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Natasha Blakeman is a fictional character from the British ITV
soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
'', played by
Rachel Leskovac Rachel Leskovac (born 5 June 1976) is an English actress and singer. She is known for portraying the roles of Kelly Yorke in the BBC One medical drama series ''Holby City'' (2003–2004), Natasha Blakeman in the ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ...
. The character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 12 May 2008. On 29 April 2010, it was announced that Leskovac had been axed from the show after two years and would depart in "an exciting and dramatic storyline which will be an integral part of the build-up to ''Coronation Street'' 50th anniversary". Natasha departed on 27 September 2010. On 16 July 2020, it was announced that Leskovac would be reprising her role as Natasha, with her return airing 11 September 2020. Leskovac made an unannounced departure from the soap on 25 October 2021, in which Natasha was
killed off The killing off of a character is a device in fiction, whereby a character dies, but the story continues. The term, frequently applied to television, film, video game, literature, anime, manga and chronological series, often denotes an untimely o ...
after being shot by
Harvey Gaskell ''Coronation Street'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters introduced in 2021, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by series producer Iain MacLeod. The first ch ...
(
Will Mellor William Mellor (born 3 April 1976) is an English actor and singer. He is known for his roles as Jambo Bolton in ''Hollyoaks'', Gaz Wilkinson in '' Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps'', Warren Stamp in EastEnders, DC Spike Tanner in ' ...
).


Development


Casting

Rachel Leskovac Rachel Leskovac (born 5 June 1976) is an English actress and singer. She is known for portraying the roles of Kelly Yorke in the BBC One medical drama series ''Holby City'' (2003–2004), Natasha Blakeman in the ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ...
was to take on the role, with a ''Coronation Street'' spokesman confirming it: "Rachel's very well known in TV land as she has been in countless series and dramas. To have her new character in the salon is a smashing coup." The actress stated in an interview that she only felt really part of the backstage family when her character became more involved with central storylines saying: "Last year, it was a bit sporadic because I wasn't in for weeks on end, so every time I came back it felt like my first day again. It's only now in the new year that it's started to feel like I'm part of the family!".


Characterisation

In an interview, Leskovac said: "I'd say Natasha's a romantic. She likes to have fun and isn't malicious in the slightest. She loves her job, too. I think she's looking for love but not necessarily settling down at the minute, though.". Her take on the character she plays after one year in the show. The character tends to talk a lot and generally say anything that comes into her head. ITV publicity describe the characters typical ditzy blonde image, describe her as loving Scottish accents and the sound of her own voice and hating shellfish and dandruff.


Reintroduction

In July 2020, it was confirmed that Natasha had been reintroduced by executive producer Iain McLeod. Natasha returned in September 2020 after being away for over ten years. Speaking about her return, Leskovac said: "I am very excited and proud to be welcomed back to ''Coronation Street'', especially as so many old friends are still there. It's always great to be able to return to a character to explore a whole new path for them.


Storylines


2008–2010

In December 2008, Natasha informs Audrey Roberts (
Sue Nicholls Susan Frances Harmar Nicholls (born 23 November 1943) is an English actress. She is best known for her long-running role as Audrey Roberts in the soap opera '' Coronation Street'' (1979–1982, 1984–present). Her other roles on British tele ...
) that her brother and sister-in-law have just had a baby daughter and are naming her Electra. She spots a good business opportunity in opening the salon for late night trading hours during the week, an idea Audrey agrees to. Natasha is drafted in to style Molly Compton's (
Vicky Binns Victoria Jane Binns (born 27 August 1982) is an English actress, known for her two roles in the two veteran ITV soap operas ''Emmerdale'' and ''Coronation Street''. She had a lead role in ''Von Trapped'' opposite Caroline Quentin and also appea ...
) hair for her wedding day in January 2009. In February, she flirts with Steve McDonald (
Simon Gregson Simon Alan Gregory (born 2 October 1974), better known by his stage name, Simon Gregson, is a British actor from Manchester, England. He is best known for his portrayal of Steve McDonald (Coronation Street character), Steve McDonald in the long- ...
) in the Rovers and they go on a date but Steve is jealous that
Jason Grimshaw Jason Grimshaw is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Portrayed by Ryan Thomas, the character first appeared on screen on 25 December 2000. It was announced in October 2015 that Thomas had quit the role ...
(
Ryan Thomas Ryan James Thomas (born 10 June 1984) is a British former actor. He is known for playing the role of Jason Grimshaw on ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' from 2000 until 2016. In 2018, he played Rafael Humphreys in Australian soap opera ''N ...
) is dating Becky Granger ( Katherine Kelly) and behaves quite badly during his and Natasha's date. She is not impressed by Steve as his idea of a date is a takeaway in the Rovers so when Steve asks her out again, she declines but tells him that there are no hard feelings. On 23 March 2009, Natasha starts a relationship with
Tony Gordon Tony Gordon is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', portrayed by Gray O'Brien. The character first appeared on-screen on 16 September 2007. He appeared as a regular character for two years before depar ...
( Gray O'Brien) and initially, Natasha does most of the talking, while Tony sits silently. Just as she is about to leave, he asks her to stop and take her coat off and the pair subsequently have sex. Natasha is in good spirits, following her night with Tony, and tells Maria Connor (
Samia Smith Samia Maxine Longchambon (''née'' Ghadie, previously Smith; born 13 July 1982) is an English actress. She has played the role of Maria Connor in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' since 2000. She also appeared as a contestant on the ei ...
) about it, making Maria jealous as she is developing romantic feelings for Tony herself. Maria tries to warn Natasha off him, claiming that he will treat her badly and even tries setting her up with Tom Kerrigan (
Philip McGinley Philip Kiaran McGinley (born 6 June 1981) is an English actor, best known for playing Anguy the Archer in Season 3 of HBO's ''Game of Thrones''. Early life He was born in Liverpool and grew up in Golborne, near Wigan. He attended All Saints Pr ...
) but Natasha is happy with Tony. Some months later, Natasha becomes suspicious of the amount of time that Tony and Maria are spending together. A jealous Natasha tells Maria that Tony is only paying her attention because he feels sorry for her. Tony is furious when he discovers what Natasha has said, leading to a showdown between them and they split up. Natasha tries to warn Maria about Tony's 'dark side', but she won't listen. In April 2010, Natasha finds herself attracting the attention of
Graeme Proctor Graeme Proctor is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Portrayed by Craig Gazey, the character first appeared on-screen during the episode airing on 18 April 2008. The character is also noted for his e ...
(
Craig Gazey Craig Gazey (born 24 February 1982) is a British stage and television actor, best known for his portrayal of Graeme Proctor in the ITV soap ''Coronation Street''. Early life Gazey attended Our Lady's Roman Catholic High School in Royton, Old ...
). She is amused at his attempts to woo her until she discovers that he is doing the same with
Rosie Webster Rosie Webster is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. The character has been played by two actresses: Emma Collinge from 1990 to 1999, and Helen Flanagan from 2000 to 2012, and from 2017 to 2018. Rosie is the e ...
(
Helen Flanagan Helen Joyce Flanagan (born 7 August 1990) is an English actress, model, and television personality. She is best known for playing the role of Rosie Webster in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' from 2000 to 2012; she returned to the rol ...
). They agree to teach him a lesson. Natasha feigns interest in Graeme and meets him for a drink at The Rovers, where she playfully flirts with him. When she asks him about Rosie, he states that she is a bimbo and that he has no interest in her. At that moment, Rosie comes up behind him and pours a pint over his head, much to the amusement of the pub. Later that month, Natasha sets her sights on Audrey's grandson
Nick Tilsley Nick Tilsley (also Platt, also known as Nicky) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. He was born off screen during an episode broadcast on 31 December 1980, but made his first appearance on 5 January 1 ...
(
Ben Price Ben Price (born 30 June 1971) is an English actor, director and writer. He has played the role of Nick Tilsley in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and has made four films as a writer/director, the first of which, ''I'm Sorry To Tell Y ...
) and he agrees to go out with her, after she makes her interest in him clear. However, after he cancels several dates, she angrily confronts him and he is impressed by her feisty personality, making him take their relationship more seriously but Natasha soon feels excluded by Nick and his family, firstly as Nick's mother
Gail McIntyre Gail Platt (also Potter, Tilsley, Hillman, McIntyre, Rodwell and Chadwick) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Helen Worth. The character first appeared on-screen on 29 July 1974. Gail is ...
's (
Helen Worth Helen Worth (born Cathryn Helen Wigglesworth; 7 January 1951) is a British actress. She is best known for portraying the role of Gail Platt in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' for 50 years from 1974 to 2024. In 2014, she received the ...
) is very cold towards her and Nick constantly puts his business before their relationship. Eager to settle down, Natasha suggests they get a place together but Nick is preoccupied with business woes, due to Underworld recently burning down, and virtually ignores her. Worried about his dealings with ex-wife,
Leanne Battersby Leanne Battersby (also Tilsley and Barlow) is a fictional character from the Television in the United Kingdom, British ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Jane Danson. It was announced in February 1997 that a "fam ...
(
Jane Danson Jane Danson (born Jane Elizabeth Dawson, 8 November 1978) is an English actress. She is known for her portrayal of Leanne Battersby in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', between 1997 and 2000, and from 2004 onwards. Her other television ...
), she lends him £3,000 for new business premises to secure the future of the factory in an attempt to please him. In July 2010, while organising a surprise 70th birthday party for Audrey, Natasha discovers that her boss is considering retiring and an ambitious Natasha offers to buy the salon and is not happy to learn that Maria also wants to buy the business. Natasha's insecurity is not helped by Nick's devious half-brother, David Platt ( Jack P. Shepherd), telling her that Nick and Maria were once engaged and that she is just one of many women that Nick has been involved with. Despairing at Nick's lack of commitment, her problems worsen when she learns that she is pregnant in August. She is about to tell Nick this but he ends their relationship first as he feels she is too needy. Later, Natasha sees Nick and Leanne together at the factory and angrily tells him about the baby but Nick is angry that she didn't tell him sooner and storms off. Fearing she'd be a single parent, Natasha has an
abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
but Nick visits Natasha, telling her that he wants them to be a family. Unsure how to tell him about the termination, she lets him believe that she is still expecting and events spiral out of control when Nick announces her pregnancy in the Rovers. After Natasha steals Fiz Stape's (
Jennie McAlpine Jennie Elizabeth McAlpine (born 12 February 1984) is an English television actress, comedian and businesswoman. She is known for her roles as Michelle Morley in Emmerdale and Fiz Brown in the ITV (TV channel), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street' ...
) scan picture and passes it off as her own, she breaks down and admits the truth to Fiz when she realises what has happened. Seeing how these events are affecting her, Fiz urges her to tell Nick the truth but just as she is about to, Nick asks her to marry him and she agrees, much to Fiz's indignation. However, Gail is suspicious as Natasha's behaviour is not what you'd expect from a pregnant woman and checks her medical records. When she sees Natasha's abortion, she demands either Natasha tell him the truth or she will. Gail doesn't give Natasha much chance to tell Nick before she tells him, causing them to argue. Nick then tells Natasha that she will always be second best to Leanne and demands she move out, resulting in her attempting suicide by taking an overdose of prescription drugs. Feeling guilty about his actions, Nick returns to the flat and, finding her unconscious, calls an ambulance and rushes her to the hospital, where she recovers. Nick tells her he is sorry and that they will try again once she is better. Natasha is discharged from hospital the next morning, and stays with Audrey while she recovers. Nick visits and asks if she wants to try for another baby, much to her surprise and delight. After Nick leaves, Audrey and Natasha have a heart-to-heart and Natasha realises that Nick doesn't love her and is simply trying to make amends for his past behaviour. Knowing that a relationship under those circumstances is doomed, she leaves Audrey's and returns to Coronation Street, wanting revenge on all those who misunderstood or were horrible to her. During her visit, Natasha berates Leanne for being a catalyst in her break-up with Nick and tells David that
Tina McIntyre Tina McIntyre is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Portrayed by Michelle Keegan, the character first appeared on-screen during the episode that was shown 7 January 2008. The character was central to m ...
(
Michelle Keegan Michelle Keegan (born 3 June 1987) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Tina McIntyre in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (2008–2014) and Georgie Lane in the BBC military drama '' Our Girl'' (2016–2020). Keegan h ...
) will never love him as he has no heart or feelings. She also goes to ''Underworld'' and causes chaos by telling the workers about Nick's special "nicknames" for them, and saving best for last, she gets Gail sacked from the Medical Centre in front of
Betty Williams Elizabeth Williams ( Smyth; 22 May 1943 – 17 March 2020) was a peace activist from Northern Ireland. She was a co-recipient with Mairead Corrigan of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for her work as a cofounder of Community of Peace People, a ...
(
Betty Driver Elizabeth Mary Driver (20 May 1920 – 15 October 2011) was a British actress and singer, best known for her role as Betty Williams in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', a role she played for 42 years from 1969 to 2011, app ...
) by revealing to Dr. Matt Carter (
Oliver Mellor Oliver Mellor is a British actor and former personal trainer, playing the role of Dr Matt Carter in ITV soap opera Coronation Street from 2010 to 2013. Career Between 2003-2005 Mellor appeared many times on stage, starring in productions su ...
) how Gail broke the rules of patient confidentiality by hacking into private medical records, her last words to Gail are: "Hope you have a nice life Gail, ooh look, I had my fingers crossed", before leaving. An empowered but tearful Natasha then leaves Weatherfield in the back of a taxi as Nick watches on.


2020–2021

In September 2020, Natasha bumps into Nick while they are both visiting the hospital. She tells him that she is “in a much better place now” and apologised for the past. Later in the day, it is revealed that Natasha now has a son and tells the doctor that she has been reminded of his Dad today, meaning that Nick is his father. The next day, she visits Nick at his flat and reveals that they have a son together called Sam, who was conceived after her abortion. She tries to urge him to see Sam, but Nick is going through a tough time as his step-son with Leanne has a life-threatening condition. In October 2021, following a long-running feud between Leanne and drug dealer
Harvey Gaskell ''Coronation Street'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters introduced in 2021, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by series producer Iain MacLeod. The first ch ...
(
Will Mellor William Mellor (born 3 April 1976) is an English actor and singer. He is known for his roles as Jambo Bolton in ''Hollyoaks'', Gaz Wilkinson in '' Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps'', Warren Stamp in EastEnders, DC Spike Tanner in ' ...
), Natasha was shot in a case of mistaken identity. Rushed to hospital, she later died at the age of 40 after internally bleeding during her surgery on her liver before the news was broken to her son, Sam. Natasha Blakeman was Buried.


Reception

Ruth Deller of entertainment website '' Lowculture'', who runs a monthly column on the most popular and unpopular soap opera characters, including Natasha, attributing her rise in popularity, stating: "A fairly new addition to Weatherfield, Natasha is proving so far very likeable. This could all change, but for now, we’re loving her work." Deborah Ross of ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' described her as having "trapped a man by pretending to be pregnant" before adding that "Obviously, she cannot think nine months ahead". In 2010, Dan Martin from ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' speculated that "Natasha the hairdresser" could be one of the characters to be killed-off in the soap's 50th anniversary special, as he believed that the "primary function of a big soap disaster is to sweep out the dead wood", and that Natasha was one of the "characters we don't care about even if we noticed they were there". Due to her portrayal of Natasha on ''Coronation Street'', fellow soap opera ''
Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...
'' executive producer
Bryan Kirkwood Bryan Kirkwood (born November 1975) is a British television producer. He was the producer of the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' from 2006 until 2009 and was the executive producer of the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 2010 until 2012. H ...
decided to cast Leskovac as
Joanne Cardsley Joanne Cardsley is a Character (arts), fictional character from the Television in the United Kingdom, British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Rachel Leskovac. The character made her first on-screen appearance on 17 September 2015. Jo ...
in the soap in September 2015, as he had admired her performances as Natasha.


References


External links


Character profile
at
itv.com itv.com is the main website of ITV plc, the UK's largest commercial television broadcaster which operates 13 out of 15 regions on the ITV network under the ITV1 brand. The website offers the ITVX streaming service, with sections for ITV News, ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blakeman, Natasha Coronation Street characters Fictional hairdressers Television characters introduced in 2008 British female characters in soap operas English female characters in television Fictional attempted suicides Fictional murdered people