Samia Ghadie has "found it tricky" to see her character take a darker turn.
The soap star plays Maria Connor in the show, and the fictional hairdresser has suffered a meltdown after catching her boyfriend Marcus Dent (Charlie Condou) with Todd Grimshaw (Bruno Langley).
Asked about the change, Samia told the Daily Mirror newspaper’s We Love TV magazine: "I have found it tricky, to be honest, because Maria is usually so nice. She has always been a victim.
"But I can understand why she’s had a breakdown – years ago she had a stillbirth, her husband Liam was murdered and then she got engaged to his killer.
"I think the situation with Marcus was the straw that broke the camel’s back."
Maria’s downward spiral has seen her get close to former lover Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall), convincing her they should be together as she stalks him and sends messages – which she tricks him into believing are from his abusive ex Kirsty Soames (Natalie Gumede).
Asked if her character has had a breakdown, Samia responded: "Yes. There’s no other explanation for it.
"In her head it makes sense that Tyrone loves her and if they hadn’t split up known of this would have happened … It might be true but you can’t go back in time, can you?
"She thought she had it all with Marcus. Now her world has fallen apart and she’s looking back at all the good times."
Samia Ghadie talks Maria Connor’s ‘tricky’ Corrie meltdown
