Coronation Street fans can expect an emotional Weatherfield goodbye next month, as Mollie Gallagher bows out from her fan-favourite role as Nina Lucas after nearly seven years on the ITV soap.
Digital Spy recently broke the exclusive news that Mollie had filmed her final scenes on the cobbles, and had already landed an exciting role as she prepares to take part in the UK tour of The Silence of the Lambs.
In her professional theatre debut, Mollie is taking on the role of Clarice Starling, and is starring alongside ex-EastEnders actor John Partridge and former Emmerdale cast member Oliver Farnworth.
Here, Mollie chats exclusively to Digital Spy about why it was time to say goodbye to Nina…
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Hi Mollie! We were sad to hear that you’d left Corrie – did you bow out specifically to do this new project?
“Yeah, it was a tricky one because I love Corrie so much. I love everyone there and I love Nina, too. When I graduated from drama school and got the audition for Corrie, I thought that Nina was a dream character for me to play.
“I was really passionate about portraying this alternative character. We kept her quite similar the whole time, which was important to me. I never wanted Nina to lose her goth look and who she is – I think the audience have always really appreciated that.
“So it was a really hard situation, but as an actor, you do want to challenge yourself by trying new things. This new job is completely different because it’s theatre. It was sad – in an ideal world I’d be doing both, but that just wouldn’t work!”
Earlier this week, you said on This Morning that it may not be the end of Nina’s story! Was it important to you that she wasn’t killed off?
“Yes, I would not have been able to deal with that! Nina is such a unique character and I think there’s so much to do with her. That’s why I don’t think her story is over.
“There’s her art – when she came into the show, she was really talented. I wanted to explore more of that. Obviously there’s the brilliant relationship with Roy, too. I think that’s my favourite part of being at Corrie – Nina and Roy. So I hope that it isn’t the end.”
How did David Neilson, who plays Roy, feel about you going? Is he supportive of your decision?
“Oh yeah, David’s amazing. He just thought it was a brilliant opportunity and sometimes you have to do different things, don’t you? Hopefully one day I can go back to Corrie and continue the story. For now, as sad as it is not to be playing Nina, it’s nice to be playing a completely different role.”
So how have the rehearsals for The Silence of the Lambs been going so far?
“They’re going great. I’m having the best time. It’s great to work with Nikolai Foster, who’s the director of the show – he’s absolutely brilliant. It’s really full-on, but I love that. I come home every night and I feel really fulfilled, so I’m absolutely loving it.”
Marc Brenner
Why did this project appeal to you so much?
“Number one, I love theatre. When I was growing up and doing drama, it was all about being on stage and that is how I fell in love with it. This is my first professional theatre job, which is something I’ve always wanted to do, alongside TV of course.
“Also, The Silence of the Lambs is one of the greatest films ever and I’m a massive horror and psychological thriller fan. So when this came up, it couldn’t have been anything better for me, really.”
What can we expect from the production? With a famous story, you can either completely reimagine it or stay faithful to what people know…
“The writer, Gina Gionfriddo, is absolutely brilliant. It’s adapted from Thomas Harris’s novel, so there are some differences from the film but nothing major. Although we’re going into some really big theatres. The film has beautiful close-ups – obviously we don’t have that, because we’re on stage and every part is exposed. There’s no hiding, there’s no picking the best shot!
“So you have to be bold on stage. You have to really embody that physical side and that’s where the character’s voice becomes so important. My character, Clarice, is an FBI trainee and considers herself as an underdog. She’s in this world dominated by men and she’s constantly having to prove herself.”
You’re working with John Partridge and Oliver Farnworth, two familiar soap faces! Had you met before?
“No, I’ve met them both for the first time doing this project and they are both brilliant. They’re the two actors I work with the most. We get on very well, which is what you want! They’re brilliant actors as well.
“It’s nice, because it’s this little soap bubble. We’ve got EastEnders, Emmerdale, Corrie – and Ollie did Corrie as well. They’ve been in the industry for years so it’s nice to learn from them and get some advice. I’m very lucky.
“I’ve also enjoyed talking to Ollie about his Corrie days – it was quite a few years ago now that he was in the show, so there are some similarities with my time but also some differences.”
Marc Brenner
The play has a long run – almost a year – is that daunting or just exciting to be busy for so long?
“It’s great to know that I’m in a job for a whole year. Corrie is a bit of an anomaly in the industry – I was there for seven years and it’s an actor’s dream to have a job that has a little bit of security.
“Now with The Silence of the Lambs, I know it’s a year’s job. I’m grateful for everything I’ll continue to learn over the course of the tour. An actor’s goal is to constantly develop – it’s really important.”
How has it been to make the transition from soap to stage?
“It happened very quickly, the turnaround from getting the part to leaving Corrie. When people leave the show, they make the decision for different reasons. Some people want to work on other projects, but you never know when that project might come to you. But for me, I didn’t want to leave Nina behind. I wanted to do both but you can’t do both of them unfortunately – that’s life!
“This role is completely different, which is good. I don’t want to just be playing the same part. Clarice is very different to Nina and I, so one of my favourite aspects is that transformation. Clarice’s mission is to be taken seriously and she means business.”
Nina’s had a quiet time on screen, in comparison to her bigger stories earlier on when she first joined Weatherfield. Did you mind that, or did you just see it as part of being in soaps?
“Yeah, it is part of the job. You just think to yourself, ‘I’m so lucky to be in this brilliant job’ and that helps! But I do thrive off chaos, to be honest, and I love being busy. You know when you’re so busy and you go to bed and you think: ‘Oh my gosh, I can finally sleep!’ I love that feeling at the end of the day of being so tired because you’ve had a day of feeling fulfilled.
“When you’re not as busy, it can get tricky thinking: ‘What do I do with my time?’ I do have ADHD, so my brain does work well with some structure and routine.
“But it is what it is. There’s a lot of characters in the show. It just depends on where the storylines are at and which characters align with the stories that they’re telling. I think it happens to everyone. You have busy times, quiet patches and that’s all just part of the job.”
ITV
Do you have a final message for the Corrie fans who’ve supported you?
“Well, without the fans there’s no show, is there? All of the support from the people who watch Corrie really means a lot to all of us. To everyone who supported me specifically – I read the messages and it makes me smile. It gives me confidence, so thank you to everybody who’s been so supportive.
“And hopefully some of the Corrie fans will get some tickets – it’ll be nice for them to see me in a different role!”
The Silence of the Lambs opens at Leicester’s Curve theatre on 1 August, before embarking on a UK and Ireland tour. Buy tickets here.
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