Coronation Street newcomer Sydney Martin has spoken about her character Betsy Swain’s blackmail
storyline for the first time.
This week’s episodes saw Betsy target Joel Deering for some quick cash after realising that the sinister
lawyer is hiding some dark secrets.
Betsy was initially introduced as an unnamed friend of Sabrina Adetiba, but Friday’s edition (June 28) revealed that she’s the daughter of DS Lisa Swain.
As well as continuing to cause trouble for Joel in upcoming episodes, Betsy will blackmail Carla Connor into giving her a longer-term job at Underworld.
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When Betsy spots Carla in a violent altercation with a yob who’s hassling Roy Cropper, she threatens to tell the police unless Carla hires her at the factory over the summer.
Speaking to Digital Spy and other press, Sydney explained: “Betsy has been brought up by two female detectives, but she seems to have contempt for the law.
“Obviously she’s lost her other mum when she was on duty, so she already has some disrespect for the career. Lisa stayed on, and that causes a bit of tension in their relationship.
“But there’s also this feeling that ‘Mummy can get me out of it’. There’s this playfulness there. She’s a little bit naive and thinks that the law doesn’t apply to her, so she’s teetering on the edge.
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“I’m really bubbly, and so is Betsy, but I wanted to bring this sweetness into her where she could say the most horrible thing but throw the cutest little smile in on the end, which has been so fun to play.
“I think it’s really interesting having this powerful girl character and seeing her fight back. She doesn’t just let it happen – she fights back straight away. I love girls sticking up for girls and fighting back. Betsy is going to give Joel a run for his money.”
Sydney landed the part of Betsy after initially auditioning for other characters at the start of the year.
She explained: “I went up for two smaller roles back in January. It was great to get seen by Coronation Street. I didn’t get them, but it was great to be pit in front of them twice.
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“Then two weeks later they called and asked if I wanted to audition for a series regular, and I was like ‘yeah, that would be great!’
“I got the audition through for Betsy in February, and it was a two-month process. I went up for initial self-tape, then a read-through and screen tests. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I was loving it.
“In this industry it can be so hard, because you have to deal with so much rejection. So just to come in and do a recall, meet Vicky Myers who plays my mum, I just saw it as great experience. I didn’t take it as I was going to get it.
“When you’re starting off in this industry, any bit of hope is lovely, and just to meet people. It’s all about networking, that’s what really makes it a beautiful industry.”
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Sydney, who’s 22, also addressed the six-year age gap between her and 16-year-old Betsy.
She said: “To come in on the Lauren storyline, it’s such an important and massive storyline, so it’s been good to be a little bit older and to understand it more. It’s dealing with serious topics, so it’s been nice, and I’ve had lots of support.
“Betsy is nothing like I was at 16. I love it, though, she’s so confident and so feisty. I’d have loved to have been that confident and that age but it’s been so fun to replay your teenage years but in different shoes. She’s the complete opposite of me.”
