Coronation Street: Shona confronts rapist Josh - "She's after justice for David," says Julia Goulding
"If I was Josh I’d be absolutely petrified because he has hurt the person she loves most," says the Corrie star
A furious Shona will have a showdown with Josh in next week's Coronation Street when David reveals all about his rape ordeal. The upcoming drama sees David go missing on the day of his court hearing, only for Shona to eventually track him down to the Urban Garden. With David already shaken by news of Aidan's suicide, he ends up telling Shona about what Josh did to him. But when David tells Shona to keep quiet about the rape, she ends up taking matters into her own hands. Here's actress Julia Goulding with all the latest on Shona and Josh's confrontation...
So, tell us what happens when Shona goes looking for David...
Shona has already had a very hectic, emotional day and she gets a call from Gail telling her that David has gone walkabout, so it’s Shona to the rescue again. She's running around Weatherfield looking for him and eventually finds him in the Urban Garden. She thinks he's sad about his court date, but he blurts out to her that he's been raped by Josh.
And what is Shona’s reaction to David’s rape ordeal?
It hits her like a brick wall - she’s incredibly angry with Josh.
Does she feel like this has been an explanation for how he's been acting?
When he's explaining to her that he was raped, he tells he loves her, but that is just secondary in her mind at the moment, she’s not thinking about that or their relationship.
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Why now has David decided to tell Shona?
Well, he's isolated himself from everybody that he loves and the reality of being sent to prison is hitting him too. He is at his lowest ebb, to the point of him having really dark thoughts, and then Aidan's suicide really shakes him and holds up a mirror to his own life and what could happen if he doesn’t talk about what has happened with Josh.
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What were those scenes like to film?
They were really emotional - Jack and I really get on and we usually have a laugh when the cameras aren’t rolling, but it was a very sombre environment. The crew were amazing and gave us space and time because with such raw emotions you need something that is very real. I'm looking forward to seeing the scenes.
Shona encourages David to go to the police but he says he can’t deal with the shame. How does Shona feel about this?
She does respect that that is his choice - however, because she loves him so much, the injustice and frustration of what has happened and the fact that he's never going to heal from it if something is not done about this situation makes her take it into her own hands. which personally I think is wrong.
What does she do next?
She tries her best to encourage him to speak, but he won't. So the next time she sees Josh, her emotions get the better of her and she tells him she knows that he raped David.
What does Shona think to Josh’s reaction?
She’s infuriated because he claims it was a consensual, one night stand and he is very casual about it. Josh knows Shona has rumbled him and Shona knows that Josh is lying but she has to control her anger because if she actually did what she wanted to do to him I think she would be on a murder charge.
What does Shona take away from her encounter with Josh?
Shona is a very determined person anyway, so she feels that justice has to be served to him. She becomes a bit of, what I call, Sherlock Shona because she's determined to dig up some dirt on Josh and prove that potentially he has done it before or she is waiting for him to slip up.
You’ve known about this storyline from the beginning, so how does it feel playing that Shona has just found out?
Because of the nature of it, my own feelings have come in to a lot of this and I find myself getting frustrated because Ryan Clayton is doing such a fantastic job playing Josh! The anger, frustration and injustice is very easy to play and really easy to portray because it's such a horrific subject. Getting myself into that worked-up stage isn’t too difficult, but shaking off is a little bit harder.
How do you wind down after scenes?
I get on really well with Ryan so we just have to break away from it - we have a laugh and a cup of tea in the green room.
Do you think that Shona will keep David’s secret?
I personally hope she does because I think it's up to David. The best thing she can do is to encourage and support him to speak out.
How scared should Josh be of Shona?
Very - she's absolutely gunning for him. If I was Josh I’d be absolutely petrified because he has hurt the person she loves most. She’s after justice for David.
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