Jane Danson has revealed a real-life mum helped her prepare for the ‘heartbreaking’ storyline about her on-screen son Oliver dying of mitochondrial disease.
The Coronation Street star, 42, spoke with Liz Curtis, whose eight-month-old little girl Lily passed away from the condition in 2007.
Although admitting that the script had her sobbing at times, Jane said that she’s determined to do the tale justice and ‘honour’ mums like Liz, reports The Mirror.
Heartbreaking: Jane Danson has revealed a real-life mum helped her prepare for the difficult Coronation Street storyline about her on-screen son Oliver dying of mitochondrial disease
In Corrie Jane’s character Leanne Battersby has been fighting to save her and Steve McDonald’s son Oliver after he was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease.
However despite all of Leanne’s efforts with doctors and the courts, this week the youngster will have his life support machine turned off.
Speaking ahead of the difficult scenes airing, Jane detailed how Liz helped her prepare for the role by telling her in detail what happened with her own child, Lily.
Jane said: ‘She is just an incredible lady and I took a lot of inspiration from the things she was saying and I just wanted to honour people like her.’
Tragic: The actress, 42, spoke with Liz Curtis, whose eight-month-old little girl Lily passed away from the condition in 2007 (Liz is pictured with her little girl)
The actress explained how Liz told her about the days after the loss of her daughter, saying she had to keep on going as she had two other children to think of.
Jane said: ‘She wanted to do something positive out of something so tragic, which is why she set up the foundation [the Lily Foundation] and she does some incredible work. I don’t know whether I would be as strong as that.’
Mitochondrial disease is an inherited chronic illness that can be present at birth or develop later in life.
It causes debilitating physical, developmental, and cognitive disabilities, seizures, learning disabilities and organ failure.
Mother and son: Despite all of character Leanne Battersby’s efforts, this week little Oliver will have his life support machine turned off
Helping families: Jane said that she’s determined to do the tale justice and ‘honour’ mums like Liz in her portrayal of the devastating story (Liz is pictured with her baby and Lily’s father Dave)
Speaking more about the difficult storyline, Jane emphasised that she’s determined to do it justice and hopes that it will help people talk about loss.
Jane said: ‘You have this huge sense of responsibility and part of that is understanding that person and what they’ve been through.
She says: ‘It is in parts a very hard watch, even for me… It is hard and it is difficult. Death at any age is a bit of a taboo, and it is a child so it is heartbreaking.’
Jane has previously discussed how she had to put down her scripts while reading the storyline because she was crying so much she couldn’t see.
During an appearance on Lorraine earlier in November Jane revealed she cried while reading about Oliver’s story- calling the scripts ‘possibly the best’ she’ll ever have.
She said: ‘It’s been really tough. We’ve worked really closely with the Lily Foundation. A lovely lady called Liz Curtis sadly lost her own baby when she was eight-months-old, little Lily, and she told me her story.
‘As a parent, it pulls on your heartstrings anyway, but as a parent, it feels even more overwhelming. The scripts have been so wonderful, it’s hard not to cry.’
She went on: ‘The last few weeks we’ve had have been really tough, and the next couple of weeks on-screen are quite full-on.
‘I think they’re possibly the best scripts I will ever have, in all honesty. I had to put them down several times, because it is truly heart-breaking.
So sad: Jane recently revealed that she cried while reading the heartbreaking scripts, which she described as ‘possibly the best’ she’ll ever have during an appearance on Lorraine
Tough: A recent scene from Corrie saw Steve tell Leanne that they have to let son Oliver go
‘So it wasn’t hugely difficult [to cry] because it is so sad.’
Jane added: ‘We are really proud of this story, and we hope it can raise awareness for all those families who are sadly going through this for real.’
Meanwhile the soap star, who has played Leanne for 20 years, described how the plot is the ‘most important’ she’s had since being in the show, and is also the most ‘challenging’.
She explained: ‘It’s been really overwhelming. We’ve been discussing this storyline for quite some time.
‘And even though across the years I have had so many wonderful stories, this has felt like the most important, certainly the most challenging.
‘There are a lot of families out there going through what Leanne is going through for real, so we had a huge responsibility to get this right.’
The Lily Foundation provides support to families, aims to raise public awareness and funds scientific research. More can be found at thelilyfoundation.org.uk
‘Huge responsibility to get this right’: Jane said that she wants to do the storyline justice for all the families going through similar situations