Farrel Hegarty on Lou's 'blind love' for volatile Mick in Coronation Street

As the weeks have gone by, viewers have seen just how far Mick will go to settle a score, with Sean Tully (Antony Cotton) suffering a brutal beating at his hands for reporting Mick and Lou's son Brody (Ryan Mulvey) for harassment.

Speaking to RadioTimes.com and other media at a recent press event, Hegarty discussed the couple's marriage in detail, acknowledging that Lou's life is built around making excuses for Mick's nasty behaviour.

"We're definitely gonna see more of the unhealthy side of their relationship, and how the love for him is quite blind," the actress explained.

"It is quite worrying how sometimes in relationships like that, you do get taken over by the level of love for someone rather than what's actually good for yourself.

"It's definitely an important issue to think about, and I think we'll definitely see that; because I think for a lot of people, we can look at relationships from the outskirts and go, 'Why is that happening, should they be together, is that healthy, is that not toxic?'" Hegarty mused.

"But actually, when you're in it, it's a different thing. It's not that easy for people in relationships that are particularly unhealthy and, at times, unsafe."

Expanding on the kind of character Lou is, she said: "She's extremely loyal, probably at times she definitely shouldn't be.

"I think Mick is all she's ever known, and with that, she's definitely got that 'stand by your man' attitude where she'll turn a blind eye to a lot of things.

"She's so besotted with him and loyal to him that I think she can't see right from wrong. With that relationship, it gets her in hot water as well.

"Some of her behaviour really makes me wince sometimes," Hegarty added. "She can be quite hot-headed, irrational, and it's sort of like, 'I'll speak before I think and I'll protect my own,' and [it] gets her in trouble."

"But I think she does have a massive heart for the people that she loves, and she's definitely got good qualities about her in that. But I think to a lot of people, [she's] loud, feisty and quite unreasonable at times."

An upcoming flashback special will give us an insight into Lou's youth, with her connection to Kit Green (Jacob Roberts) revealed - and that's not all.

"We uncover exactly how Mick and Lou and Kit know each other, and there's definitely a few skeletons in the closet that are gonna come out," the star teased.

"And also the reasons why the characters are the way they are, because I think it's rare that we get to look back and see what makes someone the person they are today, and what they've been through and what's happened in the past.

"All that is gonna come out, which is gonna be exciting to watch."

Asked if this is just the beginning of the devastation that Mick and Lou will bring to the show, Hegarty promised: "I know it's the beginning!

"There's a lot more to come from these two, I'm afraid to say! It's all about to come to a head, it's all about to implode. Lou - we're gonna see her find it hard to fight to keep afloat and pick up a lot of pieces, and torn between [her] head and heart."

Read more:

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• 5 Coronation Street spoilers next week: Julie Carp dies and Mick Michaelis turns nasty again
• Coronation Street's Jonathan Howard teases Carl Webster's big secret and Abi twist
• Coronation Street star teases potential return for Daisy Midgeley amid dramatic exit
• Coronation Street airs troubling cliffhanger for Sean Tully
• Coronation Street's Sue Devaney on fan reaction to Debbie as dementia story is confirmed
• Coronation Street cast: who is leaving, returning to and joining the soap

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