Coronation Street star Sydney Martin has given fans a glimpse of her holiday abroad, sharing photos from a pig beach, as her character Betsy Swain continues to recover from two strokes on the ITV soap.
Betsy's Stroke Storyline
Last month, Betsy was rushed to hospital after being found collapsed on the floor at her home. Doctors confirmed she had suffered a stroke at the age of 18, and she soon had a second stroke while being treated. The strokes were caused by a blood clot, which resulted from neck artery damage due to a temporary loss of circulation.
Betsy later explained to her mum, Lisa Connor-Swain, that her boyfriend, Dylan Wilson, had strangled her during consensual sex. Both teenage characters believed the pressure applied was minimal.
Praise and Collaboration
Fans have praised the show for depicting Betsy's recovery, including speech therapy sessions. Betsy is currently recovering at home after leaving hospital. To ensure medical accuracy and raise awareness of strangulation risks, Coronation Street worked with the Institute for Addressing Strangulation (IFAS), The Stroke Association, and Safeline. Their experts reviewed scripts and met with the production team and actors.
Speaking about the storyline in a Q&A on TikTok, Sydney said: "One of the biggest questions I got asked a lot was about the current storyline on Coronation Street... So I found out in November of last year, and we started filming it in the second week of May this year. So it gave me a lot of time to sit down and think about it. It's daunting. It's a heavy storyline. It's a lot of responsibility and so there was a lot of convincing myself that I was capable and a lot of confidence growing in that time."
She added: "But we spoke to some amazing people, some amazing charities, Nieve, Louise, the Stroke Association, IFAS, Safeline. And it felt like a real privilege to see and hear these stories and know how important it was to put these on screen and for young people to have that representation, just filled me with motivation."
Holiday Break
On Wednesday (August 12), Sydney took to Instagram to reveal she was enjoying time away from filming. While she didn't share her location, she enjoyed a day out at a pig beach, posing with pigs in a green skirt and polka dot bikini top. She captioned the post: "The little girl that wanted to be a zoo keeper is still inside me and she's screaming!!"
Her co-star Cait Fitton, who plays Lauren Bolton, commented: "No way , you met PUMBA!! I'm jealous," and added: "Miss ur face come home now please." Other followers expressed their delight, with one writing: "AWWW this is so cute !!! I'm so desperate to go here literally my dreammmm I have a pet pig so going here would be AMAZING." Another said: "Aww your so gorgeous, hope you are having an amazing time." A fan commented: "Aw hope you're having an amazing time!! Looks beautiful." One follower wrote: "Wow, I've never seen pigs on a beach before!! Hope you're having a great time, you certainly deserve it."
