Yahoo News Coronation Street's Channique Sterling-Brown received racist abuse after joining soap
Coronation Street star Channique Sterling-Brown has opened up about receiving racist abuse after taking the role of Dee-Dee Bailey.
The actress joined Corrie earlier this year as the bubbly solicitor, and, in a new interview, she explained that some people sadly met her casting with negativity and "a bit of racism".
"The majority of people online have been so supportive and positive, but unfortunately there has been some negativity and a bit of racism," she told The Sun.
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"There was some really awful stuff suggesting I'm part of some 'Black supremacy' movement, which was just wild, and Twitter did actually take it down," she added.
"But there were quite a few comments suggesting I'd been cast to tick a 'diversity check box' and that it was ridiculous and overly PC for me to be in the show. Which was strange to me, considering Dee-Dee's presence brings the grand total of Black women on the street to two."
"That's why it's so important to have black actors on our television screens, as well as those working behind the camera, writing and directing," the actress continued.
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Sterling-Brown also spoke out about how she found out she'd be joining the soap, revealing she burst into tears when her agent told her she'd be playing Dee-Dee.
"My agent called me and I just burst into tears, I was so overcome," the actress recalled, explaining she was on her way to a festival at the time.
"I think everyone on the bus thought I had a screw loose."
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV and streams on the ITV Hub.
Read more Coronation Street spoilers on our dedicated homepage
If you've been affected by racism and racist hate crime, then organisations including the Equality and Advisory Support Service (EASS), the Monitoring Group, Stand Against Racism and Inequality (SARI) and Stop Hate UK are among those which can offer help and support.
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