Coronation Street star Jane Danson has opened up about filming the heartbreaking scenes last year which saw her onscreen child die.
Her character Leanne Battersby sadly lost her young son Oliver after he was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease in early 2020.
Leanne and Oliver's father Steve McDonald had been told that his condition was incurable and life limiting, and Jane had to shoot some heart-wrenching scenes as she said goodbye to her onscreen child.
Speaking about Leanne's current storyline involving drug dealers and a court case, Jane told press including The Mirror that she believes Leanne is capable of surviving.
"Leanne is quite tough, she’s quite a strong, feisty woman. Obviously what happened with Oliver kind of suppressed that strength for a little while," the 42-year-old actress explained
"Obviously she’s been through what she’s been through with Oliver and in terms of an actor, it was the best script I’ve ever had and she still kept that strength which I really loved."
Commenting on the idea that Leanne could forge a relationship with Nick Tilsley's son Sam, she said: "I think she realises having lost her own son, how important he is to Nick and how supportive he was bringing Oliver up as his own even though he wasn't his dad.
"There's a beautiful scene where she says, 'I will get sad sometimes and I will need to be on my own but that doesn't mean I cant support you and let you have the life that you deserve.
"So I think that's really nice and I'm glad that they've continued to explore that grief. I know sometimes in soap we don't like to see too much of that, but in real life it's always there so the odd nod to that is really important," she continued.
Speaking about young actor Jude Riordan, who plays little Sam, Jane described him as "delightful" and said "he's a joy to be around" on set.
She also praised her co-star Alex Bain, who plays her onscreen son Simon Barlow.
"Alex and I have had some cracking scenes over the years, we've had lots of different storylines together and now seeing him grow as an actor and be challenged with different things and carrying a lot of the scenes as well, it's been really interesting to explore that," she said.
"He’s really developing as an actor and it's lovely to see that because it's almost like looking at yourself years ago when people helped you."
Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30pm and 8:30pm on ITV.
