’s off-screen life in the ITV reality show Drama Queens, as one of the soap stars being followed by a camera crew to document what they get up to when they’re not filming. It really is access all areas, honestly portraying the balancing act of being a working mum and opening up about intensely personal topics, including the miscarriage Fallon and Ledson experienced before having Sonny. Did she have any misgivings about sharing something so private?

“The miscarriage is part of our journey and as a subject, it’s not always talked about. At the time it was very emotional and raw and I didn’t address it publicly, but it’s different talking about it a little bit later on. People appreciate you being honest about what you’ve been through, and there were thousands of comments online from women sharing similar experiences. The response was amazing like it was to Bethany’s grooming storyline, people can relate.

“I’ve really enjoyed Drama Queens. I wasn’t sure it was something I wanted to be part of at first but I like how nothing on the show is orchestrated by the production team, they film me doing something that was already happening and haven’t tried to create fake relationships between the women involved. We all made it clear it has to show our actual lives. Ryan loved it too, he keeps asking about a second series! He reckons he’ll get his own spin-off show…”

The fictional drama is set to continue for Fallon’s beleaguered alter ego, even after we learn if Bethany was right to point the finger at predatory Nathan in the hunt for Lauren. Fallon is clearly happy to stick around on the Street for the foreseeable future, and eager to get her teeth into the next challenge – which it appears producers have already lined up for her. Beyond Corrie’s blockbuster week, she teases there are huge things on the horizon.

“I know I’ve got a big storyline coming off the back of what’s on screen now,” she whispers. “It’s something very different to what Bethany has gone through before, and I feel like it’s going to be emotional…”

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