alan45
14-12-2011, 01:00
Coronation Street's Tracy Barlow embarks on one of her cruellest schemes yet in the coming days after she suffers the sad loss of her unborn twins.
Fearing that she could lose partner Steve (Simon Gregson) once she is no longer expecting his babies, Tracy seizes an opportunity when she falls down the stairs at Becky's place - falsely claiming that the feisty blonde pushed her and caused the miscarriage.
Tracy's main aim is to make sure that there is no chance of Steve reuniting with his ex, but her spiteful allegations leave Becky (Katherine Kelly) a broken woman and lead to disgust from Deirdre (Anne Kirkbride) - who is the only person who knows the truth. Will Tracy be able to keep up her lies?
Here, actress Kate Ford - who plays Tracy - chats to Digital Spy about the storyline.
We're about to see Tracy become suspicious that Steve and Becky are having an affair. What's going through her mind?
"Tracy does wrongly suspect that Steve and Becky are having an affair, and she gets extremely overwrought about it. Steve and Becky go to a hotel for a business meeting, but Tracy thinks that they're in a room together and heads down there. She gets so worked up and stressed about it. Whether that is the cause of the miscarriage, I don't know - but it certainly doesn't help matters and she goes on to lose the babies."
What can you tell us about the confrontation that Tracy has with Becky the next day?
"Tracy visits Becky's flat, and after they've been arguing, she faints and falls down the stairs. Tracy then realises that she can use this to her advantage, and that's when she claims that Becky pushed her. She does it because she sees it as a way of keeping Steve away from Becky. For Tracy, it seems like a really good opportunity."
Tracy makes her accusation on the spur of the moment rather than as a long-planned scheme, so would you say it's a moment of madness on her part?
"It's not so much a moment of madness - for Tracy, it's actually a moment of clarity. She just sees it as what she has to do - she knows that she has to keep Steve. Tracy genuinely doesn't want to cause any more hurt, but she's so scared of losing Steve that she tells this terrible lie."
Deirdre is the only character who knows that Tracy is lying, so how does she feel about it?
"Well, Tracy makes a lot of threats by saying things like her life isn't worth living without Steve and the babies. That leaves Deirdre between a rock and a hard place - she doesn't know what to do in the situation. As Deirdre is Tracy's mother, Tracy will always be her little girl, so she promises to stick by her.
"But at the same time, Deirdre is really resentful about it. Myself and Annie have had a lot of scenes where Deirdre is looking disapproving and Tracy is looking horrified that she might spill the beans! As Deirdre is such an honest person, she's put in a really dreadful situation."
How does Becky react towards Tracy when she is telling these lies?
"Becky is quite desperate and you'll see them come face-to-face at the nativity play towards Christmas. Becky says that she'll do anything if Tracy just tells the truth, but Tracy can't do that as she's gone too far with the lie. There's no way that she can suddenly turn round and say, 'Oh, well actually I made it up!' She would definitely lose Steve if she did that! The fact of the matter is that Tracy knows Steve doesn't really love her, but she's desperate to keep him."
As Kate, how did you feel about this storyline?
"It's great to get another good Christmas storyline. I hope people see that there's more to this story than just Tracy being a typical bitch, because she is really upset when she loses the babies. Although what she does would stop anyone from feeling sorry for her, she is so frightened of losing Steve. Tracy is doing what she thinks is the right thing, but it clearly isn't."
As it has been such a sad story in many ways, are you able to switch off from it or do you find yourself taking it home with you?
"I think before I had my son Otis, I probably would have taken a story like this home with me, but as soon as I'm not here at work and in Tracy-mode, I'm in mum-mode now! What I find these days is that I just have to click between the two and not let one interfere with the other."
How do you feel about Katherine Kelly leaving the show?
"I'm sad to see Katherine leave, but the truth is that we've hardly seen each other outside work because we've both been so busy. At least now that she's in London, we'll probably see more of each other. That's what we're hoping for - it'd be nice to have a few more nights out."
Back in the summer, we heard that you're sticking with Coronation Street for the foreseeable future. Was that an easy decision for you to make, or did you have to give it some thought?
"For me, it was an easy decision to make at this point because I'm really enjoying it and it's working well for me. I consider myself really lucky to have had my contract extended."
Do you feel like the show's writers are exploring Tracy's softer side a bit more often these days?
"Yeah, and that's been nice to play. It means that Tracy is a more rounded character with more dimensions, which I've really enjoyed showing. We always see that Tracy is a devoted mum. She's very selfish, but she's very true to herself at the same time.
"I think a lot of people out there would love to be a little bit more selfish - not to the degree of Tracy, but I think she probably liberates some people by speaking her mind so much. I'm not suggesting that anyone would want to be like Tracy Barlow, but in certain ways she does have some positive qualities because she is true to herself and doesn't let herself get walked all over. It's just not necessarily a good thing taken to the degree that Tracy takes it! But she is alright sometimes, that girl."
In real life, you're good friends with Shobna Gulati (Sunita), so would you maybe like to have more scenes with her in the future?
"Well, unfortunately Tracy and Sunita don't get on! Tracy doesn't get on with anybody. But I'm hoping that I can share my dressing room with Shobna soon. I share with Helen Flanagan at the moment, but Helen's leaving so I might have to request Shobna's company. Helen's lovely to share with too, but we're both completely messy and it's like a pig sty!"
Is there anyone on the street who you'd like Tracy to share more scenes with?
"It's a tricky question to answer - I can't think of anybody, because the thing about Tracy is that she is an outsider. She doesn't have a lot of female friends and I can't imagine her having a lot of girl friends either. I think she'd be more likely to have a male friend, so maybe she could have a new man to take her mind off things.
"But Tracy is not a girly girl and I can't imagine her with girly friends. She's got one friend - Hannah in London. And I've got a friend called Hannah who lives in London too, so every time I say it, I think of her!"
Have you enjoyed the scenes showing Tracy behind the bar at The Rovers this year?
"Yes, I quite enjoyed being behind the bar at The Rovers - the only downside is that you are there standing up for a long time! Most people feel pleased when they're not behind the bar at The Rovers as an actor, because it is quite exhausting. But I quite liked it - I enjoyed the banter and the light-heartedness of it."
When you're out and about, what kind of a reaction do you get from viewers over your role as Tracy?
"It's not negative at all. A lot of people say things like, 'Give Steve hell!', 'You leave Steve alone!', 'We're on Becky's side!' or 'We're on Tracy's side!' People tend to enter into the fun of it."
Do you think Tracy could have any involvement in Peter's current storyline?
"Tracy and Peter are quite similar in many ways. They're always making trouble and they're never happy with their lot. The two of them are always searching for something else or something more. I'm not sure yet whether we'll have many scenes in the future, but they do have a common ground."
Fearing that she could lose partner Steve (Simon Gregson) once she is no longer expecting his babies, Tracy seizes an opportunity when she falls down the stairs at Becky's place - falsely claiming that the feisty blonde pushed her and caused the miscarriage.
Tracy's main aim is to make sure that there is no chance of Steve reuniting with his ex, but her spiteful allegations leave Becky (Katherine Kelly) a broken woman and lead to disgust from Deirdre (Anne Kirkbride) - who is the only person who knows the truth. Will Tracy be able to keep up her lies?
Here, actress Kate Ford - who plays Tracy - chats to Digital Spy about the storyline.
We're about to see Tracy become suspicious that Steve and Becky are having an affair. What's going through her mind?
"Tracy does wrongly suspect that Steve and Becky are having an affair, and she gets extremely overwrought about it. Steve and Becky go to a hotel for a business meeting, but Tracy thinks that they're in a room together and heads down there. She gets so worked up and stressed about it. Whether that is the cause of the miscarriage, I don't know - but it certainly doesn't help matters and she goes on to lose the babies."
What can you tell us about the confrontation that Tracy has with Becky the next day?
"Tracy visits Becky's flat, and after they've been arguing, she faints and falls down the stairs. Tracy then realises that she can use this to her advantage, and that's when she claims that Becky pushed her. She does it because she sees it as a way of keeping Steve away from Becky. For Tracy, it seems like a really good opportunity."
Tracy makes her accusation on the spur of the moment rather than as a long-planned scheme, so would you say it's a moment of madness on her part?
"It's not so much a moment of madness - for Tracy, it's actually a moment of clarity. She just sees it as what she has to do - she knows that she has to keep Steve. Tracy genuinely doesn't want to cause any more hurt, but she's so scared of losing Steve that she tells this terrible lie."
Deirdre is the only character who knows that Tracy is lying, so how does she feel about it?
"Well, Tracy makes a lot of threats by saying things like her life isn't worth living without Steve and the babies. That leaves Deirdre between a rock and a hard place - she doesn't know what to do in the situation. As Deirdre is Tracy's mother, Tracy will always be her little girl, so she promises to stick by her.
"But at the same time, Deirdre is really resentful about it. Myself and Annie have had a lot of scenes where Deirdre is looking disapproving and Tracy is looking horrified that she might spill the beans! As Deirdre is such an honest person, she's put in a really dreadful situation."
How does Becky react towards Tracy when she is telling these lies?
"Becky is quite desperate and you'll see them come face-to-face at the nativity play towards Christmas. Becky says that she'll do anything if Tracy just tells the truth, but Tracy can't do that as she's gone too far with the lie. There's no way that she can suddenly turn round and say, 'Oh, well actually I made it up!' She would definitely lose Steve if she did that! The fact of the matter is that Tracy knows Steve doesn't really love her, but she's desperate to keep him."
As Kate, how did you feel about this storyline?
"It's great to get another good Christmas storyline. I hope people see that there's more to this story than just Tracy being a typical bitch, because she is really upset when she loses the babies. Although what she does would stop anyone from feeling sorry for her, she is so frightened of losing Steve. Tracy is doing what she thinks is the right thing, but it clearly isn't."
As it has been such a sad story in many ways, are you able to switch off from it or do you find yourself taking it home with you?
"I think before I had my son Otis, I probably would have taken a story like this home with me, but as soon as I'm not here at work and in Tracy-mode, I'm in mum-mode now! What I find these days is that I just have to click between the two and not let one interfere with the other."
How do you feel about Katherine Kelly leaving the show?
"I'm sad to see Katherine leave, but the truth is that we've hardly seen each other outside work because we've both been so busy. At least now that she's in London, we'll probably see more of each other. That's what we're hoping for - it'd be nice to have a few more nights out."
Back in the summer, we heard that you're sticking with Coronation Street for the foreseeable future. Was that an easy decision for you to make, or did you have to give it some thought?
"For me, it was an easy decision to make at this point because I'm really enjoying it and it's working well for me. I consider myself really lucky to have had my contract extended."
Do you feel like the show's writers are exploring Tracy's softer side a bit more often these days?
"Yeah, and that's been nice to play. It means that Tracy is a more rounded character with more dimensions, which I've really enjoyed showing. We always see that Tracy is a devoted mum. She's very selfish, but she's very true to herself at the same time.
"I think a lot of people out there would love to be a little bit more selfish - not to the degree of Tracy, but I think she probably liberates some people by speaking her mind so much. I'm not suggesting that anyone would want to be like Tracy Barlow, but in certain ways she does have some positive qualities because she is true to herself and doesn't let herself get walked all over. It's just not necessarily a good thing taken to the degree that Tracy takes it! But she is alright sometimes, that girl."
In real life, you're good friends with Shobna Gulati (Sunita), so would you maybe like to have more scenes with her in the future?
"Well, unfortunately Tracy and Sunita don't get on! Tracy doesn't get on with anybody. But I'm hoping that I can share my dressing room with Shobna soon. I share with Helen Flanagan at the moment, but Helen's leaving so I might have to request Shobna's company. Helen's lovely to share with too, but we're both completely messy and it's like a pig sty!"
Is there anyone on the street who you'd like Tracy to share more scenes with?
"It's a tricky question to answer - I can't think of anybody, because the thing about Tracy is that she is an outsider. She doesn't have a lot of female friends and I can't imagine her having a lot of girl friends either. I think she'd be more likely to have a male friend, so maybe she could have a new man to take her mind off things.
"But Tracy is not a girly girl and I can't imagine her with girly friends. She's got one friend - Hannah in London. And I've got a friend called Hannah who lives in London too, so every time I say it, I think of her!"
Have you enjoyed the scenes showing Tracy behind the bar at The Rovers this year?
"Yes, I quite enjoyed being behind the bar at The Rovers - the only downside is that you are there standing up for a long time! Most people feel pleased when they're not behind the bar at The Rovers as an actor, because it is quite exhausting. But I quite liked it - I enjoyed the banter and the light-heartedness of it."
When you're out and about, what kind of a reaction do you get from viewers over your role as Tracy?
"It's not negative at all. A lot of people say things like, 'Give Steve hell!', 'You leave Steve alone!', 'We're on Becky's side!' or 'We're on Tracy's side!' People tend to enter into the fun of it."
Do you think Tracy could have any involvement in Peter's current storyline?
"Tracy and Peter are quite similar in many ways. They're always making trouble and they're never happy with their lot. The two of them are always searching for something else or something more. I'm not sure yet whether we'll have many scenes in the future, but they do have a common ground."