Coronation Street is certainly unafraid to tackle the big topics the real world is facing in the modern day, with a current child grooming storyline getting everybody talking. With Bethany Platt formerly in a relationship with an older man called Nathan, it soon became apparent that he was not the incredible boyfriend he made out to be.

In fact, he had plans to pimp Bethany out to his friend and sell her abroad, all with the help of his evil friend who also served as a police officer.

For many, the storyline has gone too far, but for many more, the storyline is exactly what was needed to highlight the issue. Now, actress Tina O’Brien who plays Bethany’s mother Sarah Platt in the soap has spoken out about the storyline.

“As a mother you are always worried,” the actress explained in a chat with The Mirror. “The dangers for children are so much more complicated these days. All you can do is try to make sure your children talk to you about things.

“And it is important not to shy away from keeping yourself up to date with what sort of dangers are out there and how to speak to your children about these issues.”

Moving on to how the show may help, she added: “Children won’t necessarily listen to their parents if they try to bring up a subject like this, but if they see it on a TV show they are watching as a family it gets people chatting.

“Yes it is a difficult watch sometimes but once Coronation Street had decided to explore it, they couldn’t do it half-heartedly.

“For every person complaining that they can’t watch it there are dozens more praising us for doing it and lots of parents saying it has really sparked conversation in their house.”

Coronation Street airs throughout the week on ITV.