The sun may have been shining on the streets of
Salford yesterday, but a dark shadow hung in the air in the form of soap’s best
kept secret, as the question on everyone’s lips is “Who kills Tina?”
I have had the privilege of seeing an exclusive
preview of the two gripping episodes which culminate in Tina’s fall from the
builder’s yard balcony on to the cobbles.
While secrets in soapland inevitably struggle
to be kept, my lips are very firmly sealed on this one, as I have been sworn to
secrecy. However, what I can promise fans is that a gripping, edge-of-the-seat
climax awaits, and next week viewers will see Corrie at its very best. Even
with all the high drama, its trademark combination with some sublime comedy is a real
treat.
Following the screening, Michelle Keegan and producer
Stuart Blackburn were on hand to whet our collective appetites with some behind
the scenes information on Tina’s demise and what may lie ahead.
Stuart opened by saying that next week’s episodes
and those following it are only the start of the story, and a prologue to an
autumn season which will be “thrilling and explosive”. While the drama to come promises
to be “dark, dangerous, exciting, shocking”, he assures us that Corrie will not
be without its humour.
Mindful of the fact that she joined Coronation Street as an
unknown actress, Michelle is very grateful to be leaving with such a massive storyline
six years later despite her initial shock that her character was to be killed off. However, she does really feel for Tina who after a
relentless run of tough times will never find her happy ending. “She’s not a
bad person,” she explains, “she just made poor choices”. In these, her final episodes,
Michelle’s exquisite performance invokes a powerful sympathy for Tina despite
her wrongdoings.
Stuart explained how he was torn between his
desire to leave the door open for such a great character, and the quality and
potential of the storyline which was being presented to him, even though its description made for “horrible”
listening, and he felt for Michelle, who says she understands why he felt the opportunity was just too good to miss. He had very high praise for her exceptional
talents as an actress, which is well warranted, and he is confident that her future is bright.
Michelle talked about her house in Essex and how moving down to London was always her plan. She discussed her relationship with Mark Wright, his visits to the set, and how he helped her with her lines, playing all parts from David to Rita but minus the accents. She also mentioned that she had done some auditions, including one for a new American series, and discussed how it feels to be auditioning again, especially considering Coronation Street was only the second one she's ever done. Stuart noted that never before had he come across someone who impressed him so much in the first thirty seconds, that he found himself immediately thinking, let’s get writing for this person.
Michelle explained the fall from the balcony in
detail, and described her fear of heights together with the
She won’t miss Tina’s clothes, but has taken a few mementos including a couple of hoodies and earrings, but she has no plans to wear them. In the main she says it’s Tina herself she will miss.
Despite Tina’s vulnerabilities, she is also strong
and confident in other ways, and I asked Michelle if she ever felt empowered by
playing her, or learned anything from the character. She said while she hasn’t
learned anything from Tina as such, she would sometimes emerge fully charged
after a scene which could help in tackling something head on in real life.
Considering how capable she is of an emotionally
powerful performance, I asked her if it was difficult to come down after such scenes.
It’s hard, she explained, especially when it’s really heavy over a sustained period of time. Michelle described how
she was upset for months when Tina’s father Joe died, and how she felt like her
body was going through a grieving process, even getting cold sores from exhaustion. She doesn’t have to go someplace in her head to become sad or emotional for
scenes, she has the ability to draw her emotional response from the story itself.
In the week leading up to her
death, Rita, David, Fiz and Tyrone are among her hospital visitors as she battles for her life. She spoke of the time spent lying unconscious and what
it was like to have prosthetics applied to one of her eyes.
Michelle revealed that her actual final scene is
not the fall, but an earlier one with Rita, and this proved very emotional.
Further, Rita is with her as she dies. Michelle described how moving and real
the experience was for her as she could hear the circumstances of her death
unfolding around her while lying there powerless, just as one could imagine it might be. Stuart Blackburn explained that they tried to portray her death as
close to real time and real life as they could, and that this has resulted in a
very upsetting portrayal.
As if there weren’t enough reasons to make sure
we don’t miss a second over the next week and beyond, I'm told there’s to be a major
twist on Wednesday the 28th of May. With the sparkle barely settled
following Coronation Street's BAFTA win on Sunday, the episodes which await are continuous proof of its worthiness of the accolade.
By Emma Hynes
No comments:
Post a Comment