‘Rollercoaster of emotions’: Coronation Street star admits to finding controversial story ‘crazy’
Coronation Street favourite Roy Cropper (David Neilson)’s fate hangs in the balance as an explosive week coming up is set to reveal exactly what happened to Lauren Bolton (Cait Fitton) and whether Roy’s innocence will be proved. The actress who plays Roy’s solicitor Dee-Dee Bailey, Channique Sterling-Brown, talked to us about how Dee-Dee is feeling.
‘Dee-Dee is really starting to buckle under the pressure,’ she revealed. ‘She’s been trying really hard to hold it all together but ultimately I think the pressure of the street and the pressure she has on herself is taking a toll on her. Roy isn’t just a client to Dee-Dee, she really values him as a person so I definitely think she’s starting to feel the immense pressure of it all and we can really see the strain that it’s putting on her.’
The Lauren Bolton storyline has been massive in the soap since the teen disappeared from her flat in February.
While Roy quickly became the chief suspect, recently paedophile Nathan Curtis (Christopher Harper) has come into the frame after he returned to Weatherfield. He was previously responsible for grooming and raping Bethany Platt (Lucy Fallon) in 2017, so his reappearance is certainly suspicious.
The situation has been further complicated by Carla Barlow (Alison King) and Bobby Crawford (Jack Carroll) lying to try to help Roy. It’s all made for a difficult case for Dee-Dee.
‘The fact she’s coming up with so many blanks is starting to really cause her to doubt herself,’ Channique said. ‘She is finding all of these mitigating factors that should be brilliant evidence to free Roy but it just all seems to be coming up against resistance. She’s just looking for that one thing that’s going to bring it home, but that’s proving a lot harder than she could have ever imagined.’
Channique told us that she was thrilled when she found out about the storyline and about her character’s part in it.
‘It’s so crazy! I was really excited because It’s brilliant for me to get to work with more of the cast. It’s been really exciting because it’s such a big storyline for the year and it’s been great to get my teeth into more of the lawyer side and be in court again.
‘It’s been a real rollercoaster of emotions, especially also playing the humanness amongst everything else with Dee-Dee having her own personal feelings working on the case whilst remaining a professional side, too. It’s been a great challenge for me and I’ve definitely learned a lot.’
One thing she’s particularly loved is the chance to work with Corrie legend David Neilson.
‘It has been absolutely brilliant!’ she enthused.
‘David is just so funny and he couldn’t be more different to Roy. I’ve just loved chatting with him, then the cameras will roll and we will rehearse and he absolutely embodies Roy in such an effortless way. It has been truly amazing and has also been a bit of a masterclass for me to play across from David and learn some of his wisdom and expertise.’
Channique has also been working closely with Bethany Platt actress Lucy Fallon, with recent pictures showing them filming together on location in the rain. Could the story be set to take even more twists and turns as the women work together to get to the truth?
As this climactic week approaches, the pressure is really on Dee-Dee to ensure that Roy Cropper doesn’t end his days behind bars – and the outcome is far from certain.
‘I don’t think she’s lost all hope because she believes Roy is innocent, but I definitely think the walls have closed in, in a new way,’ Channique admitted.
‘I think it’s a race against time for Dee-Dee now to find something that will be concrete enough to ensure Roy’s innocence. He’s already suffered so much, so Dee-Dee is now so desperate to make sure he walks away.’
Will she succeed?