Coronation Street actor Liam McCheyne has spoken about feeling nervous about his current big storyline, which has seen his character Dylan Wilson accidentally cause girlfriend Betsy Swain to suffer a stroke due to strangulation during sex.
Although the act was consensual, not everyone in Weatherfield believes that was the case.
The subject matter isn’t one that is shown or discussed much on television, and McCheyne admitted that tackling such a topic was a bit daunting for both himself and Betsy actor Sydney Martin.
ITV
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“It was definitely a mixture of excitement to portray such an important storyline and of course nerves”, he said.
“Because Sydney and I work together quite a lot, there wasn’t any awkwardness between us, which was a massive help. We both looked at it and thought, ‘Right, let’s really get our teeth stuck into this’. But given the weight of the subject, those nerves were definitely there.”
When it comes to the public response to the storyline so far, McCheyne admitted: “To be honest, I try to stay off social media and I get a bit scared watching my own work back!”
Despite that, he said that “the amount of conversation this has started is a massive wake-up call”, adding: “It’s got people talking.
“You see comments where someone says, ‘This would never happen,’ and someone else replies, ‘Well, actually, yes it does.'”
ITV
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“The generational difference in the response has been fascinating”, the actor continued. “I didn’t realise how widespread this issue was among young people.
“Our research with IFAS [Institute for Addressing Strangulation] showed that there’s statistics showing how huge this trend is within the 16-24 age group. Dylan and Betsy are right in the middle of that demographic, which made them the right characters to deliver this message.”
McCheyne talked about how he asked to sit in on meetings with the Stroke Association, even though they were designed for Martin, as he wanted to hear the experiences of family members of people who have suffered a stroke.
ITV
“While their strokes weren’t caused by sexual strangulation, hearing their lived experiences was invaluable”, he said.
“I learned a lot about how a medical crisis like this picks a family apart — how the mums reacted, how the dads handled it and how their partners supported them. It really helped me understand Dylan’s mindset.”
Coronation Street airs on weeknights at 8.30pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
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