Coronation Street spoilers follow.
Coronation Street star Julia Goulding has revealed details of her character Shona Platt's involvement in the Super Soap Week drama.
The ITV show has been airing huge scenes all week, as the damage caused by the Platt family's sinkhole has spread amid a huge storm in the area – leaving lives hanging in the balance.
In Friday night's double bill (October 22), it's Shona's turn to take centre stage as she launches a dramatic attempt to rescue Johnny and Jenny Connor.
Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy, Julia explained: "We knew that we'd be doing a huge storyline for Super Soap Week, because we weren't able to do something as big as they'd originally hoped for the 60th anniversary.
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"Funnily enough, I found out that I had an involvement in it on the day that the Queen visited Coronation Street!
"I'd not seen our producer Iain MacLeod in the flesh for a long time because of the COVID restrictions at work, and I hadn't needed to have a chat with him for a while.
"We were talking and I made a joke about Shona going down the sinkhole. He said: 'Actually…'
"I was like: 'Nooo! Please don't tell me I'm going to die!' He explained that Shona would act as a bit of a hero in the situation."
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She continued: "I was really excited and couldn't wait to get started. It's always nice to be involved in big storylines.
"The sinkhole story had also been left open-ended. It was just boarded over and there have been a fair few squabbles between Gail and David about whose responsibility it was to fill it.
"I love the fact that it's not been forgotten and it has been there existing within the reality of Weatherfield. I'm really glad that it's been used in such a dramatic way because it has to be filled up now, right?"
Friday night's scenes see Shona take drastic action as Johnny and Jenny are trapped underground.
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On the street, Shona and her husband David help newcomer Leo Thompkins to prise open the manhole cover outside the factory.
To David's horror, Shona grabs a rope and disappears down the manhole in search of Johnny and Jenny.
Explaining her character's brave move, Julia told us: "I think so many people are running round like headless chickens, not really knowing what to do. They know that Jenny and Johnny are down there and it's a race against time to get them rescued.
"Shona has a brain injury, which hasn't disappeared and she lives with it now. She's the only one who doesn't have the same inhibitions as everyone else, so that's why she's the one who says: 'Screw it'.
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"It's just that impulse of Johnny and Jenny need rescuing and she's young and fit. She's still a kind person at heart, even though she does struggle sometimes with how she displays that.
"Shona is in incredible danger from the off-set. All it would take would be one slip of a foot on a rung of the ladder and she'd fall. She is putting herself in danger, but I don't think she even sees that far ahead.
"Obviously David does, but as far as Shona is concerned, it's what needs to be done so she goes down with rope, that of course she steals from the fire brigade! She tries to get them out of there."
Julia also discussed what it was like to film the challenging episodes.
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She said: "It was so action-packed. It was the best two weeks of my working life so far, I've got to say.
"When I saw the sets that had been built, my eyes were so wide and my mouth was open, because it was insane. The studio sets for the storm drain were beautiful. It was incredibly impressive and I couldn't wait to get in.
"But of course once I did get in there, the reality of being neck deep in water for a week was really quite difficult! You get dehydrated so easily.
"We also had rain bars on set for the night shoots on the street, so the setting looked amazing. But when you were in it, it was 4am and it was cold and wet, it was a bit of a different story! We all kept each other's spirits up."
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7.30pm and 8.30pm on ITV.
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Daniel has been writing about soaps on Digital Spy since 2004 and took over as Soaps Editor in 2010.
He has interviewed hundreds of soap stars over the years, from Bill Roache to Lacey Turner, and regularly visits the sets of Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks for behind-the-scenes trips and press events.
He has served as an awards judge on numerous occasions for the likes of the BAFTA TV Awards, RTS Programme Awards and British Soap Awards. In 2020, he was Highly Commended for Best Section Editor at the BSME Awards.
