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ITV<\/p>\nITV<\/p>\n
Beth Nixon plays abuser Megan Walsh in Coronation Street in her first TV role<\/p>\n
Coronation Street actress Beth Nixon has said she is determined to “do justice” to the soap’s current grooming plot in order to “serve the people who have been through it”.<\/p>\n
Nixon, from York, plays school sports coach Megan Walsh, who is in a sexual relationship with her 16-year-old student Will Driscoll.<\/p>\n
Nixon said she had been determined to handle the “incredibly dark” role with “as much care as possible”.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, children’s charity Barnado’s said despite the uncomfortable nature of the storyline it was important to highlight the “insidious dangers” of grooming.<\/p>\n
Nixon, 25, studied drama at York College before getting a place at The Arden School of Theatre in Manchester. <\/p>\n
She said she auditioned twice for parts in Coronation Street before being cast as Walsh.<\/p>\n
Ahead of filming, she said she had to “delve into research” to prepare for the role. <\/p>\n
“I have to do it justice to serve the people who have been through it,” she told BBC Radio York.<\/p>\n
“There’s been a rise in cases, and a few in Manchester [where Coronation Street is based], so you just have to try and handle it with as much care as you possibly can.”<\/p>\n
Nixon said that, as the plotline develops, Will “comes to realise he is a victim [and that] it’s not love and she will get her comeuppance”.<\/p>\n
Luneta Tajblova, a senior practitioner at Barnado’s TIGER service, which supports exploited children, said she hoped shining a spotlight on the issue might help a young person realise they are being groomed.<\/p>\n
“That’s what makes grooming so dangerous and so insidious,” she said.<\/p>\n
“Sometimes it might be that they’ve been groomed in the past and they’re out of that situation, but still don’t quite realise that that’s what’s happened.”<\/p>\n
She said the charity had been consulted about the storyline to ensure it was believable, not overly sensationalist and “trauma informed”. <\/p>\n
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ITV<\/p>\n
Nixon’s character has recently found out she is pregnant with the schoolboy’s baby<\/p>\n
Tajblova said, while the majority of groomers were men, the number of women exploiting children may be under-reported due to the perception of an attractive older woman with a younger partner. <\/p>\n
“It’s really important to address that, and if we think that a victim looks a particular way and a perpetrator looks a particular way, we actually miss the vast majority of people affected,” she said.<\/p>\n
“[Overall] I think the writers have done a really good job and wanted to ensure the storyline is just right, so it will hopefully raise a lot of awareness.” <\/p>\n
Despite the “challenging” role, Nixon said working on the famed Weatherfield cobbles was “so much fun” if a little daunting. <\/p>\n
“It can be overwhelming, but the team is such a well-oiled machine, you feel very comfortable and you get a lot of support”, she said. <\/p>\n
Asked if she gets recognised in public or if anyone had given her a hard time about her controversial character, Nixon said: “It’s scary taking on a role like this but people seem to be more understanding then they used to be that’s it’s a soap.”<\/p>\n