Coronation Street star Amy Robbins explains Christina's secret daughter twist

Coronation Street has unleashed another shock Christina Boyd twist, revealing that she's the long-lost mother of tragic Rachel Parkinson.

The secret came to light in Wednesday's episode (23 September) as Christina recognised Rachel's name on paperwork at the funeral parlour and realised that her daughter had been murdered.

This also means that Christina is the grandmother of troubled teenager Lucy, who's been living with Tim and Sally in recent weeks.

An emotional Christina confided in her partner George Shuttleworth as the revelations dawned on her, but will she tell anyone else and try to play a role in Lucy's life?

We recently caught up with Amy Robbins, who plays Christina, to hear more about the future of the story.

We've found out a lot more about Christina this year. Was it important to you that viewers discovered what makes her tick?

"It's very important and helpful for an actor to be given a backstory, because if you don't, you have to make it up yourself, which I sort of had anyway! You've always got to find the reason why somebody's a pain, or difficult, or seemingly a bad person. I think it's made total sense for her, actually.

"Also, playing a villain is fun but it's quite limiting after a while. It's frustrating when your character is constantly coming out of a scene looking like a monster. It's much more fulfilling, from an acting point of view, to play a rounded character."

How did you feel when this new story came up?

"The producer called me in and said: 'We've got this great story for you and it's going to explain why Christina is the person that she is. She was in a very difficult situation and she had this child, who she gave away as a young woman'.

"That has absolutely carved out the rest of Christina's life. It's the reason that she's never been able to fully commit to her second child. She found mothering Daisy so difficult because she was feeling so guilty about the first baby that she had that she gave away."

When did you first meet Anya Dewin, who plays Christina's granddaughter Lucy?

"Well, I'd been told the story but I didn't know much detail and I just knew that there was a new actress in the building called Anya. A few people said to me: 'There's an actress, she really looks like you! Who is this girl?'

"I remember when I met Anya the first time, it was so sweet because she looked very like my daughters. It's a good bit of casting, I think."

Can you tell us more about why Christina gave away her child, Rachel?

"Christina was seduced by her boss when she was a young, 18-year-old girl working in an office somewhere. Her boss made moves on her and she was very young, very naive and very innocent. She found herself accidentally pregnant to this chap. She thought that this man was going to leave his wife for her, but of course he didn't and he broke her heart.

"Christina was then left as a single mother. She went ahead and really tried, as she took the baby home for three months. She tried to breastfeed the baby but she couldn't – I think, as a lot of women will know, it can be incredibly difficult and it doesn't suit everybody.

"So Christina was very young and on her own. Her family had all abandoned her. She had postnatal depression and couldn't cope, so she didn't know what to do."

What happened next?

"The man who was the father of the baby said: 'Well, actually, my wife and I have never been able to have children, so we'd like to adopt the child. I've got plenty of money. We'll make sure she goes to school and has a lovely, happy life. We'll do a better job than you're doing'.

"Poor old Christina said yes, because she wanted the baby to have a good life and she knew that she couldn't give it to her. She hadn't bonded with the baby because she'd been so depressed. It's terribly sad. Christina has spent the rest of her life regretting it, burying it and pretending that it didn't happen."

How does Christina cope with the news that Rachel has been murdered?

"I don't think she's coping at all. Christina is utterly heartbroken. Every silly decision she's ever made, it all catches up with her – giving the baby away and then being a terrible mother to Daisy.

"I think George, being her pillar of strength, is what gets her through. But Christina is really struggling and she's really not handling it at all well. And there's not many laughs! Suddenly, we see Christina going from being a hoot and we're seeing her spiralling.

"You'll see Christina getting drunk in the pub, she's falling over, she's crying everywhere. She's having a bit of a breakdown, I would say. There's not many laughs to be had at the moment!"

Christina becomes determined to get justice after her daughter's death. Is that her coping mechanism?

"Yes, she did nothing for her daughter in life once she gave that baby away, so she thinks the least she can do in death is to play her part, to try to get some justice, as that's all she can do. She feels that she failed her in life, so she wants to do something."

Will Christina keep her secret, or start locking horns with Tim and Sally when it comes to Lucy?

"She tries to keep it a secret, but as you can imagine for Christina, she's not very good. She wears her heart on her sleeve and she's not very good at playing the long game – she just blurts stuff out because that's her nature.

"It's about to get very awkward and difficult with Sally, very much so. The two of them have already got a history of squabbling. They're part of the same friendship group, but I think if any two of them from the gang are so different in personality, it's Sally and Christina. It's about to get very nasty between the two of them."

Are you enjoying those scenes, though?

"Yeah, it's fabulous, it's a win-win. When the producer told me that I'd be doing a lot with Sally, I was really overjoyed because Sally Dynevor is truly one of the loveliest people I've ever met in life and I don't say that lightly. She is just the sweetest woman and we get on so well in real life. To have a storyline with one of the original and best cast members is brilliant, too.

"Also, Joe Duttine who plays Tim, is such a brilliant actor. He's so subtle and so detailed."

What's it like working with Anya? Does she bring out the maternal side in you?

"Oh, completely, and I have to really curb it sometimes because I go into full mother or grandmother mode. I'll say: 'What have you had for your breakfast? Have you eaten? Are you hungry? Go and sit down, have a rest, have a nap'. Honestly, she must think I'm a nutter! (Laughs.)

"I think she quite likes it. I texted her when she got her A-Level results – she's in my phone as 'Anya granddaughter'. I said, 'It's your fake grandmother here, how did you do in your A-Levels?' I'm always checking on her. She must think I'm nuts. She's got a mother, she doesn't need another one!

"But it's a comfort for me as well, as I miss my kids when I'm not at home. I love hanging out with the young ones. I sat in the green room the other day with Elle [Mulvaney, who plays Amy], Harriet [Bibby, who plays Summer], Tanisha [Gorey, who plays Asha] and Anya, and I got huge comfort from sitting with them, because it's like being at home with my girls. I love it."

Is it nice to have a meaty story after the comedy material you've had?

"It's fabulous. It's what you dream of when you're training to be an actor – to play a role that has a bit of everything is wonderful. It's a great opportunity and I'm trying to do it justice.

"The only downside of it is that you wander round with a headache, constantly, from crying! Because I've been crying so much, my eyes are puffy and I've got a headache most of the time. So I will relish when the day comes in the future, please God, and I go back to cracking gags again. I'll look forward to that!"

How do you shake that off?

"By the time I walk over the bridge from the studio and I'm back into my flat and I put my slippers on and I take my make-up off, that really helps. I wipe my face down and I'm back, it's all over, it's done.

"But it's the way I trained. I trained at RADA in the 90s and it was the American method, so you do take everything on 100%, but part of the training is that you also learn how to let it go as well. You don't take it outside the building, it's gone. I still get a headache, though."

What can we expect in the coming months?

"Christina is going to do everything that she can to find out the truth about Rachel's death. She thinks that's the least she can do to make up for all the mistakes she made while poor Rachel was alive.

"I've yet to find out the length that she'll go to. At the moment she is really committed to proving that this Richie character is not all he seems to be and I think that's really clear. I've been watching it and Nathan Sussex [who plays Richie] is playing a blinder – he's an absolute rotter but he's full of charm, isn't he and smiles? He's all smiles.

"I think Christina is such a good judge of character. She knows herself, she's had such a tough life, she's a survivor and she can spot a bad'un when she sees one, probably because she can spot it in herself…"

Coronation Street airs on weeknights at 8.30pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.

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