NEW Corrie star Lucy Fallon is having the year of her life.
When 2015 kicked off, she was no closer to the famous cobbles than the millions who love the ITV soap.
But having had the dream call from the producers to tell her she’d landed the part of 14-year-old Bethany Platt, she was soon walking on to telly’s most famous Street.
Now she’s at the heart of one of the show’s most gripping storylines.
And as she steps off the set after another busy morning’s filming, Lucy tells The Sunday Post she’s feeling more at home by the minute.
“The past few months have been absolutely mental,” confides the quietly-spoken teenager.
“When I first got the job it was crazy but everyone was so nice and welcoming.
“Now I feel really comfortable around everybody.
“I’d never done anything like this before, so I was naturally nervous and not so confident.
“But I feel like it doesn’t bother me any more. You get notes off the director and that helps you grow.
“And because I’ve not had that much training, there are things that I’m learning all the time.”
Although she’s bubbly and confident, Lucy, 19, admits that joining some of the best-known TV faces took a bit of getting used to.
And, as part of the Platt clan, that meant plenty of early scenes alongside mum Sarah and gran Gail.
“It was strange at first,” says Lucy. “I remember watching it when I was younger, especially the storylines with Sarah when Richard Hillman drove them into the canal.
“And I was a bit star struck when I met Helen Worth.”
Bethany’s entanglement with Sean Ward’s Callum has been deepening and this week the pressure really ramps up as the desperate bad boy turns the screw.
Max says he’s seen Callum beating up Jason and tomorrow Gail and David are adamant that he’s got to go to the cops.
Kylie agrees to take him to the police station but, when Callum finds out, he’ll do anything to stop that happening.
“Callum wants Bethany to give him an alibi to say he was with her and couldn’t have done it,” explains Lucy, who has just moved out of the family home but admits her mum is still her number one fan.
“Bethany doesn’t do it but Gemma makes her get into her car and shows her a video of Sarah lying on the couch, drugged by Callum.
“She says that either Bethany gives Callum the alibi or something horrible is going to happen to her mum.
“She feels she has to do it but afterwards Kylie and David are very much on top of her and she’s got all this weight on her shoulders.
“She can’t say why she’s done it in case Callum does hurt her mum.”
The high drama is something Lucy’s been lapping up and the emotional scenes have been a real highlight.
In fact, unlike most people, crying at work has been welcome.
“I’ve actually really enjoyed it. I’d been filming quite funny stuff and saying all these horrible things as Bethany can be quite mean.
“Now, though, there’s this more vulnerable side. It’s a different Bethany and I had to cry quite a bit.
“They had these tear sticks to help you but, to be honest, I just had to think of something sad and found that was enough to cry for real.”
Lucy says Callum’s bad boy ways are just going to get worse.
And there will be plenty more to get her teeth into as Coronation Street gears up for a live episode next month to mark ITV’s 60th anniversary.
“It’s the thing everyone is talking about here,” adds Lucy, “If you’re doing a scene and get it wrong everybody says, ‘Oh, 30 seconds to the live show’. So the pressure’s on.”
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