Coronation Street's Jenna Kamara has some potentially life-changing moments ahead in the coming days as she must decide what to do about her feelings for Sophie Webster.
Jenna finally opens up to her father Lloyd Mullaney in tomorrow night's double bill (January 25), telling him the truth about her sexuality and what really happened on the day of her kiss with Sophie (Brooke Vincent).
Being honest with Lloyd is one thing, but Jenna is also facing an employment tribunal after Kevin reported her for crossing the line with his daughter. Will Jenna risk her career as a physiotherapist by confessing all?
Digital Spy recently chatted to Krissi Bohn, who plays Jenna, to hear more about what's coming up for her character.
After a few months filming, how are you finding your time at Corrie so far?
"I absolutely love it! Joining the show is the most exciting thing that has happened to me so far in my life. I feel like I've fitted in well, and Corrie is such a nice place to work."
With the separate Lloyd and Sophie plots, you've had two big stories quite early on. Are you glad to have hit the ground running?
"Yeah, I think I was quite lucky in that respect. I had the initial story of Lloyd being Jenna's real dad, and how she reacted when she found out. After that I had a settling-in period, but then the story with Sophie started.
"I have definitely hit the ground running and it was a baptism of fire at the beginning, but sometimes I think it's better to dive straight in there!"
You're on Twitter, which means you must get an instant response to each episode! How are people reacting to Jenna?
"On the whole it's been quite a good reaction. I think people have enjoyed seeing Jenna come into the show as part of Lloyd's family. Now that the Sophie story is starting, I'm getting a lot more Twitter feedback!
"There are a lot of die-hard Sophie and Sian fans out there, but that has actually been fine. I was quite nervous at first about how they'd react, but some of them have actually been quite positive about Sophie moving on and having an attraction to another woman."
What is Brooke like to work with?
"She's been absolutely brilliant to work with. It's quite funny, because obviously she's ten years younger than me, but she's the old pro in this situation! Age doesn't really matter when it comes to things like this, so Brooke has been showing me the ropes and really helping me out.
"When I first started filming, I only really worked with Craig Charles and Pamela Nomvete - who play Lloyd and Mandy - but then suddenly I started working with the Websters, who are an iconic Corrie family. That was quite nerve-wracking, but Brooke put me at ease!"
How long has Jenna been aware of her sexuality for?
"Jenna has probably been aware of her sexuality for most of her adult life, but I think she's just been unsure of it and has never really had the confidence to come out to anyone. She's never told her parents or had a serious relationship with anyone. It's been a difficult adulthood for Jenna - a tough time for her so far."
How does Jenna feel about Sophie at the moment?
"It's a difficult situation for Jenna because due to her professional commitments when she was treating Sophie, she hasn't allowed herself to fully feel whatever it is she might be feeling. But Sophie is one of the first women that Jenna has had strong feelings for, which makes things a lot harder for her when it comes to her career."
Later this week, we see Jenna tell Lloyd about her sexuality. How does Lloyd react?
"Lloyd is very supportive. As people who watch the show will know, he's quite a happy-go-lucky kind of guy, and he reacts that way in his conversation with Jenna. Part of it is because he's just found this daughter and obviously doesn't want to lose her! But another part of it is because Lloyd really does accept Jenna for who she is, and he wants her to be happy.
"It's the first time that Jenna feels comfortable enough to come out to someone. She didn't have that with Johnny, who she thought was her dad."
Do you think Mandy will be so easy-going?
"I don't think Mandy will! Partly because I know Johnny wasn't, so maybe Mandy will be the same. I also think Mandy has got so many hopes and dreams for Jenna in the future, and being a lesbian may not be part of that!"
Next Monday, Jenna faces the employment tribunal following her kiss with Sophie. How does it go?
"Right up until the point Jenna goes into that room, she genuinely doesn't know what she's going to say. She has Sophie's offer of help, as Sophie offers to lie and say that everything was her fault.
"But there's a part of Jenna that knows she has those feelings, so she knows that wouldn't be honest. She doesn't know what she'll say until the words come out of her mouth, so you'll have to wait and see how it goes!"
Do you think Jenna and Sophie are a good match?
"I think that they're an odd match, but that doesn't mean they're not good! There's the age difference to consider, and the fact that Jenna has this professional life that she's worked so hard for, while Sophie works in a shop. There's nothing wrong with working in a shop, but they're very different people.
"However, they do say opposites attract. Even though Sophie is a lot younger, I do think she has something to offer and teach Jenna with the fact that she's open with her sexuality, people accept her for it and she doesn't hide herself away. I think there's a lot they can share with each other."
Will there be more tension between Jenna, Sally and Kevin?
"I think there will always be tension between those characters! I'm not sure Sally will ever be friends with Jenna…"
Is it true that you were close to giving up on acting before the Corrie role came along?
"Yeah, I had actually given up completely! When this audition came along, it'd been about a year since I'd given up. I was happily working in the NHS, training to be a healthcare support worker."
What was the Corrie audition process like?
"I think my audition story was a little bit faster than a lot of people's. I had my first audition on a Tuesday, the screen test on the Friday and I started the Friday after. At the screen test, I did scenes with Craig and Pamela, and then one with Georgia May Foote who plays Katy Armstrong. Georgia was standing in for the role of Sophie as Brooke was on holiday!"
Did you know all along that Jenna was a lesbian character?
"I was told that Jenna would probably be gay, but I didn't know the full extent of the story at that point. It was quite interesting to find out that she would be coming out on the show, because she's an older woman so I initially thought she would have done that years ago. When I found out about the whole patient-clinician issue, I thought that was also an interesting way to go."
How are you getting along with your on-screen parents Craig and Pamela?
"I get on with them absolutely brilliantly. I think me and Pamela have a special bond because we both joined within a week of each other. We've had lots of lunches and dinners discussing how things are going and how crazy our lives have been!
"Craig is probably the best person I could have as an on-screen dad, because I have very little television experience and he's put up with my constant questions the whole way through!"
Would you like Jenna to move onto the street itself?
"I'd love for her to move onto the street in the future, just because everyone else lives there! But I think at the moment Jenna has got a nice house and she has lived there for a long time. I think she's enjoying not having her mum living with her!"
Who would you like to have more scenes with?
"I've had a few scenes in The Rovers where other people have been around, but I'd quite like Jenna to have some scenes with Stella and Gloria. I'm edging in there because Mandy works in The Rovers, so I have the odd line talking to them!"
Is it easy or difficult to make friends on such a long-established show?
"It's easy, as everyone is really, really friendly. I think the main thing at Corrie is that we all film at different times and everyone has their own storylines, so you're not always in 9-5 every day with everyone. But everyone is welcoming, so you never feel alone!"
Corrie films a few weeks ahead, so are you working on happy times or dramatic times for Jenna at the moment?
"It's up and down - as always with Jenna, I think! Hopefully one day it'll be a happy time, because I think people need to see Jenna smiling for once!"
