Coronation Street's Tina McIntrye - played by 21-year-old Michelle Keegan - has been caught between a rock and hard place since her boyfriend David (Jack P. Shepherd) asked her to lie to the police for him following his viscious fight with neighbour Gary Windass (Mikey North). With Gary's freedom at stake and Tina unsure what to do, the situation quickly becomes too much for her to handle. Running away just days before the trial, David and the rest of the family panic as to her whereabouts. Will Tina turn up in time to testify? And if she does, will she tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? We caught up with Michelle to find out more.
Why does Tina run away from all of her problems?
"She just can't take it anymore. She's only young and to have the weight of the court case on her shoulders as well as worrying about her dad's financial troubles takes its toll on her. Her dad's trying to get her to tell the truth and her boyfriend's asking her to lie for him - she just doesn't know what to do for the best. At the end of the day, all she cares about is her family."
What's the thing that pushes her over the edge?
"I just don't think anyone understands her situation. And it frustrates her when all David has to say is 'you only have to lie'."
She's caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. What's her heart telling her to do?
"Tina's definitely has a conscience and morals. The whole situation is something that she's not taking very lightly at all, whereas David doesn't think twice about lying. They say opposites attract, though, don't they?!"
Does she truly love David?
"Yeah. But I think with situations like this, though, she starts to see his true colours."
Does she have any feelings for Gary?
"I don't think so. She probably sees that Gary's just as bad as David in the whole situation. She realises that she's been used as a pawn in their petty battle, which is something that she's not taking too lightly."
Do you think she'll ever see Gary in a different light?
"I think she definitely likes the attention from him, but I don't think she looks at anyone else because she's with David. That's the kind of girl she is - she's definitely the faithful type."
What happens during trial week?
"Well obviously Tina's run away from it all but while she's away from the Street, she knows that the problem's still going to be there when she gets back – and realises that it'll be even worse if she doesn't attend court. It's a real dilemma for her, but Tina being Tina does the right thing and turns up in the nick of time."
David's happy, then?
"Yeah, but for the wrong reason. All David's happy about is that Tina's actually made it to the court in time. He's not best pleased, though, when he hears what she has to say…"
In the aftermath of it all, where does this leave Tina and David as a couple?
"Their relationship begins to spiral straight away and David's jealously returns. It's too much for Tina and she's pushed over the edge."
There's a huge web of lies that's been spun by the Platts and McIntryes. Will it ever unravel?
"In real life the truth always comes out, so everything's got to surface at some point. It has to."
How does it feel to have been thrust to the centre of the show?
"It's very daunting. When I heard, I just remember thinking 'oh my God, can I actually do this?' So it's really scary, but at the same time, I just feel so privileged to have been given the opportunity to be part of the show and to have been handed such fantastic storylines."
Corrie's Tina on screen family and Windasses
Coronation Street's Michelle Keegan has really come into her own over the last year. Producers have catapulted her character Tina McIntyre to the forefront of the show, alongside screen boyfriend David Platt (Jack P. Shepherd). Gail's (Helen Worth) new love interest - and Tina's father - Joe McIntrye (Reece Dinsdale) quickly followed and before you could say 'here come the Windasses', two new family units were born.
There's no doubt about it, Michelle's performance as Tina has injected a new lease of life into the Platt clan. It would be refreshing, however, to see Tina stand on her own two feet a little more. Maybe delve a little deeper into her back story? Learn a tad more about the relationship she has with her mother?
If you haven't already found it yet, click here to read my recent interview with Michelle. If you have, read on to hear what she has to say about the Windass clan, her screen mum, working in the Kabin, and what we can expect from her character over the next few months.
What have been your thoughts on the integration of the Windass family into Corrie?
"I think they're really good. They've settled in so well on the Street. Again, it's been great to have been involved in the storyline which introduced them to the soap. I think it was about time that the Platts had another rival family. It was the Grimshaws before - and Gail's friendship with Eileen still bubbles under - but the Platt/Windass relationship just works so well. I definitely think that there's still a lot to learn about them, though. Like any family, they have a past which is just waiting to be explored."
Tina has an interesting relationship with her father, yet we don't know much about their past. Is this something that we'll discover more about?
"It's quite possible in the future. At the moment, Tina looks like she's the one doing the parenting as she's the one lecturing Joe, rather than the other way around."
We've not seen Tina's mum Anna [Susan Mitchell] in a while. Will we be seeing anything more of her?
"I'm not sure, but I'd really like to see her back on screen. Even though she and Joe aren't together anymore, it'd be interesting to learn how and why their relationship disintegrated and how Gail reacts to her reappearance now that she's with Joe. I know that Tina doesn't really get on with her mum, so it'd be nice to explore the contrast between them and maybe see a little more where Tina's come from, as it were. Actually, that's quite a good idea for a storyline - I might pitch that one to the writers!"
You've had some great scenes over the past few months in the Kabin…
"When I originally found out that I was working with Barbara [Knox] and Malcolm [Hebden], I was so nervous. I mean, Barbara's a legend, isn't she! I love doing the Kabin scenes because it's a break from the doom and gloom of Tina's home life! I'm looking forward to Andrew Sachs joining, too. There should be some great scenes in the Kabin between him and Malcolm."
What can we expect from Tina later in the year. Can you tease us about what's to come?
"After the trial, I think she'll need to focus on her dad a bit more. Joe's troubled past is going to rear its head and impact on her more than I think she could imagine."