Coronation Street's Maria Connor seeks help for Liam in emotional storyline
Note: This story discusses topics including suicidal ideation/thoughts and bullying.
Coronation Street spoilers follow.
Coronation Street's Maria Connor will seek help for her son Liam next week, amid his emotional bullying storyline.
Liam's mental health has declined in recent weeks, as a result of Mason Radcliffe's bullying. After months of torment, the teen will contemplate taking his own life in tomorrow's (February 14) episode.
In scenes set to air in the aftermath of Liam's admission next week, Maria stays up to watch over her son while he sleeps.
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She then calls the doctor to try and get an emergency appointment. Once at the GP surgery, Liam explains to Dr Gaddas that his life had become so difficult to cope with that he just wanted to end it.
Dr Gaddas informs Maria that she's going to refer Liam to a mental health unit to get treatment, but the waiting list is so long that they'll have to wait for a place. In the meantime, Maria must watch Liam closely.
Speaking recently to Digital Spy and other media, Maria actress Samia Longchambon explained how difficult it has been to bring the emotional storyline to the screen.
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"Having to act it and go through it, your body doesn't know, when we're making ourselves cry, and going through that, it is exhausting," she said. "Because your body doesn't know that it's not real, what you're crying about. So me and Charlie [Wrenshall, who plays Liam] have had days where we've just been crying all day to each other. We're exhausted at the end of the day.
"But you know, it's good to think that hopefully, this storyline might help other kids who are going through it — and even the bullies to a certain extent, I hope that it might make them think twice about what they're doing to other kids, and how it might affect them in ways they don't realise."
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
Read more Coronation Street spoilers on our dedicated homepage
Coronation Street has been working on Liam's storyline with support from the National Bullying Helpline (0300 323 0169 between 9am-5pm on weekdays, and 10am-12 midday on Saturdays, or email help@nationalbullyinghelpline.co.uk).
Further organisations which can offer help include Samaritans on 116 123 or Mind on 0300 123 3393. Readers in the US are encouraged to visit mentalhealth.gov or the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
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