I’m proud to be part of soap history – but I’ve been shocked by online reaction, says Corrie’s Channique Sterling-Brown
SHE has taken the TV cobbles by storm as fun-loving solicitor Dee-Dee Bailey, the newly arrived daughter of the soap’s first black family.
But since debuting in her dream role on Coronation Street in September, Channique Sterling-Brown has been sent vile racist abuse online.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun on Sunday, she said: “The majority of people online have been so supportive and positive, but unfortunately there has been some negativity and a bit of racism.
“There was some really awful stuff suggesting I’m part of some ‘black supremacy’ movement, which was just wild, and Twitter did actually take it down.
“But there were quite a few comments suggesting I’d been cast to tick a ‘diversity check box’ and that it was ridiculous and overly PC for me to be in the show.
“Which was strange to me, considering Dee-Dee’s presence brings the grand total of black women on the street to two.
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“That’s why it’s so important to have black actors on our television screens, as well as those working behind the camera, writing and directing.”
The vast majority of fans welcomed her arrival in Weatherfield at the end of September, describing vivacious Dee-Dee as a “breath of fresh air”.
And the soap’s top boss, Iain MacLeod, praised her “incredibly joyous” character which, he said, was “full of energy and vibrance”.
Since her debut, Channique, 25, cannot even go food shopping without being spotted.
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And she has become an instant role model to young fans.
She said: “It really has been a very drastic change to my life and it has been super- overwhelming.
“It’s only been a few weeks and I keep getting stopped in Lidl!
“They’re like, ‘Are you in Coronation Street?’, and I’m like, ‘Oh yeah’.
“I was asking someone who worked there about a cheese twist and they were staring at me.”
For Channique, it is the role of a lifetime. She added: “I think everyone has had Corrie in their life.
"I don’t think there is anyone who has not watched it at some stage.
“It’s so iconic and it really is so special to be a part of it.
“Everyone has been so welcoming, and getting to work with the Bailey family, and all these incredible women on the Street, has been incredible.
‘History of strong women’
“Corrie has a history of having these strong women at the centre of the show and I love that Dee-Dee has a really good career — she is her own woman.
“I really do feel incredibly proud to be playing Dee-Dee and being part of the soap’s first ever black family.
“That’s special, that’s a bit of history.
“I had a young girl come up to me the other night and she was like, ‘You look like me.’
“She asked for a picture, and it meant so much to me and shows just how important it is to have that diversity on screen.”
Channique, who is also a writer and director, worked in theatre after graduating from the University of Central Lancashire.
She has written and performed monologues and poems about what it is like being a black British woman.
Speaking about her poem Black Girl Magic, she said: “I wanted to write a piece as a reminder to black girls and women everywhere — we are more than the stereotypes people often try and confine us to.
“A reminder of our resilience in the face of racism and sexism alike.
“Hopefully it sheds a little light, for others, on what it is to navigate the world as black women.
"And I hope it is empowering for my black sisters.”
Corrie’s Bailey family consists of dad Ed (Trevor Michael Georges), mum Aggie (Lorna Laidlaw), and their two adult sons Michael (former CBeebies presenter Ryan Russell), and James (Nathan Graham).
They arrived on the cobbles in 2019.
Their daughter Diana “Dee-Dee” Bailey was regularly mentioned by the family but bosses only started searching for an actress to play the role this spring.
Channique said: “I was on a bus on my way to a festival when I found out I had the part of Dee-Dee.
“My agent called me and I just burst into tears, I was so overcome.
“I think everyone on the bus thought I had a screw loose.
“Dee-Dee is organised chaos, that’s how I describe her.
“She bursts into any room and makes her mark. She’s a big personality but she is really hard-working.
“She’s a great lawyer, she knows what she’s doing, she’s hot.
“I think I’m quite similar because I’m really friendly, I’m really chatty, but when I’m in the zone and I work hard.
“Even the way Dee-Dee dresses and changes her hair all the time is so similar to myself.”
The similarities between the two do not end there, either. Channique considered becoming a lawyer but turned down a place at law school to pursue an acting career.
She said: “I did drama at school. I first fell in love with acting at 14 when I did Shakespeare’s The Tempest, but it’s not an easy or simple career.
“I used to do something called the mock trial, which is play-pretend in a courtroom, so you’d be a barrister or a solicitor.
“That was the best of best of both worlds, and I loved law.
“My drama teacher in sixth form said, ‘I really think you’ve got what it takes to be an actor, I think you should go to drama school’.
‘I love Manchester, it’s such a melting pot’
“So I turned down a place at law school and pursued drama instead. I remember having to tell my mum — she is so supportive.
“I hadn’t even passed my driving test, but she was like, ‘If you do law I will get you a mint-green Fiat 500’ because that’s what I really wanted at the time.
"I was like, ‘Mother, you are not getting me a mint-green Fiat 500 in any circumstance’.
“But I stuck to my guns. The law school said to me, ‘OK, come back to us when you’ve worked all the acting out of your system’.
“And here we are — and I’m playing a solicitor on the telly. It’s come full circle.”
Viewers will also see Channique showing off her singing talents this Christmas, representing Corrie in ITV festive special Britain Get Singing.
And she was filmed belting out Adele’s hit Rolling In The Deep during a karaoke session after last month’s Inside Soap Awards.
On Corrie next week, Dee-Dee will take on Speed Daal restaurant worker Alya Nazir, played by Sair Khan, as her legal secretary.
The pair have already fought for justice for Stu Carpenter, clearing his name over a crime he did not commit and putting the real murderer behind bars.
Channique said: “Sair is so lovely and we always have such a great laugh.
"She is really kind and we have a really good time together.
“On my second day filming, we were on location.
“And straight away from that second day, Sair was giving me good advice and making sure I had my head screwed on but in the best way.
“It’s funny because it’s almost as if she is my mentor, and Dee-Dee is Alya’s mentor, but I really like that.”
Channique is brushing off any nasty comments she receives online.
She said: “Ultimately, I’m not fazed by it.
“I love Manchester, it’s such a melting pot of ethnicities and culture, as is our country.
"It’s important that such a wonderful and well-watched show as Corrie reflects that.
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“It’s a huge blessing to be part of the first black family in the nation’s longest-running drama.
“And knowing that black girls and women get to see themselves represented on the famous cobbles is truly a privilege.”
