Coronation Street star Amy Robbins has said that she based her character Christina on someone she met in real life.
The actress will be seen for the first time in the role next week. Christina is the estranged mother of Daisy Midgeley (Charlotte Jordan), and it’s fair to say that Daisy doesn’t give her a warm welcome! But what do we know about Christina?
Well, Robbins had plenty to tell us. Speaking at a recent Coronation Street press event, she revealed: “I knew a woman who was doing one form of healing after another, getting one qualification after another.
“And nobody actually knew whether she was fully qualified, or whether she was just totally making the whole thing up. This is just in my imagination,” the actress added. “But that sort of, living on the front foot and staying with friends. I’ve known a few women like that.”
Going on to talk further about the kind of person Christina is, Robbins said: “It’s very exciting to play a character like her, because she’s a bit of a hot mess, in a way!
“She’s chaotic, because she’s such a bag of contradictions. What she wants the world to think she is, is seemingly confident – but I think on the inside she’s hugely vulnerable. She’s been living off her wits for so long, a houseboat probably borrowed from a friend, and she’s vulnerable.”
Despite her initial description of her new alter ego, Robbins also felt that Christina has a lot of potential and heart.
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“She’s actually got a great warmth about her, and a capacity to love if anyone will give her a chance; it’s just that she’s made so many mistakes, she’s probably full of guilt. In her own way, she wants to make things better but she keeps messing it up. That’s what she does, she messes stuff up.
“She’s a very interesting character to play for that reason. It’s all out there, but on the inside, she’s kind of crumbling a little bit.”
Viewers will have to wait and see whether Christina can salvage her relationship with her daughter, as Daisy finds herself duped into having dinner with her. But Robbins explained that her alter ego’s first thoughts when she sees Daisy after so many years apart are rather touching.
“I think her first thought is how beautiful [Daisy] is, and how proud of her [Christina is]. But [she] can’t say it. She’s working behind that bar and she’s got her life so together, and [Christina is] so overwhelmed, really. Overcome with pride, really. [She thinks] ‘Wow, there’s my girl.’”
Read more:
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- Coronation Street’s Jack James Ryan teases possible Jacob return story
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