Samia Longchambon has enormous admiration for Coronation Road legends Barbara Knox and Sue Nicholls.
The 42-year-old actress has performed Maria Connor on the ITV cleaning soap for the previous 25 years and has revealed that she strives to be like her co-stars, who painting the characters of Rita Tanner and Audrey Roberts respectively, as they provide their all of their performances after many years on the present.
Samia instructed Inside Cleaning soap journal: “I like the older era like Barbara Knox and Sue Nicholls, they nonetheless actually care about what they do and are so skilled.
“To get to their age and nonetheless have a lot ardour and care on your job is inspiring.”
Samia – who has daughter Freya, 15, along with her ex-husband Matt Smith and son Yves, 9, along with her present partner Sylvain Longchambon – revealed that she has been tempted to depart Corrie prior to now however feels privileged to have performed Maria for such a very long time.
Requested if she had contemplated leaving the cleaning soap, she replied: “I would be mendacity if I mentioned I hadn’t, there have been moments earlier than I had children the place I believed I ought to go off and both attempt various things or go travelling or one thing.
“However in the end I like being on Corrie, I really feel prefer it’s an actual privilege to stick with a personality for this lengthy and develop along with her.”
Samia admits there are occasions when Maria frustrates her, significantly throughout scenes along with her on-screen husband Gary Windass (Mikey North).
The star defined: “She frustrates me on a regular basis, and the crew! We had been filming a scene with Gary and Maria the opposite day and I might see one in all our cameramen shaking his head.
“As soon as we might finished the take he mentioned to me: ‘Maria is driving me mad, I want she’d cease nagging Gary!’
“Then we filmed another scenes additional alongside within the story, and the identical man mentioned he was on Maria’s aspect now!”
Maria has been via a number of failed romantic relationships throughout her time in Weatherfield and Samia thinks that her alter ego has grown “stronger” in consequence.
She mentioned: “I like that edge she’s acquired, she’s undoubtedly feisty and sticks up for herself and her household.
“Maria has turn into quite a bit stronger through the years due to all the pieces she has been via. Me and Mikey all the time chuckle that the one particular person Gary is fearful of is Maria! We love that aspect of their relationship.”
