Corrie star promises bigger storylines for Linda Hancock
Coronation Street star Jacqueline Leonard has promised that fans can expect to see more of her character, Linda Hancock, in the near future following her return.
Linda recently arrived back on the cobbles to see her grandson, Joseph Brown, and her presence has stirred up plenty of trouble for the family, as she has made her disapproval of Joseph's stepmother Gemma Winter-Brown clear.
After Joseph was diagnosed with Lyme disease last week, Linda was forced to back down from her suspicions that Gemma had been somehow responsible for his ongoing illness – but that doesn't necessarily mean that she'll be leaving the family alone.
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"Linda isn't intentionally trying to take Joseph away from Gemma, but she does feel quite maternal," Leonard told The Mirror. "She just wants what's best for that boy – and Linda often has the right intentions, but sometimes they get misconstrued.
"I'm a mother myself. I would do anything for my child and I presume Linda is doing exactly the same in her eyes. She wants what's best for her grandson."
With the Winter-Brown clan getting plenty of screen time in recent weeks, the actress revealed that she is "thrilled" to see Linda starting to take centre stage after her previous shorter appearances in the soap.
"I'm thrilled that they seem to be bumping up my character and I love that I get to go back to my Northern roots," she said. "Linda had been on the periphery for quite a while, and now she's getting a bigger on-screen presence."
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Leonard, who has also had roles in EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Doctors as well as starring in Scottish soap River City, added that she sees Linda as "one of those characters that you love to hate".
"She's a glamorous woman in a sexy suit flashing her money around," she said. "Whereas you've got Joseph's other grandma, Bernie, who grapples to get money from anywhere. There's always a bit of angst between those two, and catfights. It's going back to old-fashioned Corrie."
Ahead of Linda's return late last year, Corrie's producer Iain MacLeod revealed that Joseph's health issues would "culminate in him falling behind at school", which would lead Linda to take on a "fairy godmother" role for him.
"She decides that she's going to fix all this and starts throwing money at the situation, which puts Chesney and Gemma in this impossible quandary – in that by accepting financial help from Linda, they're giving up control of Joseph's life," he explained.
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
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