Georgia Taylor breaks silence on backlash over Toyah’s lost baby twist in Coronation Street
She may have first walked the cobbles of Coronation Street 27 years ago, but this year is shaping up to be the most dramatic yet for iconic resident Toyah Habeeb.
Some of the ITV soap’s most heart-wrenching scenes this year have been between actress Georgia Taylor and co-stars Jane Danson and Ben Price, who play Leanne Battersby and Nick Tilsley.
Building on the rich history of the characters, we’ve seen secrets from the past unearthed and a jaw-dropping affair emerge from a sinister cult storyline.
With Leanne entwined in the mysterious Altovalent Institute, an apparent ‘self-help’ group that prays on its members’ vulnerabilities who are coughing up a hefty fee to attend their mindfulness seminars, Toyah has been forced to confide in soon-to-be brother-in-law Nick for a shoulder to cry on.
In the wake of Lauren Bolton’s (Cait Fitton) disappearance, she was spooked to see internet sleuths digging up a local park in an attempt to find her body.
“Why would Toyah be so alarmed by this?” we pondered, and then it transpired that she had her own dark secret – the same spot was where she regretfully buried her stillborn daughter in 2001.
Breaking down on the floor of the family’s plush Victoria Court apartment, she confessed that the baby was conceived following a horrific sexual assault when she was a teenager, and after giving birth to the girl just 26 weeks into gestation, she fled to the park in the early hours of the morning to conceal the child’s body.
It should be noted that the controversial events didn’t come without some negative backlash from loyal viewers, who dissected old scenes to try and prove that the serial’s continuity had been retroactively manipulated.
As a result, bosses had to issue a statement to defend themselves against claims the show was now ‘too dark’.
Speaking of her ‘surprise’ at the ‘big reaction’, Georgia recently told Metro.co.uk of how the plot was pitched to her: ‘All I was told was that the team and the researchers had gone back through those episodes with a fine tooth comb, and they believed there was a way to make this believable.’
‘It was kind of down to me to do my best to sell it and also, with the beautiful script by Jan McVerry, I suppose you just try and find a way to justify it’ she explained.
‘For me, that was just when someone’s been through such an intense trauma, they’ve really just – for want of a better word – buried it.
‘That was the only way I could get around trying to make the best of it and try and find the truth in it.’
Twisted cult-leader Rowan Cunliffe (Emrhys Cooper) later weighed in on the incident after Leanne told him about it during one of her ‘upload sessions’.
Angered by Toyah’s suspicions of him and meddling in the Institute’s business affairs, he alerted the police and then paid for baby Rose’s funeral in a bid to cover his tracks.
Leanne has been thoroughly charmed by his teachings, and after darting off on a lengthy retreat with Rowan, her fiancée Nick was forced to turn to Toyah for a shoulder to cry on, in the same way he’d supported her.
In true soap-fashion, the pair shared a kiss, and later spent the night together and were caught red-handed by one of the cult’s followers who was spying on them from afar and took a photo of them both.
‘Interestingly, I think there are genuine feelings and certainly this is what [executive producer] Iain [MacLeod] told Ben, Jane [Danson] and I – he described it to me as love story’ Georgia told us.
‘It was very much, not just quick sex!’
She added: ‘Actually, weirdly, they’ve developed a real emotional connection and I think it started when Nick was the first person Toyah told about Rose and he was very gentle with her and understanding, and gave her the support that Leanne maybe didn’t.
‘I think it was when she saw a different side to Nick because prior to that, there’s just been a little bit of tension between them and historically, they really didn’t get on but she’s seen a different side to him, and that side is appealing.’
Obviously fearful that his dark-history could be about to be exposed, Rowan blackmailed Toyah into signing a non-disclosure agreement.
To make matters worse, earlier this week she began to suffer abdominal pains and was rushed to Weatherfield General. With her family by her side, she was told that she was pregnant – and the shocking realisation that Nick is the father.
Leanne headed home to collect some of her belongings, and after bumping into Rowan… told him everything.
Reflecting on one of continuing drama’s most iconic affairs, Georgia said: ‘Nick is with her sister, it’s a very classic soap storyline. I loved watching Sharon with the Mitchell brothers in EastEnders and as soon as you make it an affair within a family, I just think it makes it more interesting.
‘The stakes are higher, there’s more to lose, there’s going to be a lot of drama in the upcoming weeks and months and eventually, is Leanne going to find out? It’s a soap so, probably! And she’s feisty so, we’ll see.’
Tonight’s (5th July) episode dealt a further blow for the character when scans revealed the pregnancy test was likely a false positive, and that she may have ovarian cancer.
After Leanne told Nick that she would cancel her Institute session so that she could be there for her sister, Rowan convinced her that the best way to help is to do continue her ‘reality coding’ techniques.
I reckon it’s safe to say the next few months are going to be explosive in that household – and we’re left wondering how long it will be before Rowan twists the knife again!
