ITV Coronation Street's Samia Longchambon opens up on health battle with 'painful' side effect

Coronation Street star Samia Longchambon, 41, has given a candid insight to her struggles with anxiety, often shedding light on the topic on social media to fans.

The actress, who plays Maria Windass in the ITV soap, frequently gives insights into less optimal days and shares activities that help her maintain tranquillity, including yoga sessions within her dressing room before hitting the set.

However the mum-of-two hasn't always found managing her condition quite so straightforward. In 2022, during an appearance on Loose Women, Samia revealed a past misdiagnosis she received as a child, reports the Manchester Evening News.

At the time, doctors incorrectly identified her crippling anxiety symptoms as asthma. "Everyone who knows me has always known I'm quite an anxious person," she publicly acknowledged on the ITV show in August 2021. "I'm known for being a bit of a worrier and being really cautious with everything."

She continued: "I've had anxiety since I was a child and when I was a child, my mum took me to the doctors and the doctor first diagnosed asthma because I couldn't get a deep breath. So they ended up giving me inhalers when I was about 11 thinking that it was asthma but it wasn't, it was anxiety."

In a recent update, Samia shed further light on how her fight against anxiety personally affects her. Taking to Instagram, she shared a view of her nails, some looking visibly sore around the cuticles.

Her caption read: "I always pick my fingers until they hurt when I'm overthinking. "I do it without realising... When my gingers look like this I know I need to slow my thoughts down... #anxiety 'honesttruth #monkeymind."

Samia also posted a GIF that read: "Mental Health Matters," before noting: "Need to do my nails asap [as soon as possible]." The actress first graced the cobbles as Maria Sutherland - now Windass - in 2000, beating out Girls Aloud's Kimberley Walsh and Hear'Say star Suzanne Shaw for the role.

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Her character was initially seen working at her father Eric's kennels. Tyrone Dobbs and Jack Duckworth brought Tyrone's greyhound, Monica, to find a stud, but sparks flew between Maria and Tyrone, leading to a relationship.

Over the years, Maria has had her fair share of failed relationships, including with Tyrone, Jason Grimshaw, and Luke Britton. She's also faced heart-wrenching moments, such as delivering a stillborn baby boy, Liam Connor's son, and later dealing with Liam's death in a hit-and-run orchestrated by Tony Gordon.

More recently, the feisty hairdresser turned eco-warrior took on the role of a Weatherfield councillor. This new position landed her in hot water, including threats from an extremist gang over her refugee assistance plans.

It also led to Alya Nazir saving her life when teenager Blake attempted to attack her during an event promoting the Weatherfield refugee drop-in centre.

Maria has been confronted with the devastating reality that her son, Liam Connor, is suffering severe bullying at school and online by new kid Mason Radcliffe and former pal Dylan Wilson, leading the young lad to contemplate ending his life.

Samia has a personal understanding of such torment. Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, the Maria star revealed: "If I'm completely honest, I was bullied throughout my childhood at different times. I was bullied in primary school then I was bullied at high school as well so I can go off how it was for me."

She emphasised the importance of communication, saying: "I think it's important to talk to people, to not bottle things up and as much as people are scared of being 'snitch', the bigger picture is you need tell an adult, you need to tell your friends, you just need to keep talking."

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