Julia Goulding and Elle Mulvaney joined GMB live from the Rovers Return Inn…
Today on Good Morning Britain, hosts Kate Garraway and Richard Madeley were joined by Coronation Street regulars Julia Goulding and Elle Mulvaney live from the Coronation Street’s Rovers Return to talk about Corrie’s ‘Chatty Booth’, part of Good Morning Britain’s award-winning ‘1 Million Minutes’ campaign to help tackle loneliness and isolation in the UK.
The innovative ‘Chatty Booth’ invites visitors to the cobbles to hear messages from some of the soap’s biggest stars with their advice on how they tackle loneliness. A second ‘Chatty Booth’ has also been installed in London’s Westfield shopping centre in White City.
Speaking on the ITV morning show about the campaign and why it was important to get involved Julia said, “I just think it’s really important for people to speak to each other and talk about loneliness because it lifts something, and it’s important to communicate when you do feel lonely.”
Elle added, “It’s just about having that community feeling and also just knowing that it’s normal to talk and just getting rid of any stigma around it. I feel like nowadays we’re so much better at talking about mental health openly.”
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Shona played by Julia Goulding in Coronation Street / ITV
Discussing the impact of shows like Coronation Street, and how they can help people feel less lonely, Julia said, “I think television in general can help people feel less lonely, especially shows like Coronation Street because you know the characters. We’ve been around for 64 years now – everybody knows Ken Barlow – and that can really relieve that feeling of being alone.”
While reflecting on some of the past Corrie storylines that have covered loneliness, Elle discussed a storyline that her character, Amy, was involved in.
Elle said: “With the whole rape storyline she definitely felt lots and lots of loneliness, and even though she’s obviously got a really big family who are very loud, very outgoing, it just shows that really anybody can be lonely at any time – it doesn’t matter how many people are around you. I feel like with the chatty booth you get people just being able to regenerate this feeling of community and just that sense that people have got your back.”
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Coronation Street tackled the issue of non-consensual sex with a storyline involving the characters of Amy (Elle Mulvaney) and Aaron (James Craven) / ITV
When Richard asked Julia and Elle how they feel as young actors, working on a show that has been around for such a long time, Julia said: “It’s just wonderful, every single day is an absolute joy working here…And thank you for calling me young!” Elle added: “It’s really, really incredible. It’s so amazing to just be such a small part of such a big thing.”
Finally, discussing the positive reactions they get from fans when they are out in Manchester, Julia said, “It’s lovely, it’s really, really nice to speak to people who watch the show, enjoy the show because we love it and for people out there to love it too is just such a privilege.”
More than 150 million minutes have already been pledged for Good Morning Britain’s ‘1 Million Minutes’ campaign. You can pledge your time to help someone tackle loneliness this December HERE.
Good Morning Britain weekdays from 6am on ITV1, ITVX, STV & STV Player