‘It was a blessing in a way’: Coronation Street’s Tina O’Brien reveals the struggles of filming intimate scenes due to social distancing
The coronavirus pandemic has sparked a wave of socially-awkward interactions.
And Tina O’Brien revealed how she had to overcome the awkwardness of filming intimate scenes with new safety measures enforced during production at Coronation Street.
The Corrie actress, 36, shrugged off the challenge of perfecting racy moments between her character Sarah-Lou Platt and her ex-lover Gary Windass.
Filming challenges: Tina O’Brien discussed her Coronation Street character Sarah-Lou Platt and what it is like filming romantically-charged moments with social distancing measures
During an interview, she explained what it was like filming some of the steamier moments with her murderer lover, Gary- who is married to Maria.
She said: ‘I was concerned the distance would make it difficult to get up close but it was just normal. We had a really good time.
‘We got to film everything in order and got into the flow of it which we wouldn’t have been able to do before. It was a blessing in a way.’
Corrie insight: The actress, 36, opened up about Sarah’s inner thoughts and feelings and what we can expect to see from the Coronation Street star in the future
Her character, Sarah, is currently in a love entanglement her husband Adam Barlow and ex Gary.
She revealed that her character is ‘very confused’ about what she wants and what she should do next.
According to the actress, Sarah feels conflicted after she discovered that Gary killed Rick Neeland, but he admits he still loves her and even saves her life.
Tina said: ‘She was very clear about how she felt about everything and had thought – right I’m going to speak to the police about this.
Where to turn: Sarah is currently in a love entanglement with Adam Barlow and ex Gary Windass and remains very confused about what she wants to do next
‘But because Gary saves her life and because of the things he says about his feelings towards her, she’s very confused about how to move forward.
‘She’s a bit caught really. She does actually say to someone ‘he’s under my skin’. She’s the first to say she would never go back to him – they had quite a toxic relationship towards the end but because of the PTSD he had but because she really did truly love him, I think she feels that she doesn’t want to betray him.
‘It’s that feeling that I could love you and hate you in equal measure.
‘It’s like he gets her, and he presses her buttons. She knows that he does care about her and I think she’s a bit of a sucker for the fact that she knew how much he loved her. There is a moment when she thinks something could happen.’
Sarah now carries guilt for knowing what happened to Rick, however Gary tries to play the murder off as an act of self-defence.
She said: ‘I think she wishes she didn’t know any of it! She was quite happy living a lie in her marriage with her son – this has thrown a grenade in.’
Rocky romance: Her love hate relationship with her ex, Gary has reached new heights after she discovered he murdered Rick Neeland and claimed it was an act of self defence
Her husband, Adam Barlow, played by Sam Robertson is desperate for answers after growing suspicious of his wife’s relationship with her ex.
Tina added: ‘She loves her husband and only recently married him. But she also knows that he’s gunning for Gary and would do anything to see him go to prison.
‘I can understand why he thinks that Sarah’s got feelings for Gary because she isn’t being very honest with him or behaving as she should. She should be more open with him but I think she’s got trust issues. I do think she’s under no illusion that if she carries this on she could lose her husband. But what will she do?’
In two minds: Sarah hasn’t been completely honest with her husband Adam Barlow about her feelings for Gary and is aware if she carries on that she might lose him