Coronation Street star Julia Goulding has insisted that things are only set to "get worse" with the character of Jodie Ramsey. The actress, 41, has played Roy's Rolls waitress Shona Platt on the long-running ITV soap since 2016 and earlier this year, her long-lost sister, who had never been mentioned before, turned up in the programme's crossover with Emmerdale, arriving tied up in the back of a van.
Jodie's sinister behaviour
Ever since her arrival, Jodie (Olivia Frances Brown) has been shrouded in mystery, although it is quite clear that there is something sinister about her. In the four months since she made her debut, Jodie has been stealing various items that belong to neighbours - the most recent of which was a gun - and also tried to pass herself off as Shona at the hospital.
What's more, she unsuccessfully tried to seduce her brother-in-law, David Platt, and then attacked David's sister, Sarah (Tina O'Brien), with an ornament on the night Theo Silverton was murdered. She has previously claimed to Shona that she had been in an abusive relationship, but this appears to be a lie as well. Despite having made the most appearances of the year so far, viewers are still none the wiser about just what Jodie's game is.
Public reaction and Shona's blindness
Now, actress Julia has explained that her own alter-ego is struggling to realise that there is something going on with her lost-long sister and has shed light on more of the "public reaction" to the controversial character. She said: "It's challenging because Shona doesn't see most of it, as her mind is preoccupied elsewhere. We've been told that Jodie is befriending the youngsters, like Lily and Harry, because she has the mind of a child herself. But in terms of playing the scenes, my back is almost always turned, so I don't have to react to what she is doing or how she is reacting."
She added: "As for the public's reaction, people often try to warn me. They'll say, 'That sister of yours is a wrong'un,' and I just tell them to keep watching because it definitely gets worse!"
Shona's denial
Shona, who also has to deal with her baby daughter Harper living in the neonatal unit after being born prematurely, will eventually find out about Jodie's box of stolen items but Julia explained that, because of her own personal circumstances, she won't find it suspicious. She said: "With the stress of having a baby in the hospital, Shona just sees it as a box of Jodie's things and can't really understand the fuss. She doesn't have the bandwidth to be suspicious, and she doesn't know about Jodie's history of theft."
Then there's the issue of Jodie, who also had two men at the door demanding a memory stick, having attacked Sarah, and Julia teased that even when that all comes out, Shona cannot accept that her sister is anything other than innocent. She said: "Shona is the one who brings her back into the fold because she genuinely believes it was a case of mistaken identity. Shona was panicked about the haulage guys coming after Jodie so she understands that Jodie was hyper-vigilant and likely perceived Sarah as an intruder. She's cross that Jodie lied about it, but she understands the motivation."
Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X.
