'Tina just wants to go to sleep and never wake up'

Coronation Street Michelle Keegan reveals Tina’s grief over the loss of her dad could be the death of her... Tina’s not been coping at all since the death of her dad. Why has she gone to pieces like this? "Because she was so close to him. She looked after him and now she’s here with nobody to turn to and nobody to look after her. She’s locked herself in the flat, she’s not eating and she’s not sleeping properly." Couldn’t she turn to her mum? "Tina’s mum remarried and she doesn’t get on with her stepdad… or her mum really. But I’d love it if her mum turned up at some point. It would be really interesting to see what their relationship is like." What made Tina dump Jason just when she needed him most? "He didn’t understand her grief. It’s not about not loving him, it’s just that he’s not right for her at the moment." How would you describe her state of mind? "She’s depressed. She doesn’t care about anything. She’s stopped looking after herself and has shut herself away from the world." It’s been reported she’ll come close to killing herself. Is that really what she wants? "I’m not sure she’s consciously given up but she is in self-destruct mode." How does Graeme get involved? "He notices she’s not been out and breaks into the flat." She admits to him ‘I miss my dad so much I want to die'... "I thought if I don’t eat anything I’d just go to sleep and never wake up." Can Graeme help?" "I don’t know... She has a way to go yet. She’s in a real dark place…" Are you enjoying the storyline? "I am, although I get a shock when I look in the mirror. I’ve been wearing Tina’s dad’s fleece, no make-up and they put dark circles round my eyes. When I finish work I feel desperate for a bit of slap sometimes!" Are you still in touch with Reece Dinsdale who played Tina’s dad? "Yes, he sent me a text to say he’d been watching and thought I was doing really well."

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Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.