Granny meddles in Courtney’s life
AS COURTNEY GETS TO GRIPS WITH PARENTHOOD, AMY CONACHAN IS STILL WRAPPING HER HEAD AROUND IT…
The highlight of the Hollyoaks Christmas episode was without a doubt the touching scenes between Courtney and her baby girl, Iona. The new mum was clearly overwhelmed with emotion as she spoke to her daughter for the first time – and though actress Amy Conachan has had a few weeks to get used to the idea of motherhood, she confesses that she’s still taking it in…
“Whenever I have a line mentioning
I’m a mum, it feels so weird coming out of my mouth,” she giggles. “I love it, though. I’m starting to do heavier scenes with more emotion, which has been challenging, but I’ve really enjoyed it. I want to tell this story, and the little baby I’m filming with is so cute – I could just eat her!”
Gutsy Courtney has never let her disability stop her from doing anything, and it certainly won’t prevent her from being the best mum she can be to her daughter. However, Courtney is learning that motherhood comes with its challenges – as is Amy, who has yet to experience the real thing.
“I spoke to a woman who’s in a wheelchair and has two children,” reveals the star. “Her disability is slightly different from mine, but it was interesting talking to her as I was able to ask all the questions I wanted, including things I’ve wondered throughout my own life. She was really positive, and her disability wasn’t an issue – it’s just the way she lives her life. For me that’s very cool, because every part of my life is like that, too.
“The Hollyoaks team worked with the Leonard Cheshire Disability charity when they were writing the scripts,” continues Amy. “Accuracy is something I’ve always been adamant about – especially when it’s to do with factual things regarding disability.”
Meanwhile, the actress tells us that she hasn’t seen many fans commenting on the fact that Courtney is a disabled parent.
“I thought I’d be seeing that a lot, so it’s really encouraging that it doesn’t seem to bother anyone,” shares Amy. “Everybody is just interested in Granny Campbell being so mean! Those two have such a strange relationship. Even though Granny is overbearing and controlling, and Courtney is vocal about being annoyed, she’s still the only mother figure she’s ever had.” While we have no doubt about Courtney’s credentials as a mum, the teacher has reservations of her own thanks to the vile manipulations of bitter Granny. This week, a social worker visits Courtney to check how she’s coping, but poor Courtney has no idea that her gran has orchestrated the day to end in disaster. And to make matters worse, this is just the start of what she has in store…
“The visit doesn’t go well – things fall apart pretty quickly,” sighs Amy.
Granny is terrified – she knows Courtney will be fine
“Courtney is definitely scared, because she doesn’t want a social worker hanging around all the time. She’s worried this could be a regular thing – another person scrutinising everything she does.
“Courtney is realising it’s quite difficult being a mum, but I think she’d be fine if she wasn’t getting this negativity from Granny Campbell,” continues the star. “In fact, I think deep down Granny knows that Courtney will be absolutely fine – and that’s what terrifies her the most. If she’s ever going to be a part of Courtney’s life, she has to convince her that she needs her in some way.”
We gather Granny Campbell has always had a reputation for being quite a nuisance, but since she returned to the village a little while ago, she’s proved what a spiteful woman she really is. As well as separating Courtney from her wheelchair and destroying Jesse’s love note, Granny shocked Imran with a racist outburst that revealed her true nature. “I think it’s great having this horrible character,” laughs Amy. “When I’m in Tesco, people come up and say, ‘Watch out for your granny!’. It’s not very exciting if your character is happy-go-lucky all the time, so Jenny [Lee, aka Granny Campbell] and I have really enjoyed playing this damaged relationship – especially since Jenny is the loveliest woman ever!”