Are there parallels between Mrs Metherell and the character you played in Coronation Street, Cilla Battersby-Brown?
“Cilla’s a mother – but the character I’m going to be playing in The Game loves her son dearly. Cilla did love Chesney but in a very superficial way – she never showed it. She was one of those people who never thought about anything before she spoke, she just came straight out with it. She was bright, but in a very conniving way – if there was a scheme going, she’d work it out. So there aren’t big similarities, apart from them both being strong northern women.” What did you think of the character of Cilla? “I loved playing her. But I wouldn’t want to live next door to her. She’s not a nice character. So I don’t like how she is or what she does, but I loved playing her.” Is it tough working on a soap like Coronation Street? “Coronation Street is very, very hard if you’re in a main storyline. You’ll be in make-up at 7 o’clock in the morning and not finishing till seven at night. Then you go home and you’ve got six scenes to learn for the following day. So for a certain amount of time you
