Even if you get 99 nice comments online, you only remember that one awful comment...
Tensions are high in Weatherfield next week – with Maria at the centre of the drama. GEMMA DUNN chats to Coronation Street actress Samia Longchambon about what’s in store
IT’S a trying time for Coronation Street’s Maria Connor this week.
The hairstylist turned eco-warrior – played by Samia Longchambon – has been trying her hardest to trigger positive change since being elected as a local councillor, fuelled by her passion for a greener planet.
But when her suggestion geared around recycling collections results in a workers’ strike, and subsequently a barrage of abuse from internet trolls, is the position she’s worked so hard for already at stake?
“She’s basically come up with this new idea, to get a separate bin for all your glass bottles...” explains Samia, 39, who first stepped foot on the ITV cobbles in 2000.
“She gets it passed by the council, but what she’s not taken into consideration is that it’s going to be a lot of extra work for all the bin men,” she follows.
“So they’re not very happy and decide to go on strike, and then everyone’s bin doesn’t get emptied because of Maria. So all the residents aren’t very happy with her either!”
Cue an awkward interview with the local press, which leads to unexpected consequences for the soap veteran.
So how does the online abuse then come into play? We chat to the mother-of-two to find out more...
What can you tell us about the trolling Maria receives?
So, while the bin men are on strike, a reporter comes up to Maria outside her flat – doorsteps her – and is doing a bit of an impromptu interview.
Maria is trying to make her point, saying it’s all for the greater good, and while she thinks she’s done a great interview, it’s not until later that day that Kelly shows her online that it’s been cut to a rap [beat].
So, basically, Maria’s now this rap star. But it’s really taking the mickey out of everything that she stands for and dumbing down all her good work. She feels really embarrassed and humiliated.
Things go from bad to worse when she finds out a deep-fake is doing the rounds too, in which her head has been placed on a naked woman. How does she react?
It’s awful. She’s absolutely mortified. One, that it even exists, and two, that [her son] Liam has seen this video and thinks that it’s her – these deep-fakes actually look like the person.
So she’s absolutely mortified thinking that everyone’s going to think that she’s been doing pornography. She thinks that everyone who voted her in as councillor will see this video and think that she’s someone that she’s not.
What were your thoughts when you were first told about this storyline?
I was really pleased that it’s being covered. And I’m really glad that I’m able to do it because I feel like I’ve had a lot of experience over the years, over the last decade, with Twitter and Instagram.
I think it’s a huge, huge issue at the moment with the rise in popularity of social media. There’s a lot of negativity and it can have a huge effect on your life.
You’ve spoken out on your struggles with anxiety on social media previously. How do you relate to Maria’s experience?
Not to the extent, thank God, of death threats. Touch wood, I’ve never had them. But yeah, I’ve certainly had trolls and to the point where it’s been really upsetting and it’s not nice to read.
As much as people say, “Don’t read it,” it’s almost like picking a scab; you know you shouldn’t, but at the same time there’s a bit of you that just wants to know what other people are saying about you.
It’s really hurtful. It’s horrible. And I can see why, with a lot of people, it ends up affecting their mental health. It’s had an effect on me, definitely.
In what way has it impacted your life?
I’ve let it get to me a lot over the years, to the point when sometimes you’re like, “I don’t want to go out today,” or you’ll go to post something on social media and then second guess yourself and think, “I’m not gonna post that, because they might think that I’m showing off,” or “I’ve got an opinion about that,” or that it’s going to upset someone.
So you have to kind of edit yourself to avoid the trolls a lot of the time. And so for Maria to be going through it, I think hopefully it will be relatable to a lot of people.
It knocks Maria’s confidence. Did you feel that too?
It really knocks your confidence, because even if you get 99 nice comments, you only remember that one awful comment. But, actually, those people, what I’ve realised is, they’d never say that to your face!
They hide behind the keyboard and think that that’s OK and it’s really not. It should be more regulated online, especially for young people now.
I look at my daughter; she’s 12, and she uses social media, and I’m really nervous about her using it because of those reasons, really. You’re such an easy target.
How do you personally deal with the trolls?
Block. Just block. It’s all you can do, isn’t it? You’re always going to get people who say nasty things, unfortunately, on social media. The majority of people are lovely and all really gorgeous and positive.
But those people who are just negative, it is such a cliché, but it says more about them than it does about you.
And I’ve learned that over the last couple of years, that actually it’s just saying more about what they feel about themselves.
There’s a lot of negativity and it can have a huge effect on your life Samia on her experiences of social media
What advice would you give to Maria?
I’d like to say, “Just ignore them and carry on doing what you were doing.”
But, at the same time, I know that it can be quite dangerous to take on these trolls because you don’t know who they are, and certainly at that level when it’s someone in politics – unfortunately, we’ve seen in real life over the years when politicians have been targeted – it can actually be quite dangerous.
I don’t think I’d be the best person to give that advice.