CORONATION STREET

Never has an acting performance wrung me out as much as that of Coronation Street’s Kym Marsh, as her character Michelle deals with the death of her stillborn son. In real life, Kym suffered the death of her own son after he was born prematurely at 21 weeks in 2009, so the plotline has added poignancy. But this is also a performance of such brilliance, my guess is there’ll be no one to hold a candle to it, come awards season.

From the initial fear of losing her child, to the pain of giving birth, knowing he might not survive, to the overwhelming solitude of grief… I can’t get it out of my head and have no doubt it will be of enormous help to people who have undergone the same experience.

Soaps may be entertainment, but it’s easy to forget the enormous power they have when dealing with huge issues that affect people on a daily basis. Emmerdale’s storyline about Ashley’s dementia is another masterpiece, and EastEnders has also delivered big time with Phil’s ongoing battle with alcoholism.

All three of these storylines have moved me in different ways and this really is drama at its absolute best.

A PRIVATE, SAD GOODBYE

Michelle and Steve’s harrowing ordeal intensifies after a lunch that sees Michelle hitting the bottle and going AWOL. It’s Robert she turns to, but will he respond when she moves in for a kiss? (Get back to the kitchen, Robert; you haven’t been within chopping distance of a vegetable for months). When Billy conducts Ruairi’s funeral, Michelle and Steve are united in their grief (pictured). Nick’s paranoia also reaches boiling point when Liz gives Leanne the Moses basket she ordered for Ruairi (inset).

With such a hard-hitting storyline, it’s tough to combine that with the lighter stuff, but the