Yasmeen’s prıson nıghtmare

Shelley King on her Corrie character’s turmoil as she fears she’s killed husband Geoff and faces a trial and years behind bars

Terrified Yasmeen finds herself locked in a prison cell this week, after fearing she’s killed her twisted husband Geoff. Shocked Coronation Street fans last week saw Yasmeen finally hit back after all the vile abuse from her controlling partner, smashing him over the head with a wine bottle before accidentally stabbing him in the neck with the jagged end.

With Geoff appearing lifeless, Yasmeen calls 999 and is arrested as paramedics battle to save sinister Geoff. His appalling behaviour is out in the open, but for Yasmeen the nightmare goes on.

She’s in turmoil as she’s charged, remanded in custody and told she faces a trial, which could mean a long prison sentence. ‘We’ll see Yasmeen almost incoherent afterwards, appalled by her actions and in a state of shock, but blaming herself,’ says actress Shelley King, who’s played the loveable grandmother for six years.

‘Then there’ll be moments where Yasmeen realises that Geoff has been manipulating her, so she vacillates between thinking she’s rightand wrong. It’s complex but I think typical of those enduring coercive control.’

Despite not being physically violent, Geoff’s control has included making his wife eat her pet chicken before starving her, trying to isolate Yasmeen from her friends and family, secretly filming her at home, and even giving her a disease he caught from one of the escorts he’s been using.

While Yasmeen’s in custody, police question those close to the couple. Shelley, 64, says, ‘More people are drawn in, each having to work out the truth – including, later, a jury...’

Shelley has worked with coercive control victims to make the storyline authentic. ‘This is domestic abuse but was only recently recognised as so because it is often hidden. We have shown how a seemingly kind, fun and loving relationship can turn harmful.

‘What Corrie has always hoped to do is highlight things that happen in real life – like male rape and suicide – to allow people in similar situations to seek help. That spurs us on.’

Shelley was born in India and moved to the UK when she was ten. She won a few TV roles but had focused on theatre – until Corrie came calling. She says, ‘It was one of the first things I watched when I came here. I said if I returned to TV, it’d be with Corrie.’

Due to coronavirus halting production, the climax to Yasmeen’s storyline is on hold. ‘I feel sad and frustrated,’ says Shelley, who is spending lockdown with her partner, actor Trilby James, in her Salford Quays flat. ‘This storyline started two years ago and it’s such a part of my life. It’s been a very special time in my career.’ ■

Tom Latchem