Coronation Street star Samia Longchambon has joined forces with Amy Hart to shine a light on the issue of internet trolling.
The Maria Connor actress, 40, and Love Island star, 30, met up on the iconic cobbles to film a powerful video, released on Tuesday 26 July, for the hit ITV soap's YouTube channel talking about their own personal experiences.
Speaking over a cup of tea at Roy’s Rolls, Samia and Amy opened up about the emotional damage caused by online trolls, what they would say to the keyboard warriors and advice for anyone going through the same.
Only recently, Samia has been drawing upon her own experience of online abuse to help film her character Maria's latest storyline, where she was trolled after getting a new role on the local council.
Talking about the storyline and the campaign, Samia said: "I have experienced trolling in a different way to Maria, but I was really pleased when Coronation Street said they were going to do the trolling storyline, because I think it is a current issue that unfortunately a lot of people have experienced.
"For me personally, if I was watching Maria’s storyline, it would help me to realise that I am not alone and that a lot of people go through this. I hope it makes people who might have left those nasty comments think twice about it in the future."
While Amy first encountered online abuse after appearing on Love Island in 2019, and in September 2021, Amy gave evidence in Parliament to a committee of MPs investigating influencer culture and examining the absence of social media regulation, where the DCMS select committee heard how she received death threats from children as young as 13.
Talking about working with Coronation Street and Samia, Amy said: "I am a massive Corrie fan, and was delighted to be invited to Coronation Street to talk about this hugely important topic with Samia – who plays one of my fave characters, Maria.
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"I think it’s imperative that soap operas cover trolling and online bullying issues, as it shows the devastating effects to a mass audience of all ages. The sad truth is that trolls are all ages, genders and from all walks of life. I should know, as I have been sent abusive and upsetting messages by a whole range of people.
"Hopefully this powerful storyline will help break the negative trolling culture, and in turn may even save someone’s life."
Coronation Street continues on weekdays on ITV.
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