Maria Connor Sutherland (Samia Smith)

[Dazzle]

Umm... I know as I dont see him as eye candy I may be skewed, but Shane isnt exactly a good actor, well I mean I dont think he can act.. I would rate him below a drunk elf at a Santas grotto in the local super market

On DS they are obsessed with Marias upper lip hair, it always makes me chuckle, well thats DS for you , full of t deranged posters.. oh wait I post there

I totally agree about Shayne, but I think we're in the minority. I think he just won best newcomer at the Inside Soap Awards...

Ooh...I read DS occasionally. I'll have to try and work out who you are on there!

[olivia1896]

Umm... I know as I dont see him as eye candy I may be skewed, but Shane isnt exactly a good actor, well I mean I dont think he can act.. I would rate him below a drunk elf at a Santas grotto in the local super market

On DS they are obsessed with Marias upper lip hair, it always makes me chuckle, well thats DS for you , full of t deranged posters.. oh wait I post there

honestly i think the writers know that if they want a new character to be popular they just have to give them the last name connor. hence aiden's popularity.

[lizann]

i did like paul and liam, hated that liam was then put in an affair with carla

[Dazzle]

i did like paul and liam, hated that liam was then put in an affair with carla

Yes Paul and Liam were both really good characters, particularly Paul. It's a shame neither actors wanted to stay long.

[swmc66]

I preferred him in down town abbey

[Perdita]

Coronation Street has a Halloween horror lined up for Maria Connor next week as she finds herself accused of a dark crime.

When Maria returns from London to a sinister scene at her flat and Caz is nowhere to be seen, it's not long before her friends and the police become deeply suspicious. Could she really be framed for attacking Caz - or worse?

Here, Samia Ghadie - who plays Maria - reveals all the drama in store as her character finds herself trapped in a living nightmare.

Can you explain the scene that awaits Maria when she returns from London?

"Maria has been in London for a few weeks trying to sort everything out with Pablo. She comes back to the Street on Halloween, which is quite ominous and ironic and she sees Tyrone, who is eager to talk to her about Caz. Maria is like: 'Oh, can it just wait? I'm not even through the door yet!'

"But when she gets into her flat, she realises it looks messy and untidy - not so bad that you think there could have been a burglary, but it does look trashed like it hasn't been taken care of.

"Maria heads off to find Tyrone as she remembers he mentioned Caz and that's when she bumps into Aidan, who takes her in the back of The Rovers to calm down. Maria ends up telling him and Eva the truth about Pablo."

Why doesn't Maria want to report Caz to the police?

"Caz knows that Maria has married Pablo illegally. Obviously he is gay and she has only wed him so he could get a visa. Maria knows that if Caz tells the police this, then she could go to prison."

Maria Connor finds herself accused of hurting Caz in Coronation Street
© ITV

What's Maria's reaction when she finds blood on the walls?

"Well, at first Maria thinks that the mess in her flat is a prank because it is Halloween, so she rings Kirk accusing him of being behind it as a joke. She tells him that it isn't funny and that he should get round immediately to help her clean up. But she realises it wasn't Kirk when he comes round..."

How does Maria react when the police arrive at the flat?

"Maria now knows that Caz has done this, but she is confident that it will be sorted. That's what she says to the police - Caz has done this on purpose. Maria knows that Caz is a little crazy, but at this point I don't think she realises the full extent of how crazy she actually is."

How does she feel to be accused of being involved in Caz's disappearance?

"Maria is mortified because she knows she has done nothing wrong. She also feels so angry because she knows she hasn't touched Caz, so to be accused of being involved in her disappearance makes her feel frustrated."

How does Maria cope under police questioning?

"Maria just tells them the truth when they question her, but the more she protests her innocence, the more frustrated she gets. She is anxious that the police are questioning her as she's not used to that kind of thing. But she's not too worried because she knows she has done nothing wrong and Caz has to turn up sooner or later - or so she thinks."

Maria Connor is questioned over Caz Hammond's disappearance in Coronation Street
© ITV
Maria's history of stalking Tyrone in the past comes out. How does she deal with that?

"Maria is mortified again when the things from her past come out, because she knows that it makes her look bad. She tries to explain to the police that she was in a bad place back then and that she is not the same person now, but she soon realises that the police are not buying it and she feels like they are gunning for her. DS Mackinnon is not very nice to her."

What can you tell us about the blood-stained rug that Fiz and Tyrone find?

"Well Caz has planted that as well! It was Maria's rug, but Caz has planted that on purpose too - she is so clever! And Kate is adamant that Maria is guilty, so Kate has been talking to the police which is really unhelpful.

"Fiz and Tyrone have told the police things too so all these things convince the police that Maria has something to do with it. We will see that Caz has left no stone unturned in setting Maria up, so whichever way she turns she feels cornered."

Tyrone Dobbs and Fiz Stape make an incriminating discovery in Coronation Street
© ITV
Things don't look great for Maria. How do you think she's going to talk her way out of this one?

"I don't know! I actually don't know, I have been reading the scripts and I have been getting frustrated myself thinking: 'I can't believe how bad this is for Maria!' It's just horrible, awful and the one person who is actually there for Maria is Aidan. He is trying to help her get a grip, but she is losing it rapidly as it really is getting out of control."

Can you give us any hints about what's coming up next for Maria?

"It's going to get a lot worse, even more worse than she ever could have imagined. Maria's fears may turn into a reality. It won't be a happy Christmas for her."


Digital Spy

[Perdita]

Maria Connor's dark new storyline will take an even more chilling turn on Coronation Street next week.

Just when we thought things couldn't get any worse for poor Maria, they do. And it looks like there really is no way out for her now.

Scenes airing last night (October 31) saw Maria return from London to a sinister scene at her flat. But with Caz nowhere to be seen, it wasn't long before Maria found herself in the firing line as her friends and the police became deeply suspicious.

Although it's clear to fans - and Maria - that she is being cruelly set up, the nightmare will continue next week as further evidence starts to come to light.


Maria Connor thinks Tyrone Dobbs and Michelle Connor are bitching about her in Coronation Street
© ITV

When Maria (Samia Ghadie) turns up for work, she will be distraught to discover that all of her clients have cancelled now word has gone round that she's suspected of murder.

Maria's day only gets worse when she lashes out over all the gossip and unwittingly shoves a pregnant Michelle's stomach on the bar.

Thankfully, Maria does have support from Eva Price (if only she knew what happened with Aidan!), who implores her to confess the truth about her sham marriage to Pablo before the police find out of their own accord.

Taking Eva's advice, Maria confesses to her sham marriage but still continues to insist that she's telling the truth about Caz.

However, Maria is a bag of nerves upon returning home as she enters her flat with trepidation, convinced she is being watched (and she is).

Maria Connor is being watched via a hidden camera in Coronation Street
© ITV

Maria Connor is being watched via a hidden camera in Coronation Street
© ITV
But the spooky goings-on continue as she later realises that Caz bought a laptop from a shop only yards from Pablo's flat, proving she followed her to London.

Knowing she needs to prove her innocence, Maria teams up with Aidan to search homeless centres in the hope of finding Caz, convinced she's still alive. But things go from bad to worse when the police point out that the fact Caz knew about her illegal marriage gave Maria a motive to kill her. Will it ever end?

Well, the short answer is no as things take an even darker turn. When Maria returns to the salon flat with Aidan after their futile search for Caz, she is horrified to find her scissors covered in blood.

Maria Connor finds her scissors covered in blood in Coronation Street
© ITV
But as the terrified pair ponder what to do now, they are thrown into a panic when the police turn up with a search warrant.

Thinking on his feet, Aidan shoves the scissors in his pocket and makes a rapid exit, quickly disposing of them in the factory bin afterwards. But could his actions have made things worse for Maria?



Digital Spy
Coronation Street will air these scenes on Monday, November 7, Wednesday, November 8 and Thursday, November 9 on ITV.

[Dazzle]

Ooooh...I quite like how dark this storyline is getting.

[Perdita]

Ooooh...I quite like how dark this storyline is getting.

Me too

[lizann]

Ooooh...I quite like how dark this storyline is getting.

not dark enough as i still see maria on screen