CORO HOMEWRECKER
’I didnt want to do it!’
She’s getting a hard time for being “the other woman” who has broken up one of Coronation Street’s most loved couples, but actress Ruxandra Porojnicu is not taking the flak to heart.
The Romanian star says some fans have turned nasty since her character Alina Pop came between mechanic
Tyrone Dobbs (played by Alan Halsall) and his longtime love Fiz Stape (Jennie McAlpine).
“I’ve had people saying, ‘Go back to your own country,’ and calling me a homewrecker,” says the 27-year-old, who moved to the UK from Bucharest five years ago. “But I don’t take those comments seriously.”
She admits she was concerned when she was told that upcoming scenes would involve Tyrone falling for immigrant Alina. “Fiz and Tyrone are such an amazing and iconic couple, so when I found out what was planned, I was surprised. My first thought was, ‘Everyone is going to hate me.’”
As an actor, she was excited about tackling such a controversial storyline.
“And I thought what a great opportunity it would be to work with two brilliant actors. But as a viewer, I was gutted because I really loved Fiz and Tyrone together. I was really torn about it all.”
While many viewers are also upset about the love triangle, there are some who have been okay with the shocking developments.
“The way it has been written created a good environment for Alina to be accepted by the audience – well, some of them. They’ve seen their romance blossom and neither meant for it to happen. I’ve had loads of people saying that they are actually happy for Tyrone.
“I also feel proud to be representing my country. I’ve had a lot of people say how good it is that Coro is showing diversity with my character, and it is important for television to show that.”
Ruxandra moved to Britain hoping to further her career after gaining a degree in acting and puppetry in Bucharest.
“I had some theatre credits to my name, but in the UK,
I had to start all over again,” she explains. She got a job at a pizza restaurant and took acting classes in London, slowly getting work as an extra and a model, which she sometimes did for free to build up her portfolio.
“It was daunting to move to London, but I grew up thinking
that if you dream big and work hard, you’re going to make it happen. I knew that in London I would get money and experience, and meet people from different places. There are so many opportunities, so for me, it was really worth it. I love my country, but there aren’t so many opportunities.”
Ruxandra was eventually signed to an agency that mostly casts performers in commercials.
She recalls, “I got called for an audition to play Alina and it all happened pretty fast. I still pinch myself to be just this small part of it all. It really has been a whirlwind.”
Her character arrived in Weatherfield in 2019 as part of a storyline about a human trafficking ring which forced young girls to work in a nail salon. When the criminal activity was exposed, Alina was written out of the show.
But Coro bosses were so impressed with Ruxandra, they decided to bring Alina back the following year and give her a much bigger storyline. And now it’s been announced that her contract has been further extended because the producers are looking for “young blood” to replace actresses like Lucy Fallon (Bethany Platt) and Katie McGlynn (Sinead Tinker), who have departed the cobbles in the last couple of years.
Although she was a fan of Coro, she learned more about it by spending the first UK lockdown at home watching old episodes of the 60-year-old soap. “Now I understand the show has always been about all these amazing strong women. I feel so lucky to be a part of it.”
Filming under Covid restrictions has been a challenge, but she’s been impressed with the way it looks on screen. For example, one scene showed Tyrone and Alina sitting next to each other on a bench talking, and then kissing. In fact, the actors filmed their part of the conversation separately and the two parts were edited together. For the kiss, a real-life couple were drafted in as doubles so that Ruxandra and Alan didn’t get within two metres of each other.
“I love that we managed to film a kissing scene given all the restrictions in place,” Ruxandra smiles. “There have been times where I’ve felt the story was missing an intimacy because we can’t do things like hold hands or touch each other’s faces.
“It’s crucial to show those kinds of gestures, so to film it in the way they did was just incredible. I didn’t know how it was going to work. But they did such a brilliant job.” #
‘The show has always been about all these amazing strong women. I feel so lucky’