I couldn’t watch Bethany being tortured and raped in Corrie grooming plot ... that was my true story she was acting out
CORONATION Street’s harrowing sex ring plotline is one of the most troubling in the soap’s history – but most sickening of all is the real-life story it is based on.
Horrified viewers have seen 16-yearold Bethany Platt groomed by evil older boyfriend Nathan Curtis, paraded in front of his vile cronies and raped as he looked on.
Actress Lucy Fallon, who plays Bethany, said there is worse to come after the schoolgirl agreed to marry the 35-year-old.
Now she will fall even deeper into his dark world as he forces her to sleep with even more men.
Writers enlisted the help of the NSPCC to prepare the sensitive storyline and heard from one brave survivor abused for four years after being groomed online from the age of 10. Now aged 21, Lucie – not her real name – was snared as she turned to social media for a support network.
Struggling to make friends at school and trapped in an unstable home life, Lucie was instantly manipulated by the abuser’s lies and scheming.
He even pretended he was dying to lure her into meeting him aged just 13. She was made to pose for sick photos and sexually and physically abused.
Just as Bethany is manipulated by Nathan in Corrie, Lucie’s abuser convinced her they were in a healthy relationship.
She says: “He drew me in to this fantasy idea of a relationship and obviously when you’re young that’s what you think you want.
“He befriended me at first, the classic grooming story. He knew how old I was. They pretend to like what you like, they’re very pally.
“They talk down to your level and act like they’re a pre-teen with the things
I had nothing to compare it to, I didn’t know it wasn’t normal
Anyone who fears they’re being groomed, I’d say tell someone
they talk about and the things they’re into. If I said I was interested in something, he would find out about it so he could talk about it with me.”
But just as Lucy is manipulated into giving a false alibi for Nathan when he faces an assault claim, Lucie was coerced by her abuser as his care and concern gradually turned to control.
Actor Chris Harper’s portrayal of Nathan was so like the real thing that Lucie, who suffers post-traumatic stress disorder, was “genuinely scared” about meeting him.
She says: “Once they’ve befriended you, that’s when they’ll start being manipulative. They’ll say, ‘If you don’t do this then I will do this’.”
Lucie’s abuser started pestering her for sexual photos, then threatened to tell her parents what she had done if she did not meet his further demands.
Lucie believes those photos are now being circulated by a grotesque sex ring online, although she believes her abuser was acting alone. The storyline involving Nathan sharing pictures of Bethany with his mates was directly inspired by Lucie’s real-life ordeal.
Remembering her first meeting with her abuser, Lucie says: “I was really terrified about meeting up with him. Obviously I’d learnt in school it wasn’t a good idea to meet up with someone online, but he was very manipulative and said he really to meet me. He was much more than 10 years older than me – he would have been in his late 20s or early 30s when we met. “He didn’t tell me, I only know because that’s what the police told me later.” Gradually the abuse became more serious and Lucie was sexually assaulted on several occasions. Her abuser even lured her with promises of an engagement ring, just as Nathan did with Bethany on Corrie. Lucie says the prospect of marriage and a stable home life played on her craving for happiness as she struggled without friends or family support. Like Bethany, she thought she loved her abuser and they were in a normal relationship. “I didn’t have anything to compare it to,” she says. “I didn’t know this wasn’t normal in a relationship. But that was his bribery, almost –‘We’ll get engaged, we’ll get married’. I wanted stability.”
Lucie felt unable to tell anyone about the abuse because she had no friends at school – something she now realises the abuser used to his advantage.
She was 17 by the time she spoke out.
After she heard he had kids of his own, fearing what he might do to them, she finally went to the police.
But despite all her efforts, the Crown Prosecution Service could not gather enough evidence to take him to court.
Lucie’s harrowing story reduced the Corrie team to tears.
She says: “Lucy Fallon cried when I met her. She was very emotional about my story and I think it hit home for her that what she’s doing is somewanted body’s reality.” Actress Lucy has said speaking to brave Lucie has helped her stay strong during the darkest scenes.
Sadly, Lucie went on to another abusive relationship and even selfharmed, but with counselling and support has found a happy ending.
Now in a “stable, loving and happy” relationship, she says: “I don’t think you ever recover fully. You just have to take any day as it comes. I had a lot of therapy and a lot of support. You learn to live with it day by day.
“I’d say to anyone who fears they are being groomed: just tell somebody you trust – a teacher, a friend, a friend’s parent. Anybody will help you.
“That’s why I’ve done this work with the NSPCC. Because if people don’t seek help then it’s stuck to them, and it’ll be with them forever. You need to speak out. You deserve to be safe.”
Young people worried they or a friend are being groomed can call Childline for free on 0800 1111.