Coronation Street star Cait Fitton has spoken about the latest surprise twist for her character Lauren Bolton.
Lauren was revealed to be pregnant with Joel Deering’s baby in Tuesday’s episode (July 9), providing another major plot curveball following her unexpected return to Weatherfield.
Corrie‘s latest episode focused on the unanswered questions in Lauren’s storyline, as flashbacks showed how she was groomed and abused by sinister solicitor Joel.
In the present day, Joel confronted Lauren after spotting her visiting Roy Cropper at the hospital. He was surprised to discover that Lauren is five months pregnant.
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Speaking about the storyline, Cait explained: “Lauren has never had unconditional love – she doesn’t know what that is. When anyone tries to get close to her, her guard automatically goes up.
“I think with her child, she will be that child’s role model. That baby is going to be with her through everything. She is powerful and she has got someone that’s going to love her unconditionally, when she’s never had that.
“Lauren is still petrified, because she knows what Joel can do – he won’t stop at anything. Now it’s not just her she’s got to worry about, it’s the baby.
“Parents will know that your baby comes first – that’s Lauren. She doesn’t care what happens to her now – as long as that baby’s safe, that’s all she cares about.
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“I think she’ll always make mistakes, though. What is the perfect parent if you’ve never been one? There’s no such thing. You go with your gut instincts and what’s right.”
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While Tuesday’s Corrie saw Lauren flee from Joel when he became threatening again, Cait confirmed that her character could be manipulated into giving the villain another chance.
She said: “It’s a form of grooming again, isn’t it? Especially if no-one else is giving Lauren love and saying they’ll help and support her. No-one on the street will want to know her after what’s happened with Roy – they won’t know what’s actually gone on.
“Lauren is not going to blurt it out – she wants to keep that close to her. She thinks it’s a weakness for people to know what’s happened to her. So if Joel turns round and says, ‘Lauren, you keep quiet about this and I’ll help you’, she’s going to do it.
“It’s quite interesting – they’ve both got power in a way. The baby is Lauren’s trump card – if Joel does anything to hurt her, the baby is her evidence.
“But then it’s also Joel manipulating Lauren. They’ve got that power dynamic, which I’m glad about. I didn’t want Lauren to become this little person in her shell.
“Yes, we can portray that because it’s important, but it’s not every victim – the people that I’ve spoken to are so strong and I wanted to show that. So the power dynamics are shifting all the way through.”
