Coronation Street's Natasha Blakeman actress Rachel Leskovac has spoken out over her heartbreaking exit from the ITV soap.
Natasha was tragically killed off in the latest episode, as she died after a shooting at the hands of criminal Harvey.
She was shot in a case of mistaken identity, with Harvey actually trying to kill Leanne Battersby.
Both women were wearing the same Halloween costume, and when Natasha headed to the flat Harvey shot her and left her fighting for her life.
Towards the end of the second episode, a doctor emerged with some heartbreaking news for her young son Sam and his father Nick Tilsley.
She informed Nick and Sam that despite their best efforts, they could not stop the bleeding.
The doctor then revealed that sadly, Natasha had died during the operation leaving little Sam in shock and viewers devastated.
Now, actress Rachel has confessed she found her return to the soap last year "bittersweet" especially now she has departed the show.
She admitted that she believes there is much more that could have been explored with her character, had it not been for the filming restrictions sparked by the coronavirus pandemic.
Last year, cast and crew had to film at a distance, and were only permitted to film in particular groups of cast and in particular sets.
Rachel wishes her character could have explored more relationships with more Weatherfield residents, but was unable to before her character's exit.
She explained: "It’s been bittersweet. I’m hugely grateful to have worked during this period of time unlike a lot of my peers, but on the other hand it does feel like there was so much more we could have explored with the character, had times been different and Covid not so restrictive.
"I think that’s what I’ll miss the most, having that opportunity to watch her branch out and form relationships with different characters on the street.
"On the positive side of going in during a pandemic because the crews were stripped back it felt quite intimate which is always nice. There was more opportunity to do two handers and I like the intimacy of that."
She added on what she will miss the most: "Just exploring the character, she came back as a mum and Sam is such a massive part of her life, but I would have enjoyed exploring other relationships on the street."
The actress also confessed she couldn't stop crying as she filmed her final scenes with young co-star Jude Riordan, who plays Sam.
She said: "I’d done a bit of filming with Ben Price before Jude came onto set and I was already feeling quite emotional, but because it was my last scene filming with him from the moment I saw Jude, I just started crying and I didn’t stop till they said cut.
"It was really emotional to the point I couldn’t look at him in between takes because I just found it too difficult, it was pretty much non-stop crying."
She also revealed her character knew she was likely seeing her son for the last time, adding: "There is an element of her wanting to protect Sam, but certainly it felt like she knew it was unlikely that she’d be seeing him again, so that was another reason why that scene was particularly tough to play."
Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30pm and 8:30pm on ITV.
