He had blackmailed her into sleeping with him to avoid him revealing Gary’s attack on him.
And since his return, to work for Kevin who Anna’s now involved with, her fear and loathing have reached fresh heights.
“She hasn’t told Kevin the real reason she dislikes Phelan so much and she’s keeping the secret to herself,” says Debbie Rush, who plays Anna.
“Kevin just thinks that Anna has a vendetta against Phelan because of Owen losing his business.
“Anna’s desperate to tell Kevin but she also feels too ashamed to say.
“The longer Phelan is around, the more Anna feels on edge. She’s not coming to terms with it and I don’t think she will.
“She’s had to carry this around with her ever since it happened with Phelan and she’s really quite frightened of him.”
When Phelan gets in her face, telling her he’s landed more work and is going nowhere, it’s all too much.
“Anna walks into the cafe and something snaps to the point where she storms back out, picks up the crowbar and smashes his van to bits,” says Debbie.
“She finds this inner strength from somewhere and does something she’s never done before.
“Kevin rounds the corner to see Anna attacking Phelan and suddenly everyone thinks it’s Anna who is in the wrong – which is exactly what Phelan wanted.”
But Debbie says having Connor back on the cobbles with her is a real blast.
“We keep laughing because every time Phelan does something horrible to Anna, the director shouts cut and he says sorry and gives me a hug!”
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