Lucy Fallon reveals the storyline she wished she'd had as Bethany leaves Coronation Street
The actress bows out after five years
Bethany Platt has left Coronation Street for a new life in London after her doomed romance with Daniel Osbourne collapsed. The character's emotional exit scenes on Wednesday 4th March brought Lucy Fallon's five years on the cobbles to a close.
While the actress won praise and plaudits for her alter ego's sexual exploitation storyline, Fallon admits there is one potential plot she never got to play that would've shown a whole other side to butter-wouldn't-melt Bethany - teaming up with the Street's biggest bad girl!
"I would have loved more scenes with Tracy Barlow," she shares. "Her and Bethany could have become an evil double act!"
Tapping into a tougher edge gave Fallon what she describes as her most memorable scene to film during her time on the soap, when brainwashed Bethany lashed out at the height of her psychological manipulation by abuser Nathan Curtis.
"My favourite scene was when Bethany smashed up the Platts' living room! Although it was among the emotional grooming storyline and I was crying and screaming, it was actually really fun to play because I just let go, went crazy and smashed everything!
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"Sometimes there are scenes where the director will go through with you what the character is feeling, but this was really left up to me to go for it. There was Jack P Shepherd (David Platt), Tina O'Brien (Sarah Barlow) and Mikey North (Gary Windass) in the scene and they were all like: 'Where did that come from?' It felt really good."
The hard-hitting grooming saga was undoubtedly the defining storyline during Fallon's tenure as the grown-up Bethany, who had last been seen as a seven-year-old leaving for Italy with mum Sarah in 2007 before they both returned in 2015.
"I am so proud of that storyline because of how important it was," she shares. "It helped people and encouraged them to open up about things they might not feel they can talk about.
"Someone messaged me to say that between the ages of 10 and 21 they had been abused, and as they were watching the story play out they realised that was what was happening to them. Now their abuser has been jailed for 17 years."
As Bethany was waved off by her on-screen clan, Fallon felt the parallels to her own situation. "When we were doing the final scenes it was really fitting as there was lots of dialogue about Bethany starting a new, exciting chapter of her life - it's similar to what I am going through as I'm leaving the show.
"My Corrie journey wouldn't have been the same without the Platts. I started and ended my time with them, and they have become like a second family to me."
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