Coronation Street's Elle Mulvaney has been offered counselling after her rape storyline

Elle Mulvaney has been offered counselling because of her ‘Coronation Street’ rape storyline.

The 20-year-old actress - who has played Weatherfield resident Amy Barlow since she was seven years old - gushed about how the bosses of the long-running ITV1 soap offer a “really good support network” amid her character dealing with the trauma of being sexually assaulted by Aaron Sandford (James Craven).

She told the Daily Star newspaper's HotTV Column: “There is a really good support network at Corrie in every department.

“And when I was filming the storyline, I had countless people coming up to me and saying, ‘if you ever need a shoulder to cry on, or want someone to talk to…’

“It was really reassuring.”

Elle called recovering from filming the scenes “exhausting” and reflected it is “not always easy” to deal with a serious subject matter like rape but her loved ones are important in her bounceback to her cheery self.

She said: “It can be exhausting and sometimes it can be difficult.

“If you’ve had a long day and filmed lots of scenes with lots of crying, it’s quite difficult… especially with a topic like rape.

“I do find ways to switch off, I talk to my friends and my family. But it’s not always easy.

The brunette beauty - who snagged a TRIC Award for her performance - enthused about how “soaps are so important” by pointing out they highlight serious issues to a wide audience.

Elle said: “Soaps are so important. We shed light on important topics.

“That’s why they stay relevant, and that’s why we’ve been going for over 60 years.

“We have to do stuff like this. When something like an attack happens to someone, they might feel like it’s the end.

“Corrie shows that it isn’t. It gives people hope. I’m proud to be part of the show.”