Coronation Street’s Shelley King has been left "exhausted" by her intense emotional abuse plot.
The 64-year-old actor’s character Yasmeen Nazir is awaiting trial after her abuser Geoff Metcalfe (Ian Bartholomew) claimed he was the victim after she stabbed him with a glass bottle, despite it being in self defence.
When it was mentioned by Lorraine Kelly on ‘Lorraine’ that Shelley must be "exhausted" from playing out the plot, she said: "We are.
"Some scenes only appear three or four minutes on the screen, but the stabbing scene took us two days to do …
"You really have to concentrate, and not just me and Ian. The cameramen, the props people, the makeup. We all have to be on the ball and in the moment, and remember the lives of the people who have talked to us so we can most truthfully portray their journeys and suffering.
"It’s been quite a time."
Despite the difficult scenes, Shelley has heaped praise on the cobbles team for handling the sensitive storyline "with care".
However, she admitted her own real life partner Trilby James has struggled to watch some of the scenes at times, because they feel "very real".
She added: "It’s not easy to witness. The way it’s scripted, shot and presented makes it very real …
"She’s been helping me, she heard my stories about the people we’ve met [who suffered abuse]. So, all of it brings it into focus."
When it comes to her co-star Ian, Shelley previously revealed the pair have become "family" through the bond they share after working on the hard-hitting story together.
She said: "We’re a family now, Barty and me.
"We can have a row without never speaking again, and then minutes after he’ll phone me and say, ‘I’m really sorry, Shell.’
"And I’ll say, ‘I was a real dork-brain, Barts.’ And he’ll say, ‘Yes, you were.’
"As Geoff and Yasmeen’s relationship progressed we knew that something was going to happen, but we didn’t know quite what.
"I’m so grateful to have him by my side."