Coronation Street actress Julia Goulding has spoken candidly about filming what she describes as 'crushing' scenes for an upcoming emotional storyline involving her character Shona Platt and husband David Platt.
Devastating Discovery During Routine Scan
In episodes airing soon, Shona Platt (played by Julia Goulding) and David Platt (Jack P Shepherd) receive life-changing news during what should have been a routine pregnancy scan. The couple's day begins dramatically when David gets into an altercation with police officer Kit Green (Jacob Roberts), resulting in David's arrest for assaulting an officer.
While David struggles to be released to attend the appointment, Shona reluctantly accepts a lift from Sarah (Tina O'Brien) to reach the scan. When David eventually joins her, their initial joy at seeing their baby on the monitor turns to heartbreak when the sonographer identifies a serious problem.
A mass has been detected on their unborn baby's neck, immediately changing the course of their pregnancy journey and testing their relationship to its limits.
Actress Reveals Emotional Toll of Filming
Julia Goulding, who plays Shona, admitted the scenes were particularly challenging to film. 'It's crushing,' she revealed. 'It would be for anyone. They were really difficult scenes to do.'
The actress drew on her own experiences as a mother to portray the emotional turmoil. 'Because I've got children of my own and I've had scans, I know how excited you feel before them, and then for them to come out and not to be able to celebrate and have joy with something so joyful, is really, really sad.'
Relationship Strains and Different Perspectives
The storyline explores how Shona and David process the devastating news in contrasting ways, leading to significant tension between them. 'She's thinking that he's not that bothered,' Julia explained about Shona's perspective. 'He's thinking that he's doing a really good job of seeming okay with it.'
A special episode will show the same events from both characters' viewpoints, highlighting their isolation and misunderstanding of each other's coping mechanisms. Shona mistakes David's attempt to be strong as casual indifference, while David struggles to express his true feelings.
Julia elaborated on Shona's emotional state: 'She just feels very alone, lost, scared, all the things that you would do, and it hasn't helped with him not turning up to the first scan and being late for the second one, so she's not feeling as confident in his support.'
Difficult Decisions Ahead
The couple receives further devastating news during their consultation: their baby girl has a tumour on her neck that could be cancerous. They face an impossible choice between terminating the pregnancy or proceeding with complex, risky surgery that endangers both Shona and their unborn daughter.
Julia confirmed that termination isn't an option for Shona: 'She's just like, "Yep, surgery, we're doing it." And I think that's where a lot of the conflict comes in, because it's a particular type of operation and it's incredibly rare, and there is a risk to mother's life and baby's life.'
David's concerns about the risks lead him to suggest at least considering termination, creating further conflict between the couple as they navigate this heartbreaking situation together, yet feeling completely alone.
This powerful Coronation Street storyline, scheduled to air in November 2025, promises to be one of the most emotionally charged plots of the year, exploring the raw realities of pregnancy complications and relationship strains under extreme pressure.
