'Coronation Street' Debbie Rush talks Owen, Faye slap plot: Interview

Anna Windass's romance with Owen Armstrong hits the rocks on Coronation Street this week after the no-nonsense builder lashes out at her adopted daughter Faye.

When a family emergency takes Anna away from Weatherfield for the night, Owen (Ian Puleston-Davies) steps in to look after Faye. However, he soon receives a shock as he discovers that the troubled youngster was responsible for pouring creosote into his fish pond, killing his new pets.

Deciding that Faye (Ellie-Louise Leach) needs discipline, Owen smacks her on the back of the legs - but Anna is livid when she later finds out what he has done, leaving the future of their relationship in jeopardy. Can the couple reach an understanding over their different approaches to parenting, or is it over between them?

Here, Debbie Rush - who plays Anna - chats to Digital Spy about the storyline.

How does the Owen and Faye storyline all come about?
"Well, Anna's brother has an accident so she's needed elsewhere - she goes off to see him and help the family. Because Anna has nobody to look after Faye while she's away, Owen kindly offers to step in. Owen has daughters of his own and Anna trusts him, so she's happy to leave Faye with him overnight. But everything goes wrong while she's away, and that's when the incident between Owen and Faye happens."

When Anna returns home the next day, Owen tells her that he's had a row with Faye after discovering that she killed the fish. How does Anna react?
"Anna is very disappointed in Faye and she's also quite worried, but at the end of the day, she has adopted a 9-year-old girl who has a lot of issues and concerns of her own. It gives Anna a bit of a wake-up call that Faye isn't as settled and grounded as she thought - she still has a lot of issues that need to be worked out."

Not long afterwards, Anna hears Faye's side of the story and how Owen slapped her as a punishment. How does Anna feel about that?
"Anna is absolutely devastated, because she really trusted Owen. Anna doesn't believe in smacking children full-stop - she's part of the 'Full Stop' campaign. So she's absolutely distraught and devastated that Owen has done this."

Faye originally came from a violent family, which makes the situation all the more alarming for Anna…
"Yes, she did, and this is something that we've not really touched on with viewers until now - Faye's past. But Faye has a very troubled history and that's why she ended up in care. Faye has now put all of her trust into Anna, and it's only recently that she's started calling Anna 'mom'. As Anna has made so much progress with Faye and there's a trust between them, Owen doing this is quite a big thing."

Even though Anna doesn't agree with Owen hitting Faye, does she agree that her bad behavior needs to be addressed?
"Yes, even though Anna doesn't believe in smacking children, she has always tried to be quite disciplined with Faye. But what happens as a result of this incident is that Anna realizes Faye's issues are quite deep-rooted, so she might have to take a different tack with her in future. It's not that Faye needs more discipline, it's just that Anna might have to approach things in a different way and understand her a bit better."

Can Anna trust Owen after this?
"I think it's going to be very difficult. As you see the story progress, you'll see that even though Owen smacks Faye, it's not an abuse storyline and it's not something that's happened before. It's just that Owen has a very different parenting style to Anna.

"I think anybody who's in a relationship where there are children from other marriages will really relate to this storyline. Anna and Owen are both good parents with good hearts, but their approaches to parenting are very different."

Do you think it would be a shame if this situation split up Anna and Owen for good?
"It would be a shame, because they're one of those couples who got together quite unexpectedly and it all happened out of the blue. I think Anna and Owen have had a proper love story. Anna tried her hardest to resist it, because she didn't want another fella on the block so quickly after Eddie. But I think it's plainly obvious that they've got a lot of chemistry and they are madly in love.

"After this incident, you will see that even though it's very, very difficult and Anna totally disagrees with what Owen's done, she knows that he hasn't done it because he's a child-beater - it's just his different approach to parenting. They've got a lot to discuss and work through, so we'll have to see what happens."

Can you see this story provoking a lot of discussion among the Corrie viewers?
"Yeah, I think it probably will. I think you'll have half the viewers thinking that Faye needs pulling in line and that Owen was right, and the other half thinking that Faye just needs more understanding and cuddles. I think it will definitely split opinions. Even though Anna is so angry about what's happened, I think the viewers will be able to see both sides of the story."

Ellie, who plays Faye, is still a relatively new addition to the show. Have you enjoyed having her on board in the past few months?
"Definitely - Ellie is an absolute little star. She's so well-behaved and she's such a pleasure to have on set. She's really, really professional - it's great."

Bringing in Faye, Owen's family and Chesney has brought about a new era for the Windass clan. Have you enjoyed freshening things up a bit in the past year?
"It's been really nice, because now we have a big bubbling pot of different people in there. I think we are probably quite a modern family on the street. It's three different types of family who have all joined together, and I think that's something that happens a lot in real life. It's been really interesting to explore that."

Anna never did marry Eddie, so if she works things out with Owen, would you like to see a Corrie wedding on the horizon?
"That would be really good - I think we should have a Corrie special for it, where we all go off somewhere glamorous and sunny! Anna was an awful lot younger than Eddie when they first got together, and then when their relationship progressed and they had Gary, Eddie never asked her to marry him. Poor old Eddie - once he was finally ready to commit and he did ask her, it was too late as he'd let her down too many times.

"It's not that Anna is against marriage, it's just that it was never right with Eddie. If Owen asked Anna to marry him, I think she'd probably accept his offer straight away! I think we've seen quite a different relationship between Anna and Owen - it's been a lot more about passion and love."

With the National Television Awards on the way, why do you think we should all be voting for Corrie as the 'Best Serial Drama' this year?
"I just think that Corrie covers all issues and we manage to fit some humor in there too. I think you can switch it on and feel sad, but still laugh at other things that are going on, which makes it a breath of fresh air. Hopefully our die-hard fans and viewers know all this already. We're all working very hard, so hopefully people will vote for us."

Where would you like the Windasses to go next?
"Well, recently we've been filming some really, really interesting stuff - but I can't say anything about it because it won't be on screen for a while as we film so far in advance.

"I love the fact that all of these different characters have come together and brought about different aspects to the family. I think we're representing what can happen in real life, and the things that we're filming are covering a lot of these issues. The fact that we've all been slung in together makes things really interesting and also creates a lot of drama, so you'll definitely see more drama on the way - and hopefully that's the way things will stay!"

> Coronation Street actor: 'Producers were careful with slapping plot'
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Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays on ITV1.