Coronation Street teenager Bethany Platt is left devastated next week as her bullies come back to haunt her.
The troubled schoolgirl feels pressurised into joining a gym after mean girl Lauren and her cronies make her feel insecure about her appearance, as well as making cruel remarks over her mum Sarah being in a mental health clinic.
Digital Spy recently caught up with Lucy Fallon, who plays Bethany, to hear more about where the hard-hitting story goes from here.
What happens when the bullies return?
"At first, Lauren tricks Bethany into believing that she actually wants to be her friend. They're in the cafe together and Lauren convinces her that she will help get her a summer job. She also overhears Alex asking Bethany how her mum's been, before explaining that he's been to a psychiatric ward himself. It twigs for Lauren that her mum has gone a little bit psychotic.
"So when they go outside to look for a job, all of Lauren's friends are suddenly there and they're all chanting 'psycho' at Bethany. They get really nasty."
Did you witness bullying yourself at school?
"I do know what girls can be like. They can be horrible to each other, especially at that kind of age - 15 and 16. My cousin, who's 16 now, was quite badly bullied at her school about a year ago, to the point where she wanted to leave. It's all been sorted now, but I spoke to her about it.
"There were times when I was called nasty things by girls at school. I don't really let things like that bother me, but obviously some people do when it gets worse. I try not to let things that people say to me make a difference to me, but some people do. But I've never been subject to bullying in the same kind of way that Bethany is."
Do you feel quite upset filming some of these scenes?
"They are quite harrowing scenes when someone can be that nasty, especially knowing that this kind of stuff does actually happen to girls and boys. It is upsetting to think that happens in real life.
"There was actually a scene where I was crying and it took me ages to stop afterwards. But normally I can just stop and switch it off, I think I just got too into it!"
How do you feel about Bethany being chosen for the storyline?
"I think it's good for Bethany's character to see her vulnerable side. She's not just this ballsy, feisty character, she's a normal girl underneath it all. She does have feelings and she's been hurt by these girls.
"It shows how it can happen to anyone. Just because she's feisty it doesn't mean people aren't going to pick on her."
Have you had viewers telling you about their own experiences?
"Yes, I've had quite a lot of tweets from girls around the same age as Bethany, saying that it helped them to talk to an adult about it. So that was really nice to see. Quite a lot of people on Instagram have made nice comments too. That made me feel good, that I've done the bullying storyline justice and that people want to talk about it themselves."
But is it hard when fans expect you to have all of the answers on how to deal with it?
"Yes, because I don't know. I can give advice like: 'Oh you should talk to somebody', but because I've not experienced it personally I don't have advice from personal experience. I don't want to be the spokesperson for bullying, because I don't know how it feels.
"I'm doing this which isn't real, but I quite like that this storyline is attracting a lot of younger people who are experiencing this."
What is Shannon Flynn, who plays Lauren, like in real life?
"She's lovely. She's really nice. She was actually at the audition for Bethany, so we spoke to each other there. She's really lovely and she plays the part really well because she's actually nothing like that in real life."
Bethany can't tell Sarah about it, can she?
"No, she feels really isolated at the moment. With everything that's happening with Sarah and Callum's body being found in the house, it builds and builds. Bethany wants to talk to her mum, but with everything that's going on, she feels she can't talk to her mum about anything."
Do you think there's a lot of pressure on teenage girls to act in a certain way to avoid being bullied?
"Well, with Bethany, the thing that they're trying to say to her is that she's fat. I think 'fat virgin' is one of the texts that she gets from them. So she starts going to the gym. It's the whole skinny kind of thing, trying to keep up with make up trends and fashion trends.
"I do think it's hard for girls at school. I know from my own experience of being at school, my mum never let me wear lots of make up and my friends wore loads - it's things like that.
"I remember once going to an underage nightclub. My mum never let me go, but there was this one time she let me go and she actually gave me the clothes I was allowed to wear. Then when we got there, my friend gave me a spare tutu that she'd shoved in her bag and some leg warmers. It's things like that. Some people aren't allowed to do things like that and that's when bullying comes in - if you're not allowed to wear the things that they wear, or the make-up they wear."
Would you like Bethany to make friends with Craig?
"Yeah, Craig would be a good friend for Bethany because he's lovely and he's lovely in real life too. I really get on well with Colson [Smith, who plays Craig], so I'd like to have more scenes with him."
Bethany's been back from Italy for over a year now. Has your own life changed?
"Yes, it has changed. I moved to Manchester and then I've moved back home again, so not dramatically. I still live at home with my parents in Blackpool. But it's weird - people recognising me on the street, I find that weird. I still feel the same, but obviously it's amazing being here and working on one of the biggest shows on TV."
What kind of thing do people say to you when they see you in the street?
"Things like 'you're a nasty cow' or 'I'll sort those bullies out if I see them'!"
What advice would you give to Bethany?
"To tell an adult that she trusts and relies on, or a friend. She could tell someone like Craig and then she'd have scenes with him! I think talking about it and getting advice from other people can help resolve it."
How would you like to see your character evolve?
"Hopefully the bullying resolves. I'd like her to get a cool fashion job, I think she'd be good at that because some of the things she wears are quite odd!"
She could get a boyfriend...
"Yes she could… someone like Craig! But I think Craig's too nice."
Is there anyone else on the street you'd like Bethany to have some scenes with?
"Craig! Craig and maybe Tracy. Although I like that Bethany's not so mean now. She's quite nice, so maybe not Tracy as Tracy would probably make her mean again. So maybe just Craig!"
Digital Spy
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