Shelley King has been having "dreams about abandonment" because of her 'Coronation Street' plot.
Shelley King
The 64-year-old star's character Yasmeen Nazir has been at the centre of a coercive control storyline on the cobbles in recent months, with her on-screen husband Geoff Metcalfe (Ian Bartholomew) abusing her and sleeping with escorts.
Opening up during lockdown, Shelley told OK! magazine: "If Barty and I didn't get on well and didn't trust each other, I don't think we could explore this whole process.
"We have been calling each other and we miss each other during lockdown. Being at home has made me think about the storyline so much more.
"I've had a lot of dreams about abandonment. The people in them have changed so it's Barty, then a friend or a past relationship and then they turn into Trilby [James, her director partner], even though it's nothing to do with her."
The actress - who first appeared on 'Corrie' back in 2014 - admitted she and Ian have to rely on "lavatory jokes" to keep the atmosphere from getting too heavy between takes.
She added: "There are only so many tears you can cry as you actually start getting headaches. Sometimes nothing comes out.
"Usually when Barty and I get through something that is particularly heavy, we revert to the humour of a 14-year-old boy and there are a lot of lavatory jokes!
"But during some scenes there was just silence in the studio because some of the things are just too difficult to hop in and out of."