Coronation Street icon Samia Longchambon has shared her bullying experiences.
The actress portrays Maria Connor in the ITV soap and is the mother of Liam (Charlie Wrenshall).
Teenager Liam went through a tough time over the last few months, enduring relentless and horrifying bullying from Mason (Luca Toolan), Dylan (Liam McCheyne) and their group.
The plot took a turn recently when Liam began searching for ways to end his life. Feeling unable to cope with the pain, Liam thought this was the only solution, but luckily, he was discovered by Maria and Gary (Mikey North) before anything happened.
Discussing this plot, Samia Longchambon reflected on its impact on the audience, as well as her own bullying experiences.
'There’s that saying: “Sticks and stones might break my bones, but words will never hurt me”, but they do. Bruises can fade, but words are so much more painful. They have massive lasting effects on people.', she told the Mirror.
‘I was bullied throughout my childhood. I was bullied a bit in primary school, and then at high school as well.’
During a conversation with her daughter Freya, who is 14, Samia discovered clips of the storyline had been circulating on TikTok.
‘Apparently on TikTok it just blew up – teenagers saying they were watching Corrie and they’ve not watched it before. Freya came downstairs yesterday and said her phone was going mad with messages from her friends, who don’t normally watch Corrie. The storyline has been hard, because she is 14, the same age as Charlie, who plays Liam’, she said.
‘And also, I’ve got a son and the thought that either of them could go through something like that is awful. But the message seems to be getting out there.’
Samia added: ‘It’s important to talk to people, to not bottle things up. As much as people are scared of being a snitch, or that kind of stigma attached to that, the bigger picture is that you need to tell an adult, you need to tell your friends, you need to just keep talking.’
‘It’s not a nice thing to think about and when we’re acting it and making ourselves cry it is exhausting, because your body doesn’t know it’s not real. But it’s good to think [it] might help kids who are going through it.’
In Corrie, Maria, Gary and Liam were told by the police that Mason had been charged with the offence of threatening with a bladed article in a public space, and it’s very likely he will receive a custodial sentence.
