Saving Simon:
Coro Street’s Leanne battles to save her son.
It has already been the year from hell for Leanne (played by Jane Danson) in Coronation Street.
If you can believe it, though, things will go from bad to worse for the much-loved character.
Overwhelmed by grief after her young son Oliver died from a fatal illness, Leanne is now confronted by the appalling prospect of losing her other son, Simon (Alex Bain).
A member of the incorrigible and feisty Battersby family, Leanne has found out that Simon is involved with a drug gang led by the menacing Harvey (Will Mellor).
She decides to battle to rescue him from a life of crime, but it soon becomes clear that both Leanne and Simon are in way too deep.
Danson, who has played Leanne since 1997, spells out what a low ebb her character is at even before this latest disaster strikes.
“The past few months have been the most exhausting time ever for Leanne. What happened with Oliver was enormous and she’s emotionally drained by it.
“She is still very much grieving for Oliver, but now she is at risk of losing her other son, and that pulls her out of her grief a bit.”
All the same, “Leanne has been a recluse in recent months. Just when she thought she could face the world, she’s plunged into this very dark place. She feels incredibly vulnerable and has absolutely no control over what’s going to happen. It’s an awful situation.”
Leanne must try to save Simon from Harvey’s clutches, but she is well aware that she has the fight of her life on her hands.
As soon as she sees that Simon is under threat, Leanne’s most ferocious motherly instincts kick in.
According to Danson, who has also starred in The Bill and Always And Everyone, “Losing Oliver was the worst thing ever, so the thought of losing Simon too – she can’t even go there. She’s not prepared to lose
another son. She is desperate to stop that happening and she’ll do whatever it takes to protect him.”
Simon’s current travails mirror the range of troubles Leanne got into as a youngster.
Danson reflects that, “She is trying to make sure Simon doesn’t go down that road any further than he has done already. She initially says to Harvey, ‘I’m not taking this’.”
However, Leanne soon becomes aware that she is up against a formidable opponent.
“At first, she doesn’t understand the enormity of the situation,” Danson, 42, says.
“She doesn’t see that Simon is in very deep. But she soon realises how huge this is. She sees that Harvey is not to be messed with and is very frightening. He knows people who know people...
“She’s going to try to do what’s right, which is to get Simon out of this gang. But if she can’t, she can’t see an end to it. She’ll just keep going round in circles and be stuck forever in this Groundhog Day.”
Leanne is shaken to the core by the dangers her family are now plunged into.
“Simon is really scared and so Leanne takes over the reins,” she says.
“But the more she tries to deal with the problem, the more she sees that whichever way she turns, she is always going to have someone looking over her shoulder.
“She realises she is in a very, very precarious position. She’s absolutely terrified.” It is clearly a deeply frightening situation for Leanne. But what Danson adores about the character is that whatever fears she is facing, she never loses her fighting spirit.
“What I love about the writing on Coronation Street is that Leanne always has the essence of a Battersby inside her.
“She’s had that fight all along. Even when she’s hardly got anything left, there will always be that little bit more in the tank to help her inner Battersby come out.”
Danson continues that, “Leanne is terrified of Harvey, but she thinks she can handle him because she’s a Battersby. She tells him, ‘I’m going to fight you’. I’m thinking, ‘Leanne, just shut up’.”
The great thing is, “Leanne has always felt that fight. Even through all the terrible stuff with Oliver – the court cases and the doctors saying they needed to switch off his machine – she fought and fought and fought. I feel very strongly about that character trait because that’s who she is. She’s a fighter.”