Weighing in on the particular episode that saw Yasmeen suffering a panic attack, the Spice Girls member reveals she helped 'create' the storyline based on experience during marriage to Stephen Belafonte.
- December 28, 2020
AceShowbiz - The writers of long-running British TV soap "Coronation Street" turned to Spice Girls star Melanie Brown to help them craft a shocking Christmas Day storyline on the show.
The singer has revealed she helped talk them through what it is like to live with "coercive control and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)" as they developed the plot between characters Geoff Metcalfe and Yasmeen Nazir. Mel B, who previously accused her ex-husband Stephen Belafonte of abusive behavior, says, "I like to think I helped shape the scripts... They were able to write parts of the script because of what I told them."
The "Wannabe" star and Belafonte divorced in 2017, with Mel revealing last year (19) she now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of her past experiences.
"It means a lot to me that what Yasmeen goes through in the show is true to life, because we know that because of the storyline lots of people living with abuse have reached out to get help," Mel adds.
The storyline exploded in May (20) as Yasmeen, portrayed by Shelley King, stabbed Geoff (Ian Bartholomew) in the neck with a broken bottle following his campaign of abuse.
Yasmeen's suffering was well documented on "Coronation Street", with Geoff abusing her physically, sexually and emotionally.
On Friday's (December 25) Christmas Day episode, Yasmeen suffered a panic attack as she imagined Geoff standing in front of her even though he died trying to chase her off a roof and Mel admits it's a scenario she knows well, "I didn’t even realise for so many years that I was in a coercive relationship," she tells MailOnline. "It was only through doing my book that I began to fully understand the situation I had been living in for 10 years. And I know I'm not the only one like that."
