‘Coronation Street’ is basing its stalking storyline on real cases.
‘Coronation Street’ is basing its stalking storyline on real cases
The soap has teamed up with anti-stalking charity the Suzy Lamplugh Trust as it runs its ongoing plot about barmaid Daisy Midgeley being hounded by Justin, after he became fixated on her after only one chance meeting at hospital during her cancer scare.
Saskia Garner from the group told the Daily Mirror in an interview printed on Friday (10.02.23): “We’ve given our insight from the experiences of the victims we speak to every day to shape the way the story has gone.
“It’s so important programmes like ‘Coronation Street’ highlight the impact of stalking.
“One in five women and one in 10 men experience stalking. Victims tell us it’s a crime of psychological terror. You’re not safe in your own home, on your phone – stalking infiltrates every aspect of a person’s life.”
Actress Charlotte Jordan, 27, who plays Daisy, said about her character’s plight: “She feels isolated and decides to take things into her own hands and it escalates very quickly. She’s not a violent person, but she punches Justin.”
Justin, played by Andrew Still, 29, has been seen sending Daisy flowers and chocolates and bombarding her with texts as well as cyberstalking her and turning up at a wedding fair she was attending.
His obsessiveness left Daisy terrified, but she was horrified when she found police could do nothing and the plot is set to get more dramatic in coming episodes.
Charlotte said about how her ordeal will worsen and lead to her character crumbling: “(Justin is) what is known as an intimacy-seeking stalker. He fully believes they’re in a relationship and that they’re in love and she starts to get extremely scared.
“She’s a confident character, but what you see is this guy take her power from her and destroy everything that is her. You’ll see her slowly crumble and get smaller and I don’t think she’ll ever be the same.”
Actor Andrew said about playing the stalker: “He has this delusional belief that they’re going to run off together. He’s laser-focused, I think he'll go to whatever lengths he feels necessary.”
The Suzy Lamplugh Trust was founded in 1986 after the disappearance of estate agent Suzy Lamplugh on 28 July that year in Fulham, London, when she was aged 25.
She was officially declared dead, presumed murdered, in 1993, with evidence suggesting she may have been targeted by a stalker.