Sydney Martin’s TV star best friends are her ‘rock’ through Coronation Street Betsy storyline that shocked her

Never tackled before, Coronation Street’s long-teased coming of age storyline for teenager Betsy Swain has caused a huge impact with fans.

As expected by actress Sydney Martin, it has proved to be controversial as she admits her understanding that it is ‘not palatable’ for many.

Betsy has suffered two strokes which could have lifelong consequences, triggered by an act of consensual strangulation during a sexual encounter with Dylan Wilson (Liam McCheyne).

I have seen it myself through social media and Metro readers’ comments – some embrace the story for its topical authenticity covering a reality of Betsy’s generation, while others have been left gobsmacked to be educated of the dangers of strangulation, which medical experts confirm has no safe way of participating in.

Meanwhile, others have slammed the dark nature of the plotline, labelling it too sordid for the timeslot that Corrie airs on.

Whatever stance taken though, Sydney is just happy to see it’s something being talked about.

She told me in a recent chat: ‘I always knew it was going to be very divided, very contrasting. It seems to have been quite well-received, but also, I know that, for the older generations, it wasn’t going to be as palatable. But I think that’s exactly what we wanted.

‘You just have to take one look at the reaction to understand why these topics stay taboo. I think, negative or positive, people are talking about it, and that’s exactly the reaction we wanted from it.’ 

It’s a huge story for a young actress of 24, playing younger, to take on – groundbreaking, topical and important to get right.

But, as someone who has spoken to Sydney many times and knows her commitment to Betsy and Corrie as a whole, it came as little surprise to me that she has researched the issue to death and came to our interview fully articulated and passionate about it all.

‘Because I found out about the storyline last November, so quite a while back, and my brain works at a million miles an hour, I came home and researched way too much in one night, because that’s just the way I am,’ she explained. ‘Then I drove back to work and asked a million more questions there.  

‘In terms of charities, we worked with Safeline and the Institute for Addressing Strangulation (IFAS). We spoke to them and the Stroke Association. It was so helpful. That’s when we heard about the initial statistics and how normalised it is in society, even in songs.

‘I mean, I went to see Wuthering Heights at the start of the year, and in the carriage, he’s got his hands round her throat. It shows that we’re made to feel so accustomed to it.’

Accurately describing the story as ‘powerful and informative’, Sydney – who has the experience of being in the same generation as Betsy and Dylan – told me that she wasn’t overly shocked by the subject matter.

Indeed, forms of media, access to porn and pressure on girls and boys to not be ‘frigid or vanilla’ has helped to normalise acts like strangulation for that age group.

But what did shock her were the stats around it all.

‘When I first got told about it, I learnt that it takes more pressure to open a can of Coke than it does to cause brain damage. There was a study where they did a blood test on 30 women, 15 who had partaken and 15 who hadn’t, and the 15 who had all showed signs of brain damage. The statistics were shocking.  

‘I remember when I spoke to people slightly older than me, people in the make-up room, and they were so shocked by it, and that made me shocked because I realised how normalised it was for the younger generation.

‘The initial statistics really shocked me too. Especially how young… I put one on my Instagram story; it was something like 55% of 16–34-year-olds had tried it. That’s a really high statistic!’

Another thing which has been initially doubted by many watching before they then accessed details of the law, has been Dylan’s part in it all.

Surely, as a consensual act, he isn’t liable for the injuries in a criminal sense? Well, that’s where many are mistaken. Even though Dylan did not set out to hurt Betsy, causing injuries like this could land him a prison sentence of up to five years.

It’s a really deep issue, Sydney mused in our conversation for Metro. She certainly has a lot of empathy for Dylan, as she does Betsy.

‘There’s the added layer of her being in this really safe relationship where this awful thing has happened, and to see that play out, because there’s no bad guy in it, how does that go?

‘It’s such a tricky situation. She’s got a detective as a mum, who’s going to know the ins and outs of the law, which the average person wouldn’t. You’ve got a mum, rightfully so, absolutely livid. As you would be; that’s her baby.  

‘And then you’ve got a teenage girl who has slept with her partner, a very common teenage activity, and as we’ve seen from the statistics, there’s that misplaced pressure to not be ‘vanilla’ or ‘frigid’. To put that on Dylan, and seeing Liam play it out, even in that hour episode, there’s such an air of innocence to it all. In both of their eyes, they’ve done no wrong. They’re just experimenting with something that seems so natural to them because of their generation.

‘I mean, the law was only brought in last year that you have to prove your age to watch porn. These are people who have only just turned 18 who would have grown up with access to porn and access to that side of things, and to see sex portrayed in a light that’s not realistic and that’s heightened. So, I really feel for both of them in this situation.

‘As the audience has reacted, they didn’t know that this could happen. He didn’t know that this could happen either. He wouldn’t intentionally hurt her, and I believe that. I think that’s what’s so important.’

Sydney was in disbelief when she was first introduced to the storyline by show boss Kate Brooks, and immediately jumped at the chance to take it on. While Betsy – who has been shot, found a dead body and been in a car crash – has had plenty to do, this marks the first time she leads her own story, and it may be the most talked about of the year.

It’s a lot of pressure but the actress feels completely in safe hands with it all. As well as the ongoing support of her on-screen soap family – particularly Vicky Myers and Alison King, who play Betsy’s mums Lisa and Carla Connor-Swain – Sydney also spent an hour on the phone with Emmerdale’s Mark Charnock who, as Marlon Dingle, portrayed – very effectively – a stroke storyline.

They aren’t the only ones who have Sydney’s back, though! Her real life BFFs know exactly what she is facing, given they too have led some massive and topical soap storylines at a young age, both winning huge accolades and critical acclaim.

Corrie co-star Cait Fitton portrayed a storyline in which Lauren Bolton was groomed and viciously attacked by predator Joel, while much celebrated Hollyoaks star Isabelle Smith was central to a sibling incest abuse story as Frankie Dean – arguably the Channel 4 show’s biggest and most successful storyline in years.

It’s a small world – Sydney and Isabelle trained together, and fans will know that she quickly became very close to Cait when she first stepped into Weatherfield.

With friends like these, how can Sydney go wrong?

Speaking with such an enthusiatic joy, she said: ‘They are my biggest rocks throughout it all. Soap is such a unique world, and a very misunderstood world, I think. I think people don’t know that you could be doing up to 11 scenes in one day, and you could be filming multiple days in one day, with all different directors.

‘And it’s not smooth sailing all the time, and this is why we have such incredible teams around us. But to have those two girls in particular, I would not be able to do this without them.  

‘I told them as soon as I heard in November. I rang up Izzy and spoke to Cait straight away. They were nothing but supportive. They’ve both been there through the big, issue-based storylines and what comes with that.

‘I’ve already had the beautiful messages from people that have been through it and see themselves, and that’s obviously a massive perk to the job. But just to have them to lean on, they are just gorgeous human beings.

‘If I’m very hard on myself or I’ve had a particularly hard day at work, I can just ring them, and they get it. There’s a handful of soaps in the UK, so I’m very lucky to have people. Izzy and I trained together, so she knows who I am as an actor, and how I work and how my brain works, and to have them is just amazing. They really get it.’

Moving forward, we will see Betsy try and adjust to her new reality. We will also see her go through physio and other recovery processes, while also exploring the impact on her mums, as well as those who love her, such as Ryan, Roy and Lauren.

Conflicted over her feelings for Dylan and what should happen, there is also the matter of the legal implications and where this could lead which, either way it ends, will have ramifications for both Dylan and Betsy.