Coronation Street star reveals ‘transfixed’ Jodie’s true motives for David

Jodie’s gone full Fatal Attraction. (Picture: ITV)

Jodie Ramsey is making a play for Shona’s (Julia Goulding) man. Why? Obsession? Revenge? Or worse – true love? Actress Olivia Frances-Brown has the answer.

Jodie has to be the most easily distracted bunny-boiler in Soap history.

After escaping from the back of Emmerdale butler-turned-criminal Graham Foster’s (Andrew Scarborough) van (don’t ask), she came to Watherfield with a simple mission – steal her sister Shona’s family in revenge for leaving home and abandoning her to their toxic dad when they were kids. Simple enough, right?

Wrong. During her short time on the Cobbles, Jodie’s managed to deviate wildly from her vendetta by keeping a weird box of trinkets and mementos, stolen from her neighbours, including Bernie Winter (Jane Hazelgrove) and Brian Packham (Peter Gunn).

She’s also stuck her oar into other people’s affairs, like punishing Mal Roper (Tim Treloar) for stalking Bernie by trolling his business with fake one star reviews, and making an enemy out of Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor) Adam (Sam Robertson) and Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) simply because they told her to clean up after David the Dog.

With that kind of attention span, it’s easier to see how she’d mess up seducing her sister’s husband David Platt (Jack P Shepherd) by doing something stupid like falling in love with him.

Jodie’s been trying it on with David. (Picture: ITV)

So far, Jodie’s been keeping her seduction attempts low key,  showering David with hot meals and cups of tea to get into his good graces – while undermining Shona and making her look like a bad mum in the eyes of their daughter Lily (Grace Ashcroft-Gardner).

Most insidiously of all, she threw a sickie from Roy’s Rolls… just so she could cosy up to David while bonding over Avengers: Endgame. Even Thanos wouldn’t go that far…

The question is, is her pursuit of David just revenge for Jodie, or something more? Actress Olivia Frances-Brown, who plays the nefarious cuckoo-in-the-nest, has it figured out.

‘She is quite transfixed on David. I think she believes she has fallen in love with him.’

Tea. But does she believe David feels the same way?

‘I think she definitely wants that to be the case. She is convincing herself that is the case. Whether or not it is actually David that is at the heart of what she wants, I don’t know. Or is it more what David represents? A home, safety, a good relationship, love all these things she’s never really had the chance at in life.’

‘She’s never really had anyone care for her the way David cares for her. Unlike Shona, she’s never really felt that. And to come in and see her sister have all the things she’s missed out on in life, it sent her spiralling a bit.’

Jodie’s dodgy past landed Shona in hot water. (Picture: ITV)

What about Shona? Since arriving at No.6, Jodie’s behaviour towards her sister has veered from creepy to downright psychotic, spying on the family, stealing her wedding ring, and faking an abusive relationship to garner sympathy. Most recently,Shona was violently assaulted when a couple of thugs descended on the Platt household in search of a mysterious hard drive that Jodie stole from her shady ex. It seems safe to say that Jodie despises her sister with a passion.

However, Olivia Frances-Brown insists it’s far more complicated than that.

‘Her relationship with Shona is so complex. She absolutely loves her. She adores her sister. She idolises her. It’s just that resentment and that bitterness. The thing that pushed her over the edge is that Shona actually never tried to come back for her and find her and help her the way she helped herself. It really pushed her over the edge to realise that was the case and after that she just didn’t care anymore what she did.’

Olivia is referring to a letter that Jodie sent to her sister when she was small, reaching out and begging her to come back. While Shona always maintained that she never received the letter, this week’s Coronation Street sees Jodie discover that this was a lie. Betrayal and rage drive her to make a play for David in her most outrageous move yet…

Jodie wouldn’t… would she? (Picture: ITV)

Seducing David so brazenly is a bold move. One that is sure to backfire if he goes running to Shona. Doesn’t Jodie worry about getting caught?

‘Jodie doesn’t really worry too much.’ Olivia explains ‘I think she doesn’t really love in fear because she almost believes her own lies and creates her own fantasy world and lives in it and wholeheartedly believes this is her genuine life. She doesn’t necessarily look over her shoulder., but it will be in the back of her mind and she’s very protective of what she’s building. She won’t want it falling apart. But she’ll know that eventually she will have to face some things from her past.’

Sooner than later, by the looks of it. Jodie just so happens to be pulling this stunt on the same night that there’s a murderer roaming the Cobbles… and she is one of five Weatherfield villains who could be killed off.

Olivia shared her reaction to finding out that her character was a potential murder victim in Coronation Street’s most ambitious Whodunnit to date.

‘I would have been surprised if she wasn’t one of the victims, the way she’s been carrying on! Trouble follows her around like a bad smell. She is always caught up in the chaos. Whatever’s going on, if there is any chaos in the street, she’ll probably be at the heart of it. It’s the way that she is. It’s who she is. It’s the way she has learnt to deal with things. It’s the way she goes through life.’

Not for much longer, maybe! After the explosive fallout from her attempt to lure David into bed, Shona finds herself in the park after dark, having a moment alone… when she soon discovers that she’s not so alone after all. Is she about to be murdered by a face from her shadowy past… or somebody closer to home?

Has Jodie schemed her last? (Picture: ITV)

Is Jodie truly for the chop? Has the schemer schemed her last? Unsurprisingly, Olivia was tight-lipped on that. But she did share her experience at Coronation Street which left a big fat question mark over Jodie’s future…

‘It’s been great. To be new on the show and to be thrown right into the centre of all the drama. It’s been a really lovely experience. It’s just been like a rollercoaster from the beginning. I really don’t want it to end – but it might have ended!’

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