Yahoo News Corrie's Lucy Fallon says Bethany's story is disturbing
Coronation Street actress Lucy Fallon has revealed that her character Bethany Platt's child grooming storyline "makes her skin crawl".
Earlier this week, the actress revealed she can't watch the scenes in which her character 16-year-old Bethany is groomed by the older Nathan Curtis, and now that Bethany has lost her virginity to Nathan, her storyline is set to take a darker turn.
Speaking of what's next for Bethany, when we'll see Bethany passed onto one of Nathan's friends for sex, Lucy said even just reading the scripts was "horrible".
"The storyline is disturbing," she told The Sun on Sunday. "It has been really uncomfortable to film.
"This week we read through the first scene where Nathan Curtis - Bethany's much older boyfriend - will pass her on to one of his friends for sex as a favour.
"She isn't raped, she agrees to have sex with the guy, but only because Nathan tells her it is normal and that this is what adult relationships are really like.
"When I read that, it made my skin crawl. It was horrible."
And despite how difficult it is to watch, Lucy added that she feels that it's important to depict Bethany's storyline on the soap as a way of raising awareness and highlighting the experience of real-life child grooming victims.
"I'm sure some people will say scenes like this shouldn't be on TV before the watershed," Lucy continued. "But it's really important that it is, because we want young girls to watch.
"They might think, 'Maybe what's happening to me isn't normal', or parents might start talking to their daughters about a relationship.
"The fact it's such an important storyline makes it easier to do."
Lucy and Chris Harper, who plays Nathan, have both been working alongside the NSPCC for the hard-hitting plot and both have been talking to sex abuse victims to ensure the storyline is accurately portrayed.
"I'm hoping the scenes get even darker because they need to do justice to the girls who have gone through this, and are still going through it," Lucy added.
"It needs to go to a dark place otherwise we're not doing it properly."
Coronation Street airs on ITV.
Readers who are affected by the issues raised in this story are encouraged to contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000 (www.nspcc.org.uk). Readers in the US are encouraged to contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline on (1-800-422-4453) or the American SPCC (www.americanspcc.org).
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