Cait Fitton says she's "excited" to be welcomed back to Coronation Street, as her character Lauren Bolton makes a surprise return to Weatherfield next week, out of desperation.
Last seen in January, Lauren was heavily involved in the ITV soap's far right extremism story, which saw local teen Max Turner (Paddy Bever) groomed to join a dangerous gang.
While Max has just been released from a Secure Training Centre over his criminal activities, Lauren fled to go and live with her mum. She returns to seek support from Max and, speaking at a recent press event, actor Fitton talks us through how it feels to be back.
"Honestly, it feels like I've never left, which is such a lovely feeling. It's such an amazing place to work, and I feel like I learned so much the first time, about myself, and I got to work with some amazing people," explains Fitton.
"And I got to be a part of such a big storyline so to get told I was coming back, it was unexpected because Lauren was supposed to be this temporary character that was just a part of the storyline. So when I got told she was coming back, I was so excited, because I can now develop the character more, and we can see her in a different light.
"So it wasn't expected at all, but I was so excited to find out the news."
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Asked what sparks Lauren's comeback, she reveals: "She's just desperate. She's desperate and her relationship with her mum is so toxic, she hasn't got that mother and daughter bond with her mum where she can speak to her mum about anything.
"She hasn't got any friendship groups, her friends are non-existent, she hasn't got friends and her dad's in prison, so she's got no stability there. So Max has always been her kind of safety blanket. So I think she's just desperate; she goes back because she needs Max's help, and obviously a lot of things have changed, so it puts a bit of a spanner in the works!"
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Said 'spanner in the works' is the fact that Max now has a new girlfriend, Bec. "I think when [Lauren] sees Max with this new girl, she's instantly hurt," says Fitton.
"She's shocked, she feels betrayed - all feelings that are completely relevant within this situation. But I think because she puts this front on of repressing her feelings constantly, I think the more she leaves it, the more she is just going to explode.
"I think she wants Max to be happy, she wants the best for Max. She knows what Max has been through and she does blame herself, because part and parcel of the reason why he got himself into that mess that he got himself in was because Lauren was used as bait."
When we first met Lauren, she had already been groomed and manipulated into expressing and acting on racist views, thanks to her father Reece (Scott Anson). Now that the story has moved on, it's allowed Fitton to begin to explore who Lauren really is.
"When I read the scripts the first time round, there [were] a few little things that didn't quite add up, that didn't quite sit right with me, like things that could be easily dismissed because the show moves so quickly, and when you're in a storyline you are 100% focused on that storyline.
"But for example, her being around all these older men, to me that didn't sit right because if that happened today, or in modern day society now, that would cause concerns, and that would raise... alarm bells would be ringing," she points out.
"So that made me question a lot of things like: did Lauren really have these views that her dad had prior to this happening, or was she manipulated and brainwashed? Because she's been conditioned all her life, she knows nothing different."
The star believes that Lauren has changed since cutting ties with her dad. "I think she just wants to be accepted now, she wants to be taken away [from] what she was known for, or what her dad was known for and she just wants to be herself, but she can't do that on her own. She's willing to show everybody that she has changed, she'll do whatever she can to show people she's changed."
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Coronation Street is, of course, known for embracing troubled characters who just need a second chance. Lauren won't be the only one seeking that in the coming months, as the soap has already confirmed the imminent arrival of Claire Sweeney's "live wire" alter ego, Cassie Plummer.
So, what is it about Lauren that viewers may identify with? "I think Lauren is very naive. She's a very easily misled character, but there's definitely more to her than meets the eye. I do think when she left, there was a big shift - I was really, really overwhelmed with the amount of support I came out with.
"And I think Lauren is very much of an outcast, she shares this edited version of herself and her life, and I think that's what young people - especially teenagers nowadays - can relate to, because on social media, for example, you are to put this front on, you have to put this front on, and everything's like a fairytale until the cracks start to show."
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