'Coronation Street' actress Millie Gibson was a "blubbering mess" after learning about Sophie Lancaster.
Harry Visinoni
The 16-year-old star has opened up on the soap's harrowing storyline which saw Seb Franklin (Harry Visinoni) and Nina Lucas (Mollie Gallagher) brutally attacked by a gang of teens - including Corey Brent (Maximus Evans) and Millie's character Kelly Neelan - because of her goth culture.
The scenes mirrored the real-life murder of Sophie, who died in 2007 aged 20 when she was stamped to death for being a goth.
To research her role, Millie watched 'Murdered for Being Different' - which is based on Sophie's death - and told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “I was just a blubbering mess.
"We knew we had to make this an amazing educational storyline.
“Because it is based on true stories of hate crime, bringing it to a soap it is critical to get it right.”
Meanwhile, Sophie's mum Dr. Sylvia Lancaster has been helping the 'Corrie' cast and crew with the storyline.
She previously said: "I know first-hand the abuse, harassment and violence that alternative people suffer. Hate crime is usually directed at already stigmatised and minority groups and Sophie was assaulted three times before that final, sustained and brutal attack that took her life – but she never reported the earlier assaults.
"'Coronation Street' covering this issue means such a huge amount to me. We want alternative people to know that they shouldn’t be putting up with this prejudice and intolerance, and they should report it.
"We want the wider community to really appreciate the horror of this violence and understand that difference in itself, is not frightening, it just makes us all who we are.
"We will also use this platform to continue raising awareness of Sophie’s case with the police and judiciary to make sure that hate crime against alternative people is recognised and treated with the degree of severity that it deserves."