{"id":17065,"date":"2022-06-17T10:00:58","date_gmt":"2022-06-17T08:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1663166"},"modified":"2022-06-17T10:18:10","modified_gmt":"2022-06-17T08:18:10","slug":"coronation-streets-georgia-taylor-on-toyahs-future-she-could-go-to-prison-for-imrans-murder","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/coronation-streets-georgia-taylor-on-toyahs-future-she-could-go-to-prison-for-imrans-murder\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronation Street\u2019s Georgia Taylor on Toyah\u2019s future: \u201cShe could go to prison for Imran\u2019s murder\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Johnathon Hughes\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 17 June 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Toyah Battersby is the kind of Coronation Street<\/a> character you can turn to in a crisis, a trained counsellor full of empathy and advice, a reliable rock to her family who does her best to fight for the underdog. Or at least she was.<\/p>\n

In a shocking turn of events, Toyah stands accused of murdering husband Imran Habeeb after his litany of lies were exposed. The poor woman\u2019s world has been spectacularly wrecked, so how does Georgia Taylor, who plays her, feel about such an epic reversal of fortune?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s brilliant, but if you told me this would happen two years ago I probably wouldn\u2019t have believed you!\u201d she laughs, speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com<\/a>. \u201cThat\u2019s the beauty of soaps, these u-turns can happen to characters who find themselves in situations that completely turn their lives upside down.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s putting it mildly \u2013 Imran\u2019s untimely death in a suspicious car accident has left Toyah widowed after just weeks of marriage, destroyed her long-held dream of becoming a parent, turned half the street against her and could see her jailed for murder.<\/p>\n

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At first it was unfathomable that Toyah intended to kill her own husband (despite what Adam Barlow says, but what does he know?), although ambiguity still lingers as to what made her drive headlong into a brick wall. Fragile Toyah\u2019s state of mind is being called into question and a flashback proved frustratingly inconclusive \u2013 which Taylor insists is entirely deliberate, teasing there\u2019s potentially more to be revealed about the controversial crash.<\/p>\n

\u201cToyah is remembering little snippets then pushing them to the back of her head. In the aftermath she is confused and traumatised about what she\u2019s been through, and it\u2019s clouded her judgment and affected her decision making. We are still playing that sense of ambiguity and I\u2019m leaning into the fact its quite chaotic in showing her grief and distress.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it was intentional or not, she was still the one driving and played a part in the death of her husband. Her guilt over that is not going to go away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite legal advice to claim diminished responsibility as she was upset after discovering Imran\u2019s deceit in getting custody of his son from baby mama Abi Webster, tenacious Toyah is sticking to her moral guns and refusing to pretend she temporarily lost her mind in the hope it gains sympathy in court.<\/p>\n

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ITV<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cShe won\u2019t use suicide as a \u2018get out of jail free\u2019 card,\u201d explains Taylor. \u201cAs a trained counsellor she\u2019s seen people at their lowest ebb, it\u2019s underhand to make out she had suicidal thoughts when she strongly believes she did not get in that car with the intention to kill either her or Imran. That shows an extraordinary moral backbone, as it would be the easy option to get her off the hook.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat allows me to hold onto the essence of who the character is which is useful in such a complicated situation. Now we\u2019ll see what happens around her, and how others react.\u201d<\/p>\n

That includes the audience: the grey area of how much Toyah is responsible for the tragedy is dividing opinions off screen as well as on, as reflected among vocal fans on social media. \u201cAs a viewer you go on a journey with a character,\u201d reasons Taylor. \u201cYou can love them in one episode then they do something that makes you think they\u2019re an idiot!<\/p>\n

\u201cSympathy is something that comes and goes as the story develops. As long as people are interested and entertained, even if it means they\u2019re screaming at the TV, then we\u2019re doing our job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor is tough enough to take fan flack, having been blasted into Weatherfield a quarter of a century ago in a blaze of publicity as part of the \u2018family from hell\u2019. Yes, it really is 25 years (or at least it will be on 4th<\/sup> July) since the bolshy Battersbys had their iconic introduction to the Street and were instantly detested by the nation \u2013 which was the whole point.<\/p>\n

\u201cCorrie were fearless and didn\u2019t care if we were hated,\u201d recalls the actress. \u201cThey wanted us to be! You had Les headbutting a beloved character like Curly Watts practically on day one, Leanne and Toyah terrorising the likes of Mavis Wilton and Percy Sugden, it was no-holds barred! They only contracted us for five months to start with, so the four of us didn\u2019t know if we\u2019d last beyond that. We certainly didn\u2019t take being there for granted.<\/p>\n