Family tragedy behind Coronation Street star's screen tears

Apr 27 2008 By Billy Sloan

Showbiz The Big Interview Family Tragedy Is Behind Samia Smith's Screen Tears

SAMIA SMITH wasn't acting when she filmed the biggest scenes of her TV soap career.

The Coronation Street star broke down in tears at the heartbreaking moment her character - hairdresser Maria Connor - delivered a stillborn baby.

And she revealed the emotionally-charged scenes pushed her over the edge after learning about the brother she never had.

Samia's mum had never told her she lost a baby son before the actress or her brother were born.

And after hearing about the storyline, mum Patsy advised her on how to deal with it.

Samia, 25, said: "They used a prosthetic baby for the delivery scene in the maternity unit.

"Earlier that morning the director came to me and said, 'I'm not going to show the baby to you until we start recording because it's so real I want your reaction to be genuine when you first see it.

"When they handed the baby to me I felt really sad. I couldn't stop crying. So the tears you see are real, absolutely.

"The baby looked so lifelike I couldn't speak for 10 minutes after the cameras stopped rolling.

"I was thinking, 'I'm portraying what so many women actually go through for real.' It was very draining.

"I was dreading filming the scenes. I was really conscious of getting it right. After every take I'd go straight to the director and say, 'Is that OK?' "I wanted to do it justice for all the women who have actually gone through this for real."

This week, Corrie fans will see Maria go to Weatherfield General after sensing something is wrong when her baby stops kicking.

She is distraught when a scan reveals the child is dead. Her first reaction is to share the dreadful news with husband Liam (Rob James Collier) but he is so thrilled at the prospect of becoming a dad she can't bring herself to tell him.

The emotional storyline really hit home with Samia when Patsy revealed the same thing had happened to her when she was six-and-a-half months pregnant.

Samia said: "My mum had to go through the ordeal of giving birth and it's painful for her now to even talk about it.

"I got a little bit of advice from my mum on just how harrowing an experience this can be...and just how sad and painful it is.

"Because of her I wanted to do the scenes well but it left me feeling exhausted.

"I know she'll be watching it at home - as will thousands of women who have also been through it - so I needed to do it right for them."

Samia worked closely with midwives who have experienced the trauma as part of their duties.

She said: "I did some research about stillborn babies and spoke a lot with a midwife we had on set with us. I kept checking with her to make sure I wasn't doing anything wrong. I wanted to make it very real.

"The most surprising thing I found out was that people still don't know why babies are stillborn - there's no rhyme or reason for it.

"Maria has not put a foot wrong during her pregnancy but it has still happened to her. It's a very random thing which affects thousands of women." Samia also revealed Corrie producers only gave the tragic plot the go-ahead after checking it would not infringe on the actress's personal life.

Two years ago she married property developer Matt Smith and the couple are itching to start a family of their own.

"I'm really broody and Matt and I have talked about having a baby," revealed Samia. "Usually, you don't get to hear the storyline for your character very far in advance but at Christmas I was told by the producer what they were planning.

"Because it was such a traumatic plot he wanted to make sure I wasn't pregnant or intending to get pregnant over the next few months in case I might not have wanted to do it.

"When I get around to bringing my own child into the world it will help me appreciate the joys of motherhood.

"I thought being pregnant was a really loving, warm experience, which I'm sure part of it is. But there's also another side to it - the worry and the stress of it all.

"It will definitely make me worry a lot more when - please God - I do get pregnant that everything goes OK.

"There are no outward signs to having a stillborn child. It just happens."

Samia has refused to watch the harrowing scenes in the maternity unit.

She said: "It was traumatic to film scenes like those then try to get back to reality again.

"I live quite a long drive away from the Granada studios so I try to switch off in the car, listen to some music and try to take my mind off things.

"I also made sure I had a big glass of wine waiting for me when I got home."

Samia has enjoyed playing Maria opposite screen husband Liam.

Her character constantly worries he is going to fall for the charms of his sexy sister-in-law Carla (Alison King), who keeps trying to lead him astray.

Maria was petrified he was secretly in love with her beause Carla's was the first name he cried out when he regained consciousness after a horror fall on holiday.

"Carla is almost like the wicked witch of the west and it's been a great laugh having onscreen battles with Alison when we're bitching at each other," said Samia, laughing.

"I think Liam really does love Maria and if it wasn't for Carla they would live happily ever after.

"He's been so looking forward to having the baby because this was the child who was supposed to cement their love and bring them closer together."

Like millions of Corrie fans, Samia can't wait to discover what the soap's scriptwriters have planned for her next.

She said: "I sometimes feel Maria needs somebody to put their arms around her and give her a cuddle. But at other times I think she needs someone to give her a good shake too.

"In the scenes where she can't bring herself to talk to Liam you just want to strangle her.

"But I think people will take Maria a bit more seriously and this will make her stronger. She could be someone to be reckoned with now.

"I'm happy for them to do whatever they like with Maria...as long as they don't kill her off."

"My mum went through the ordeal of giving birth to a stillborn child..I wanted to do it well for her"