Michelle Connor-McDonald (Kym Marsh)

[mysangry]

I don't know if i can stand any more misery in Cora, it's bad enough watching Phelan strutting around, like he owns the place, but now to watch Michelle have a real reason to no smile, Miscarriage is so hard for any parents to go through, and no one ever knows what to say,
this is going to be a very "misery" New Year by by the looks of things, Happy DAys eh

[olivia1896]

I swear Steve is cursed when i comes to pregnancy and babies

[Dazzle]

Knowing Kym Marsh went through a very similar stilllbirth in real life will make this storyline all the worse to watch.

I doubt I will watch it to be honest. It's not long since we saw something very similar in EE and I seriously doubt Corrie could do better. Also, Corrie has been terrible lately and so I'm sure this is just a plot device to cause lots of melodrama and get Steve demanding a relationship with Leanne's baby. I'm feeling seriously annoyed with the show at the moment.

[tammyy2j]

This will push her to Robert especially when the truth about Leanne's baby is revealed

[lizann]

her acting is bad for such a big heartbreaking storyline

[swmc66]

I thought she was fine . I am not a big fan of hers but i think most people would think she did a good job. I thought the delivery scenes felt real.

[tammyy2j]

Coronation Street star Kym Marsh delivered the performance of her career on Wednesday night (January 11) as her popular character Michelle Connor tragically lost her baby.

Michelle went into labour just 23 weeks into her pregnancy in heartbreaking scenes, but he was too underdeveloped to survive and sadly died at birth.

As most viewers know, filming this storyline has been particularly poignant for Kym, as she lost her own baby son Archie at a similar stage of pregnancy in 2009.

At a Corrie press screening of the heartbreaking episodes on Wednesday afternoon, Kym spoke movingly and honestly to Digital Spy and other media about why she was keen to take on such a tough acting challenge.

Can you tell us a little bit about your experiences filming this storyline?

"I just want to say that I am very glad that we chose to do this. The decision to do it was left in my hands. Coronation Street's producer Kate Oates approached me very early on about the storyline and said in no uncertain terms that if I didn't want to do it, then I wouldn't have to. She invited me to go home and speak about it with my mum and the children, and that's what I did.

"On doing that, I remember having a long conversation with my mum and she asked me what my gut instinct was. I said: 'My gut instinct is to do this'."

Why did you reach that decision?

"I've always tried to do my bit for charities that fund research or help people discuss, talk and heal around baby loss. So I thought, what better way to raise awareness of this subject and to help people in some way? So that was my reason behind doing it, with the hope that that may happen.

"And also to honour my son, to be quite frank. Because when you lose a baby, it's not something that ever leaves you. It's something you learn to deal with and you learn to accept. Learning to accept what's happened to you only comes from talking.

"I also think this subject has been very taboo for far too long. People should share, because sharing is absolutely imperative to being able to put the pieces of your jigsaw back together somehow. That's what I'm hoping people may gain from this. We all feel quite proud and I'm glad that we've done it."

When it came to filming the scenes, how difficult was it?

"It was quite tricky. I did find it a challenge and it was quite tough, but I was absolutely looked after. We both were, from day one. I had a wonderful psychotherapist who was there for me - on hand 24/7 if I needed him.

"I found that immensely helpful. The crew, cast and bosses were absolutely wonderful. And because of that, we feel that this is very much a team effort. We're very proud of what we've done.

"The crew were also so respectful of the whole thing. You could hear a pin drop when we were filming the scenes. Ordinarily, everyone will mess about between takes. I mean, we're all really professional, but we like to have a laugh and a giggle.

"Don't get me wrong, we did have our moments where we needed to have a laugh. You have to take yourself out of it for a few moments. But they were just brilliant. If we weren't as close a team as we actually are, it might have been more difficult."

How did the rest of the cast react? Were they concerned for you?

"The cast were all really supportive. Everyone's been making sure that we're okay and of course there's concerns, but not to the extent of: 'Are you going to be alright?' They trust that I would be and wouldn't have taken it on otherwise.

"My motivation for doing this was for wanting to do something good and wanting to help other people, honour my son… all valid reasons. And they've been nothing but supportive. As a cast we are very supportive of each other, whatever that storyline might be."

Did you have any personal input into the storyline?

"I was consulted quite a lot throughout. Not necessarily in the script, but consulted a lot throughout the storyline. We sat down and had a very long conversation about it - and I shared my experiences as well. When we talked about doing the storyline, we said: 'If we're going to do it, we're going to do it, really do it - and look at everything that happens'.

"We didn't want it to just be: 'Oh, Michelle's lost her baby and a week later she's okay'. We wanted to very much show the whole journey and what happens. And although Michelle's journey is different to my journey, it's also very similar in some ways. I did have a lot of input in that, because I was allowed to."

Because it's a personal subject, did you find yourself thinking back to your own personal experiences?

"When you're in a room with incubators against the wall, it's hard not to take yourself back there. And for people watching it too - to take themselves back to their experiences, if they have unfortunately been there.

"So of course you do, but the trick is separating yourself from that and being able to remove that at the end of the day. And that's what Bill, the counsellor, was amazing with. He was there on set every day.

"It's difficult not to take it home, although when I get home, my daughter Polly is at the door going: 'What have you bought me, where's me dinner?' Those kinds of things bring you right back to reality."

Did you find it useful to have the counsellor?

"Yes, we spoke to him all the time. He was great and after every scene he'd come up and go 'how are you feeling?' And if I didn't want him, he'd stay away. He was brilliant.

"The very first time I met him, I sat in a room with him and he asked: 'What is it you think you might need from me?' And I said: 'I don't know'. Because, in truth, I didn't know what was in the box until I lifted the lid off.

"It's been eight years since my son died, and I've kind of learnt to accept it and you move on. You never get over it, but you learn to live with it. You live with that every day and it's not something that will ever leave. But diving back in, and being back in the delivery suite and that place, where you've spent years coming out of - I had no idea how it would be.

"It's strangely helped me to realise that, actually, I think I have accepted that it happened to me and I'll never, ever, ever get over it. There's not a day that goes by when I don't think about him. So while I'll never, never get over it, I have accepted that this happened to me. I am able to talk and I am able to reach out to other people that have been through those situations."

How have your own family reacted?

"My mum actually watched these episodes before they came out. My family were allowed to see these episodes, because it's important. Obviously, it doesn't just affect me, it affects my children who are 19 and 21 now. Obviously Polly hasn't seen them, because that would be too much.

"We sat there all together and watched the episodes. My mum lost a baby - between my older brother and sister - and we all knew about that anyway. But back then, they didn't have scans and things like that. Her baby tragically died in the womb and once they realised that, my mum had to deliver her baby and she never even got to see her baby.

"She didn't even know what that baby was - and that must have been horrific, because at that time as well, everything was very different. People tended not to talk about it.

"What was interesting was, although we'd heard my mum's story, after we watched the episode, we were all sat in the room and she just started to talk and talk and talk. She spoke about things that we hadn't heard before and her own feelings, and I just went: 'There you go, that's what this is about'."

Is there any other impact you'd like the story to have?

"Another thing that we've discussed is the terminology, 'late miscarriage'. That was one of the things that really got to me, when they called my son a late miscarriage. It really annoyed me and it angered me. I had just given birth to a baby. I didn't miscarry my baby, I gave birth to him, and why is there no birth certificate?

"The clue is in the name, 'birth certificate'. So why? Because he didn't survive? Because he wasn't 'viable'? What is that? When I'm not here anymore, no-one will know that my baby existed. And that's the thing that upsets a lot of women, where you can't have a birth certificate.

"I've had tweets this week going 'oh I hate that word, late miscarriage'. And I would love for us to not use the term."

How will this tragedy affect Michelle in the episodes to come?

"I think in the coming weeks, you're going to see a different Michelle. She is quite broken at the moment, and so you're probably not going to see much of the old Michelle. You're going to see someone that many people don't recognise.

"And that is actually something that I had - nobody recognised me when I had gone through all of that. It's important to get that across, because she is completely broken. You might start to see glimmers of the old Michelle in the future storylines, but not for a very long time."

[lizann]

I thought she was fine . I am not a big fan of hers but i think most people would think she did a good job. I thought the delivery scenes felt real.

maybe i am being too harsh but given her and simon own tragic losses i was expecting better from them

[lizann]

I thought she was fine . I am not a big fan of hers but i think most people would think she did a good job. I thought the delivery scenes felt real.

maybe i am being too harsh but given her and simon own tragic losses i was expecting better from them

[LouiseP]

maybe i am being too harsh but given her and simon own tragic losses i was expecting better from them

I thought she was wonderful. I always thought she was a lightweight actress . Not any more . I suspect she will win an oscar .