Interview: Playing Mum
Shona is struggling with Max's bad behaviour but will she ask for help before things get out of hand? Julia Goulding hints at what's to come...
What has Shona and Max’s relationship been like in the past?
Max has always been very pro-Shona. He has really enjoyed having her as a parental figure and she has enjoyed having him as a son but since David has been inside, Max has been kicking off and making things really difficult for Shona.
How has what happened with Clayton influenced how Shona reacts to Max’s behaviour?
Shona is going against her instincts. She has had difficulty with parenting in the past and that is one of the reasons that she has not asked anyone for help with Max. It’s ironic because it was when Clayton turned thirteen that he started going off the rails so she is trying to block a lot of her past out through Max.
Is that the reason she decides to keep Max’s behaviour a secret from David?
When she takes Max to see David and Max asks her not to tell David how naughty he has been, she goes against her instincts and puts her trust in Max because that’s all she has ever wanted to do with Clayton. But it’s like history is repeating itself because she is letting Max get away with stuff that he shouldn’t.
How much does guilt play a part in how Shona treats Max?
Yes, her son killed his mum so she is letting him get away with a lot more than one would usually in an adult/child relationship.
Does Shona believe that she is a good mum to Max and Lily?
Shona feels that she was a lousy mum to Clayton and that she is repeating the same thing with Max. She really tries her best to be a good parent but like a lot of the decisions that she makes in her life, she goes with her heart rather than her head and I think that is not the best thing to do when it comes to her parenting Max.
How does she feel when it becomes apparent to more and more people on the Street that Max’s behaviour is out of control?
Luckily Billy is one of her friends and she trusts him and she believes him because she knows how much of a nightmare Max has been. But she still desperately asks if potentially Summer could be wrong even though she knows deep down that Max has definitely tried to sell his medication. It is so embarrassing for her because it is proof that she isn’t coping.
Does she start to see a young Clayton in Max?
She feels like she is letting Max down and that history is repeating itself so she feels very scared.
What is the breaking point that makes Shona confide in Leanne?
When Max gets suspended Shona knows it’s gone past a certain point. Before the fallout between David and Nick, Leanne and Shona were quite good friends and weirdly they are cut from the same cloth. Shona knows that deep down she needs to tell David and listening to someone that she respects, like Leanne, encourage her to speak to David, it makes her take it onboard. It would be really stupid of her and quite irresponsible to keep the fact that Max has been suspended from David.
How does that have an affect on Shona and David’s relationship?
Shona is very scared to tell David for obvious reasons; he has put his trust in her to parent his children and since David has been away Max has been swinging cricket bats, breaking plant pots, dying people’s hair, bunking off school and selling drugs - and now she has to David all this, I don’t think anybody would be excited about that prison visit! David chucks the ball right back at her by blaming himself which makes her really relieved to have his support.
How does this change how Shona approaches parenting Max in the future?
She still gives him the benefit of the doubt because he is such a lovely lad and they have always got on very well so she truly believes that he is turning a corner. She puts her trust in Max, naively so as it is obvious that something is not quite right. Max says that he is fine and so you can understand how she is fine with Max and thinks it’s all over… but it isn’t.