As news of Betsy Swain’s (Sydney Martin) stroke, and the reasons behind it began to spread through Coronation Street, a number of characters are having some very important conversations.
Betsy’s ordeal began after she and boyfriend, Dylan Wilson (Liam McCheyne), participated in consensual strangulation during sex, with the pressure he applied to her neck damaging an artery and bringing on a stroke.
Ryan Connor (Ryan Prescott) found Betsy unconscious after suffering a collapse at home and rushed her straight to hospital, where the true horror of what had transpired soon became apparent.
While Betsy’s mum Lisa Connor-Swain (Vicky Myers) lay the blame entirely at Dylan’s feet and reported him to the police, desperate to see justice for what happened to her baby girl, Dylan retaliated by accusing Betsy of cheating on him with Brody Michaelis (Ryan Mulvey), disbelieving that what he did could’ve caused such damage.
Both Betsy and Dylan’s lives have utterly collapsed in the aftermath, with her being left suffering with aphasia and dysarthria as he comes to terms with what’s happened.
In yesterday’s episode, a conversation regarding strangulation broke out in the salon between Maria Connor (Samia Longchambon) and Summer Spellman (Harriet Bibby) as Maria admitted that, like many others, she had no idea that it could lead to a stroke.
‘It’s crazy, like the slightest bit of pressure in the wrong place…’ she said.
Summer concurred: ‘Who knows where the right place is, unless you’re a doctor or a nurse?’
After Maria incorrectly assumed that Summer hadn’t ever tried consensual strangulation, the teen was quick to correct her. ‘Why does everyone think I’m like the Virgin Mary?!’ she lamented. ‘I’ve done it…I won’t be doing it again!’
Summer went on to ask if Maria had had that conversation with her son, Liam and step-son, Jake about the situation to reinforce the dangers that come along with consensual strangulation.
Flustered, Maria replied: ‘We want to, but…’
‘I know it’s cringe, but it’s better to come from you,’ Summer advised, to which Maria voiced her concern that it’d sound as though they were gossiping about a young girls sex life.
Maria’s given further food for thought when Summer points out that it could’ve been Liam lying in the hospital.
The plotline was conceived as a way to raise awareness surrounding the incredibly little know risks of consensual strangulation during sex, which can occur regardless of how much or little pressure is used.
Coronation Street has been worked closely alongside the Institute for Addressing Strangulation (IFAS), The Stroke Association and Safeline while plotting the story to ensure complete accuracy.
‘By consulting extensively with IFAS, the Stroke Association and Safeline, we aimed to handle Betsy’s journey with the care and sensitivity it deserves while sparking a difficult and somewhat contentious conversation that helps raise awareness of the risks involved in partaking in such acts’ said Corrie producer, Kate Brooks.
‘When I first got told about it, I learnt that it takes more pressure to open a can of Coke than it does to cause brain damage,’ Sydney Martin exclusively told Metro.
‘There was a study where they did a blood test on 30 women, 15 who had partaken and 15 who hadn’t, and the 15 who had all showed signs of brain damage.’
Speaking on the propensity for young people to partake in consensual strangulation, she said: ‘The initial statistics really shocked me. Especially how young… I put one on my Instagram story; it was something like 55% of 16–34-year-olds had tried it. That’s a really high statistic! It’s an interesting one.
‘You’ve got a teenage girl who has slept with her partner, a very common teenage activity, and as we’ve seen from the statistics, there’s that pressure to not be vanilla or ‘frigid”, Sydney continued.
‘To put that on Dylan, and seeing Liam play it out, even in Wednesday’s episode, there’s such an air of innocence to it all. In both of their eyes, they’ve done no wrong. They’re just experimenting with something that seems so natural.’
