Jane Danson ‘wasn’t sure’ about ‘tricky’ Coronation Street storyline with dark twists ahead

Coronation Street star Jane Danson has expressed her hesitation over her soap character’s ‘dark’ storyline.

The soap star’s character Leanne Battersby has been swept into the murky world of the Institute, and is being further and further groomed into Rowan’s (Emrhys Cooper) cult. As she becomes more reliant on it, Nick Tilsley (Ben Price) fears that there is no way back for both Leanne and their relationship.

Addressing Leanne’s latest horror, she said: ‘It’s funny because when they first told me about the storyline, I wasn’t entirely sure about it and thought it may be a bit too tricky but I’m absolutely loving it.

‘In some ways it is tricky because of the way Leanne is now speaking completely different to how she normally would and the language she’s now using. But what is interesting for me as an actor is exploring her from a completely different way of thinking and also it’s fun because Leanne is absolutely oblivious to all of the damage she is causing by some of her behaviours.’

She added: ‘Historically, Leanne is quite a strong person with her own opinions, but in this case she is listening to someone else and is essentially getting brainwashed into their way of thinking, which for me is really fun to play.’

Leanne’s sister Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor) is determined to free her from their grasp and does some digging. When she hits upon something, it seems like all systems go to fight back, but little does she know what she is getting into.

And things get more complex still, given Toyah and Nick’s growing closeness over their fears for Leanne…

Simon’s adoptive mum Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) was the first to be indoctrinated into Rowan’s cult when Simon began attending his ‘self help’ group at the Chariot Square Hotel following his drink driving conviction.

Feeling down after his dad Peter (Chris Gascoyne) left Weatherfield, Simon hit the bottle which led to some dangerous consequences.

After losing his job at Underworld and growing his sorrows in the bar of the Rovers Return, he was reluctant to take Sam Blakeman (Jude Riordan) to a chess competition for fears he would be over the limit.

After being handed a six month driving ban and an 80 hour community service order, Simon caught the help of the ‘Institute’ group, something which Leanne was initially sceptical of until Rowan managed to woo her.