Interview: A Hopeless Case?
As Fiz and Hope return to the Street, we asked Jennie McAlpine if things will finally go smoothly for Fiz and Tyrone...
Fiz is coming back to Weatherfield, should we be expecting a quiet return?
No, I don’t think you should. For a starter, it’s not a quiet house with Evelyn living there now, so I don’t think we should be expecting a sombre environment. We’ve already had a run-in with the emergency services and it’s only my third week back. It’s going to be busy.
How does it feel to be back?
I was so scared to come back, I won’t lie. I didn’t know if I’d still be able to do it, almost like coming back to school after the summer holidays and you question whether you can still write, but it’s just like riding a bike - so we’re alright.
Do you think Fiz has been missed?
I don’t know, I think Evelyn most certainly hasn’t missed her. Tyrone says he’s missed her, but I don’t know how convinced I am about that, because she does nag him an awful lot.
Have Hope’s problems been resolved?
The hope is that Hope’s problems have been resolved. We’ve been away for nine months, and in this time Fiz has supposedly been working on Hope’s behaviour and allegedly it’s improved, but as all things with Fiz, there is much more going on as the audience scratch beneath the surface.
There’s a big scene coming up where Hope is caught in a fire in the factory. How does this affect Fiz in the coming weeks?
Fiz has been keeping things under wraps after the fire. She knows that Hope’s behaviour hasn’t improved, and has an inkling that there’s more to find out about the starting of the fire. Tyrone becomes a bit suspicious of Hope and Fiz almost exhausts herself emotionally by reassuring those closest to her that her daughter isn’t capable of anything like this. It then becomes apparent that Hope may be getting worse.
Fiz obviously cares about Hope, how would you describe the emotions she feels towards her?
I feel that Fiz has been strung along by the stress caused by this little girl. She just wants the best for her daughter, she’d do anything for her and just wants a happy family unit. It’s upsetting because I think she knows that a normal family isn’t going to be normal. She’s torn because she loves Hope, but at the same time she’s disgusted by her actions and if she was anybody else’s daughter, she certainly wouldn’t be pulling any punches and would, in typical Fiz style, be very critical of them.
Do you feel sorry for them?
Yeah I do. There’s no obvious reason why Hope is like this, especially when you look at Ruby who is living in the same house, although they’ve both had a difficult upbringing with one parent in the equation. Ruby has had a tough time with no Mum around, and Hope has also had the same with no Dad around, so it must be frustrating for there to be no explanation behind Hope’s ways.
Because Fiz has decided to home school Hope, does this give an opportunity for Hope to cause more trouble?
Without a doubt. This causes a lot of tension, especially as Evelyn gets involved and gives her opinions to the annoyance of Fiz. Very quickly, she realises that nobody else can look after Hope, so she decides to take that upon herself and as we’d all imagine, finds it very hard. Hope was clearly not a good pupil in school and she’s certainly not going to be a good pupil at home.
It’s safe to say that Fiz is out of her depth when it comes to Hope’s actions. What advice would you give her as a Mum?
Trying to home school her was a total mistake, it does work for some children but not Hope. Other than that, I have no idea what I’d say, I honestly don’t think I’m qualified. Bless her, she’s trying her best, so I can’t even imagine how I could offer help. If professional help hasn’t worked, I’m not sure my opinion could fix this situation.
Fiz is soon to make a secretive phone call while alone. Can you tell us more about this?
You hear Fiz speaking on the phone and this is clearly something confidential to her. As soon as Tyrone walks in, we see Fiz hang up without a cue, and at one point he even catches her saying “I miss you” down the phone which is obviously very thought-provoking for the audience. It’s not necessarily what people might think
Are the days of police interviews behind Fiz and her family, or can we expect more run-ins with the law in the future?
Seriously, I don’t think we’ll ever get to that point. We’ve already seen the police since being back. The way we’re going, I’m pretty sure we’re going to see a siren or two in the future.