Shona (Julia Goulding)

[Perdita]

Coronation Street spoilers: Who is Shona’s secret child?
She arrived in Coronation Street with an air of mystery and, since then, we have still not learned a great deal about secretive Shona – but that’s all set to change. So far, we have established that she was involved somehow with sinister Nathan and that she somehow knows the late Kylie Platt.
Now it seems like she has been a mother at some point as she secretly gazed at a photo of a young child while in the cafe. Gail Rodwell had accused Shona of stealing her purse so Shona was forced to empty her handbag. But before she did, she quickly swiped out her crumpled photograph, only looking at it when everyone had gone.
But who is the child in the photograph? Is it a child that Shona tragically lost? Is it a a child she gave up for adoption? Might they be someone on the Street and could there be a connection between the child and Kylie?
There are a lot of questions still to answer but it’s clear that viewers might be in for a shock down the line as more emerges about Shona.
And when she gets closer to Gail and the Platts, might they be the ones to discover the truth?

[olivia1896]

maybe it's of max because she's kylie's sister

[Perdita]

maybe it's of max because she's kylie's sister

I can imagine it has to do with Max too

[lizann]

if her secret is a connection to kylie's killer clayton why stay around where kylie and her family lived, for forgiveness?

[lizann]

so she is clayton's mother

[Perdita]

Coronation Street has revealed Shona Ramsey's dark secret – she's the mum of killer Clayton Hibbs!

The show had led us to believe that there was a secret link between Shona and the late Kylie Platt, but in fact her connection is with the young man who stabbed Kylie to death on the cobbles last year.

Digital Spy recently caught up with Julia Goulding, who plays Shona, for some instant reactions to the big reveal.

Have you had to create your own backstory for Shona and Clayton's relationship?

"Yes, they give you a character breakdown at the auditions, so from that you take certain aspects of the personality and join it with your own thoughts. I took myself away and thought about how hard it is to actually be separated from your own child and how would that then affect Shona with the rest of the people that she meets."

How come Shona hasn't been involved much in Clayton's life?

"They were on the Dog & Gun estate and Shona raised him until he was about 10, with absolutely no contact with his dad. She kept this tiny little world for just those two, where they were safe. But then the father got in touch and Clayton wanted to know more about his dad, which Shona absolutely did not want to happen.

"In a sense, that pushed him towards his dad even more. He was a very bad influence on him, and then Clayton and Shona ended up arguing a lot, so he just left and went and lived with his dad. That developed his character from a sweet young boy into someone who killed someone when he was 16."

Clayton Hibbs returns in Coronation Street
© ITV
How does Shona feel knowing she's in the same area as the Platts? Is she carrying a lot of guilt?

"Yeah, absolutely, but it was all kind of by accident. Obviously on Christmas Day, Billy took her in and when she realised where she was, she'd kind of already settled and had a home there. She's never really had a community like that, so it was just bad luck.

"Then obviously Shona didn't realise that she'd be having so much contact with the Platts, so she's torn. She's considered doing maybe the right thing and leaving and not being around them, but also she's really happy in the life that she's now created, especially after going through the trauma of Clayton being put inside and knowing her son's a murderer."

What is Shona's relationship with Clayton like now?

"I think he resents her a lot, but I think a lot of it is bravado because he doesn't want to show a softer side. She has seen him in prison but she's not been back."

How old was Shona when she had Clayton?

"She was 13, so she's 29 now. But it is quite scary, because the lad who plays Clayton is 18 and I'm 32, so I actually could be his mother, which is the scary thing!"

Shona and David have formed a bond, so what impact would it have if David found out?

"Knowing David, he's not one to take things lightly anyway, so I imagine if he did find out, it would be quite explosive!"

Are Shona and David going to get together?

"Well this is it, isn't it? At the moment we don't know, but imagine how complicated that relationship would be!"

Have you seen all the theories online about who Shona could be?

"Yeah, I've seen quite a few. I think my favourite one was that I'm Kylie's mum, when I'm pretty sure Paula Lane and I are the same age! I think a lot of people thought I was connected to Callum in some way. Because Shona visited Kylie's grave, people were convinced that I knew her, but obviously the connection is that I know her killer.

"So in a really nice way, that threw people off the scent a bit. That's been enjoyable because it means more theories have come up and it's been really bubbling and people have been thinking about it."

Has it been difficult to keep that secret?

"So, so hard! I've not told anybody. Even when I got the job, obviously I was working here for a couple of months before I was actually on screen and that was difficult, because I was living in London and I basically moved up to Manchester on the sly. So it's been really difficult, but I'm really excited about it being revealed finally."

Do you think viewers will still like Shona?

"I'm hoping that they've got to know her enough to hold onto that, because she is a good egg. Underneath it all, she's a survivor and she's somebody that makes the decisions based on self-preservation, so I hope they've seen a good heart as well underneath it all.

"Also, she didn't kill Kylie. I know she's lied and stuff, but it's for the right reasons in her head."

Clayton Hibbs returns in Coronation Street
© ITV
Corrie loves those sorts of characters. Are you hopeful that she'll last?

"I'm very hopeful. It's my dream job this, it's absolutely my dream job."

What other jobs have you had?

"It's funny, since I graduated from drama school five years ago, I've mainly done Shakespeare plays and lots of voiceovers, so this is my first television job as well. It's amazing for it to be Coronation Street, that I've watched since I was born. I had my fifth birthday at the Granada Studios Tour, because I wanted to be on that street, so it's wonderful."

Where are you from?

"I'm from Middleton, North Manchester, but I've been in London for 8 years. It's nice to come home and be around my family again. There couldn't have been a better reason for me to come back as well."

Do you feel pressure because Shona has been compared to Kylie?

"At first I was worried about that, but they're completely different characters. I know that they've had children young and come from the same sort of place, but I think Shona has an optimism about her character that Kylie didn't and I don't think she's as brash. Paula's such a fantastic actor as well, so I feel that I'm not following in her footsteps but walking next to them in a way."

We know that Shona has a burn on her shoulder. Is that tied to her relationship with Nathan?

"Yes it is. Nathan and Shona used to go out and obviously we've seen what he's doing with Bethany at the moment. Because Shona's a bit older, he tried basically to do that with Shona and she was just like: 'No way, there's no way this is happening'. Hence she found herself homeless on Christmas Day.

"So when Nathan came to the street, it was to follow Shona to try and get her back, but then he found Bethany, which was awful. So she's got cigarette burns on her shoulder that he inflicted. Shona has no idea that Bethany's Nathan is the Nathan she used to go out with."

Could Shona be redeemed in the eyes of the Platts if she saved Bethany from Nathan?

"Possibly, it would be a good way to get back in the good books, but who knows? It could also go the other way because she could be blamed for bringing Nathan to the street."

As this is your first TV role, how have you found it adapting?

"It's been wonderful, even my first day. I've made sure that everybody has known that it's my first job, and everyone's just been so helpful. I don't feel shy to ask questions, you know like 'Oh what does this mean?', you know when they use certain phrases and things.

"I've done short films and things but it's such a different pace here. I've just been asking questions because there are no stupid questions. Even if it's the most simple, it's best to ask and then you learn, don't you?"

On your audition, did you have any of the cast read with you?

"Yes, I read with Jack. I'd never had an audition for Corrie before. I used to speak to my agent and say 'Anything, a nurse doing a sonogram, anything' and then when this came through, I got the message that it was a new regular and I was just like, 'This is it'. I just put my heart and soul and everything into it. I really, really wanted the job."

Were you nervous?

"It's weird, I was on the first audition and then when you do screen tests on set that's odd, because obviously it looks completely different than it does on screen. But no, I think I was just so determined. I had a healthy amount of nerves but not too bad."

Is Shona ultimately going to get with someone on the street?

"Well, I'd like her not to be single. It would be nice for her to explore a relationship, especially because her past relationships haven't been that great. So it would be nice for her to be happy and find love."

How long are you in the show for?

"I'm optioned. I'm here until October for definite, I've signed a contract for that and then I'm optioned maybe, so we'll see. Hopefully, if the audience like the character enough and obviously if they like my work enough, fingers crossed it'll be for longer."

Do you feel like fate has brought you here?

"Yeah, it is nice actually, even as simple as being closer to my parents and things at this age. I don't know if I believe in fate, but it has come at a really, really nice time for me."


Digital Spy

[lizann]

pat phelan saw her at the prison

[Kim]

pat phelan saw her at the prison

Could see Pat figuring it out and blackmailing Shona, forcing her to revert to stealing. His comeuppance shouldn't be too far away though.

Can see David eventually falling for Shona, Shona trying to fight it and Gail taking some of the flack for keeping quiet about it. Shona must have been made the same age as Kylie and similar to her in some respects for a reason.

I had thought she'd be Kylie's half sister on her father's side, but in hindsight there'd have been no story then. Moving on to a partner or spouse's sibling seems commonplace in soapland. She was never going to be Kylie's mother - she's dead and Becky went to the funeral, aside from the age thing.

[swmc66]

At one point i thought nathan was claytons dad or something

[lizann]

not a fan of this story no doubt all comes out once she becomes david's girlfriend and he blames gail