Coronation Street's Sally Carman was completely determined to do Abi Franklin's PTSD storyline justice
Coronation Street won the Inside Soap Awards' Best Storyline gong for Mason Radcliffe's death and Abi Franklin's post-stabbing PTSD, and Sally recalled just how determined she was to do her alter ego's mental health story justice.
Coronation Street star Sally Carman was determined to do Abi Franklin's Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) storyline justice.
The 44-year-old actress' alter ego discovered Mason Radcliffe (Luca Toolan) bleeding and badly wounded in Weatherfield Precinct after he had been stabbed with a "zombie knife" during a fight with his brothers Matty (Seamus McGoff) and Logan (Harry Lowbridge).
Despite Abi alerting the emergency services and staying with Mason as he fought for his life, Mason passed away in hospital.
Mason's death brought back Abi's feelings and memories in relation to the death of her son Seb Franklin (Harry Visinoni) in a hate crime committed by Corey Brent (Maximus Evans) in May 2021 and viewers began to see her suffer from flashbacks and hallucinations and depression as the post-traumatic stress disorder took a hold on her life.
Sally conducted extensive research, as well as relive sad moments in her own life, to make her performance in the hit ITV soap as authentic as possible.
Speaking to BANG Showbiz at the Inside Soap Awards in London on Monday night (29.09.25), she said: "You just think about the saddest thing that’s ever happened to you, and then just focus on that and go for it.
"And it could be a goldfish dying, it doesn’t really matter. As long as it stirs something in you, that’s kind of what I did.
"[Also], I researched. I wanted to get it right. You can’t just wing something like that because so many people have suffered and gone through these things that you’ve got to be authentic, and you’ve got to be respectful, and do it the justice as much as you can."
Mason's death and Abi's PTSD won the Best Storyline accolade at the Inside Soap Awards, and Sally credits the win to Owen Lloyd-Fox, who wrote the episodes.
She said: "I’m really excited [with the win] - especially for Owen Lloyd-Fox, who actually wrote the eps.
"And we got the easy job in the world by just learning the lines and doing the story. So yeah, it’s great!"
Coronation Street beat Phil Mitchell: Hypermasculinity in crisis (EastEnders), John Sugden's hero complex (Emmerdale) and Teenage sexual exploitation (Hollyoaks) to win the Best Storyline award.
