Back in May, Coronation Street episodes saw Nina (played by Mollie Gallagher) and Seb (Harry Visinoni) were violently attacked by a group of Weatherfield’s teens simply due to Nina’s gothic appearance. The ITV soap highlighted the vicious hate crime to raise awareness of such assaults, drawing facts from the tragic real-life case of Sophie Lancaster. Nina has been left traumatised by the incident, but upcoming scenes will see her having to face what happened as she gives evidence in court to try to get justice for Seb. Actress Mollie, 23, opened up on what it was like to film the heartbreaking scenes and revisit Nina’s worst moments.
When asked what it was like to film the flashback scenes, the actress explained: “It was very hard because it was a reminder of the connection to the Sophie Lancaster story.
“I am only an actor playing a role, but this has happened to people in real life and that is heartbreaking.”
She continued: “It was cold and wet, lying on the floor – and we had to get back into the mindset that we had a few months ago and that was difficult, but I am so grateful to be doing this storyline on an issue which is so important to highlight.”
Sophie was murdered by a gang of fives boys in 2007, who attacked her and her boyfriend for the way they were dressed.
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On Monday’s episode, viewers will finally learn the details of what happened on the night Seb was killed.
With the court case just days away, Nina’s memory starts to return in two dramatic and moving flashback episodes.
“She [Nina] is feeling very nervous because she knows she can’t remember what happened and she is putting a lot of pressure on herself,” Mollie commented.
“A song comes on in the café when she is sleeping and she remembers that it is the same song that was playing in the van Seb was driving, on the day of the attack.
The flashback scenes show the contrast between how Nina used to look and how she has now changed her appearance.
Ever since Seb’s murder, Nina has dropped the gothic look, despite her feeling more empowered and comfortable with it before.
“Nina feels like the reason why Seb was murdered was how she looks and if it wasn’t for that then he would still be alive,” Mollie said.
“When Seb died, she just felt empty, like she had lost everything, including herself.
“I remember the first time I saw myself on a screen as Nina, stripped back, and I thought I looked so different, so young!
“I thought it was really sad to see a character like Nina, who was so distinctive, change her specific ways and become more introverted but I love the layers of the character and the depth Nina has.”
But Nina decides to wear her full goth attire to court, which Mollie said was “very important” for the character to do.
“It’s not just a look for her, it’s who she is,” the actress explained.
“She has a conversation with Roy [Cropper, David Neilson] and she decides she wants to show Corey [Brent, Maximus Evans] that she’s not scared of him and she won’t change herself for anyone.
“She does like who she is and that overrides what anybody else thinks of her because she is so content with who she is.”
Mollie admitted being back in Nina’s old clothing felt strange.
She remarked: “I had not worn that costume in so long!
“It changes how I move as the character of Nina, for example Nina always wears big platform shoes but when she was dressed down she was wearing converse so I was even walking differently as her.
“I also have certain perfumes for Nina and I had bought a specific one, Poison by Dior, for her relationship scenes with Seb.
“When Seb died I had stopped wearing it as Nina but for the flashback scenes I wore it again and just like Nina’s memory was triggered with the song, my memory was triggered with the perfume.
“Now these scenes are over I will never wear that perfume again.”
Coronation Street continues tonight at 7.30pm on ITV.