Corrie star Tanisha Gorey has issued a warning following her vulnerable character's soap sexting ordeal.
On Coronation Street, Tanisha's character Asha Alahan went through a harrowing experience when naked video footage she sent to her school crush Corey Brent was shared in a group chat and circulated online.
Asha was then subjected to bullying over her striptease video, leading her Dev to send her to a private school.
Tanisha, 18, says she witnessed real-life heartbreak when she was at school and wouldn't want to see others go through similar torment as her 14-year-old character.
She said: "With the sexting story, it was really common in my school a few years ago. Watching someone else go through that in real life is heartbreaking."
Tanisha says she feels privileged to be in a position to education people on the issue - and says fans have been in touch with her via Instagram to share their own stories.
The long-running soap has worked with the children's charity the NSPCC on the awareness-raising plot.
"She's really young and she's never been involved with a boy before," said the Manchester actress about her character.
"I think what she did was risky."
She warned: "I would tell anyone never to do that, it's not worth it at all.
"You don't know what can come of it and you've always got to think the worst.
"Personally, I can understand it because it's very common and it happened a lot.
"It happens in every school an a lot of girls do it.
"I was that age. But me personally I would never do such a thing so it's quite hard for me."
Last year, Tanisha was hailed as a rising star following another powerful storyline when Asha ordered skin-lightening cream.
Asha turned to the cream after a family trip to India, leaving her skin red raw.
The teen wanted to look like her Bollywood idols, prompting her distraught father to tear down the posters on her walls.
"I know storylines can be really challenging so I was really scared thinking 'this is the first time people have seen what I can do'," Tanisha said.
"It's the first time people are watching me being vulnerable.
"When I got this flood of positivity it made me so fulfilled. It was great."
This week Dev was horrified to catch Asha kissing Corey at their home and kicked the boy out.
Explaining why Asha is giving Corey another chance she said: "Corey was the first ever boy to ever pay this girl any attention whatsover. And all he did was throw compliments at her.
"He's a constant hype guy.
"He's constantly saying 'oh you're beautiful, so pretty, you're amazing, you're this, you're that.'
"Because she hasn't got a mum as well and obviously Dev's not going to sit there and be like 'oh this and that' it's really nice for her to have someone there to do that for her.
"Even though she's got Amy it's really nice that a boy is paying her attention."
She says her best friend Amy Barlow is also a factor in Asha gravitating towards Corey.
"Amy got pregnant and has all this attention from boys," she said.
"Whereas Asha never did so it was also a 'I finally got this' sort of thing."
Asked what advice she would give Asha she said: "I'm just like 'sweetie no why would you do such a thing?'
"But you've done it now. Everyone makes mistakes.
"It's so common and there's help out there.
"Accept when you've done wrong and move on from it.
"Don't get yourself down. You can't change it."
