Emma Brooker is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

'', portrayed by

Alexandra Mardell Alexandra Mardell (born 27 July 1993) is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Emma Brooker in the ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street''. For her portrayal of the role, she won the British Soap Award for Best Newcomer, and was n ...

. She first appeared on-screen during the episode broadcast on 20 April 2018. Emma's storylines have included short-term relationships with

David Platt David Andrew Platt (born 10 June 1966) is an English former professional football coach and player, who played as a midfielder. Born in Chadderton, Lancashire, Platt began his career as an apprentice at Manchester United before moving to Crewe ...

( Jack P. Shepherd),

Chesney Brown Chesney Brown (also Battersby-Brown) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Sam Aston. He made his first on-screen appearance on 10 November 2003. The character is named after the singer, Ches ...

(

Sam Aston Samuel David Aston (born 7 June 1993) is an English actor, who has portrayed the role of Chesney Brown on the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' since 2003. Career Aston made his television debut at the age of five, as an extra in ''Eddie ...

) and

Seb Franklin The following is a list of ''Coronation Street'' characters introduced in 2016, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by series producer Stuart Blackburn, or his successor Kate Oates. Marta Zarek Marta Zarek, played by Ed ...

(Harry Visinoni), surviving a roof collapse at the local factory, discovering that Steve McDonald (

Simon Gregson Simon Alan Gregory (born 2 October 1974), better known by his stage name, Simon Gregson, is an English actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Steve McDonald in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' since 1989. He has rece ...

) is her biological father, a relationship with Curtis Delamere (

Sam Retford Sam Retford (born 22 June 1999) is an Australian-English actor, known for portraying the role of Cory Wilson on the Channel 4 drama ''Ackley Bridge''. As well as starring in various stage productions, he has also made appearances in television s ...

) who suffers from

factitious disorder A factitious disorder is a condition in which a person, ''without'' a malingering motive, acts as if they have an illness by deliberately producing, feigning, or exaggerating symptoms, purely to attain (for themselves or for another) a patient's ...

and running over an elderly man in her car. Mardell announced her departure from the show in February 2022, departing on 8 April 2022.

Storylines

Emma applies for an apprentice position at Audrey's when

Maria Connor Maria Connor (also Sutherland) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', portrayed by Samia Longchambon. The character made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 19 May 2000. During her time ...

(

Samia Longchambon 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. Early life Samia Ghadie was born in Eccles, ...

) struggles to handle her workload with owner

Audrey Roberts Audrey Roberts (also Potter) is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Sue Nicholls. Audrey made her first appearance on 16 April 1979 and appeared on a recurring basis for three years until April 1982. ...

(

Sue Nicholls Susan Frances Harmar Nicholls (born 23 November 1943) is an English actress, known for her roles on British television in ''Crossroads'' (1964–1968), ''The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin'' (1976–1979) and, ''Rentaghost'' (1981–1984), a ...

) being in hospital and

( Jack P. Shepherd) taking some time off work due to personal reasons. Her application is successful and she begins work that month, much to the displeasure of David - who is set to be training her after he returns to work the same month - as he finds her annoying. When Emma arrives late, having missed her tram as she was too busy preparing for her first day, she begins irritating David by accidentally dropping products on the floor, her lack of initiative to put the kettle on and her constant apologies for her mistakes, among other things. David cited that she was a "walking disaster zone" and told Maria that there was no way that she would be staying. However, Maria was insistent that she needed extra help with the amount of time David and his gran were taking off and said that Emma was friendly and keen to work. Despite his initial dislike for Emma, David realised that she was the perfect opportunity to help him feel masculine again - after he was viciously raped by his supposed friend

Josh Tucker ''Coronation Street'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters introduced in 2018, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by series producer Kate Oates or her successor ...

(Ryan Clayton) in March that year. David seduced Emma and, hoping to impress the boss in order to keep the job, she agreed to have sex with him and the pair began a relationship - with Emma leaving her shared flat and moving into 8 Coronation Street, much to Gail Rodwell's (

Helen Worth Helen Worth (born Cathryn Helen Wigglesworth; 7 January 1951) is an English actress. She is best known for portraying the role of Gail Platt in the ITV soap opera, ''Coronation Street'', a role that she has played since 1974. In 2014, she rec ...

) shock. Shona tells David to stop using Emma, as she is young and naive and shouldn't be brought into his dramas - but he refuses until the tragic suicide of

Aidan Connor '' Coronation Street'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters that appeared in 2015, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by series producer Stuart Blackburn. Beth ...

(

Shayne Ward Shayne Thomas Ward (born 16 October 1984) is an English actor and singer. He rose to fame as the winner of The X Factor (British series 2), the second series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor''. His debut single, "That's M ...

) in May. Realising the extent of his own mental health issues brought on by the rape and that he needs help before he goes the same way Aidan did - David broke off his relationship with Emma, confessing his love for Shona and admits that he'd been raped by Josh. Emma gets over being dumped quickly, moving into 19a Rosamund Street with

Billy Mayhew ''Coronation Street'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters that appeared in 2014, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by series producer Stuart Blackburn. Shar ...

(

Daniel Brocklebank Daniel Brocklebank (born 21 December 1979) is a British actor, best known for portraying the roles of Ivan Jones in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' (2005–2006), and Billy Mayhew in ITV's other long-running soap ''Coronation Street'' (2014� ...

) and Summer Spellman (Matilda Freeman) - as per Shona's advice and begins showing an interest in local builder

(Harry Visinoni) who, unlike David, was of a similar age to her. Emma and Seb began to flirt, despite the fact that he was still in a relationship with

Faye Windass Faye Windass (also Butler) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'', portrayed by Ellie Leach. She was introduced as a potential adoptive child for Anna (Debbie Rush) and Eddie Windass (Steve Huison) in ...

(

Ellie Leach Ellie Louise Leach (born 15 March 2001) is an English actress who portrays the role of Faye Windass on the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street.'' Early and personal life Leach was born in Bury, Greater Manchester and she has a younger sister, D ...

) - who became jealous of his and Emma's attraction. In August 2018, Faye's stepmother,

Sally Metcalfe Sally Metcalfe (also Seddon and Webster) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', portrayed by Sally Dynevor. The character first appeared on-screen during the episode airing on 27 January 1986, when Kevi ...

(

Sally Dynevor Sally Jane Dynevor (née Whittaker; born 30 May 1963) is a British actress, she is best known for her role as Sally Metcalfe Sally Metcalfe (also Seddon and Webster) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation St ...

) clocked Seb's dissatisfaction when Faye revealed that she was returning to the area full time, having been living with her mother

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...

(

Debbie Rush Debbie Rush (born 29 March 1966) is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Anna Windass in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' from 2008 to 2018. Career Early career After training at the Manchester School of Acting when sh ...

) for the past few months and implored Seb to end things with her if she was not who he wanted to be with. Although Seb found himself unable to confide in Emma that he had HIV and the pair's relationship didn't progress. Eventually, Emma moved in to 2a Coronation Street with Maria, her son

Liam Connor Liam Connor is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Rob James-Collier from 2006 to 2008. Storylines Liam first appeared on ''Coronation Street'' in August 2006 when he and nephew Ryan ( Ben Th ...

(Charlie Wrenshall) and

Bethany Platt Bethany Platt is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. She was born on-screen during the episode broadcast on 4 June 2000. She was played by Mia Cookson in 2000 and by twins Amy and Emily Walton from 2000 ...

(

Lucy Fallon Lucy Fallon (born 13 November 1995) is an English actress. She played Bethany Platt in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (2015–2020). The role has earned her widespread recognition and several accolades, including two British Soap Awa ...

) after deciding to leave Billy's flat after it got too cramped with the addition of

Sean Tully Sean Tully is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Antony Cotton. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 13 July 2003. Following that appearance, the character returned full-ti ...

(

Antony Cotton Antony Cotton (born Antony Dunn; 5 August 1975) is an English actor, known for portraying the role of Sean Tully in ''Coronation Street'', as well as portraying Alexander Perry in the original '' Queer as Folk'' series. In 2007, Cotton hosted ...

). Later, Emma strikes up a friendship with

(

) and agrees to go on a date with him in order for her to work out his flaws when it comes to relationships. Emma quickly falls for Chesney and they begin dating, but she is disheartened to realise that he is actually interested in

Gemma Winter '' Coronation Street'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters that appeared in 2014, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by series producer Stuart Blackburn. Sha ...

(

Dolly-Rose Campbell Dolly-Rose Campbell (born 12 April 1987) is an English actress, who has plays Gemma Winter on the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' since 2014. The most famous of her storylines was Gemma giving birth to quadruplets. Personal life In 2019, ...

) instead. Unwilling to stand between 'true love', Emma breaks things off with Chesney and implores him to make a go of things with Gemma. Emma becomes firm friends with Gemma, who is able to convince

Johnny Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Varian ...

(

Richard Hawley Richard Willis Hawley (born 17 January 1967) is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer. After his first band Treebound Story (formed while he was still at school) broke up, Hawley found success as a member of Britpop band Longp ...

) and

Jenny Connor Jenny Connor (also Bradley) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Sally Ann Matthews. She made her first appearance on-screen on 6 January 1986. Originally fostered by Rita Fairclough (Barbar ...

(

Sally Ann Matthews Sally Ann Matthews (born 19 September 1970) is an English actress. She is best known for playing the role of Jenny Bradley in the ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street''. Career Matthews was born in Oldham, Lancashire. She played Jenny Bra ...

) to hire Emma at

The Rovers Return The Rovers Return Inn is a fictional pub in the long-running British soap opera ''Coronation Street''. The Rovers Return occupies a corner of the fictional Coronation Street and Rosamund Street set location in the show. The pub was built by ...

- and the pair are caught up in the Underworld factory roof collapse together when

Gary Windass Gary Windass is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Coronation Street'', portrayed by Mikey North. He made his first appearance on November 14, 2008, the same episode where his parents Eddie (Steve Huison) and Anna Windass (Deb ...

(

Mikey North Michael "Mikey" North (born 27 September 1986) is an English actor best known for his role as Gary Windass in the ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'' since 2008. Early life North was born in the Cayton area of Scarborough and began acting a ...

) sabotages the roof. Although both escaped unscathed - the collapse proved fatal for

Rana Habeeb The following is a list of '' Coronation Street'' characters introduced in 2016, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by series producer Stuart Blackburn, or his successor Kate Oates. Marta Zarek Marta Zarek, played by E ...

(

Bhavna Limbachia Bhavna Jayanty Limbachia (born 21 April 1984) is a British actress. She is known for her roles as Alia Khan in ''Citizen Khan'' and Rana Habeeb in ''Coronation Street''. Career Limbachia studied photography, fashion and textiles at college, t ...

Development

Character creation and role

Emma first appeared in Episode 9435 in April 2018. Mardell's casting was announced on 21 March 2018, where it was revealed that she would be introduced as the new apprentice at

' (

) salon. Duncan Lindsay of the ''

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

'' reported that Emma would be incompetent at her job, which makes her clash with

( Jack P. Shepherd), who had recently been raped by

(Ryan Clayton). David Brown of the ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'' described the character as "bubbly". In June 2018, Mardell was offered a six-month extension to her contract after proving popular with the producers as well as the viewers. Following her contract renewal, Mardell relocated from her home in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

- where the show is filmed. Before landing the job on Corrie, Mardell's only other television credit was for an episode of '' Vera'' in 2017, since appearing on the show, she has become the co-artistic director at the JunkBox Theatre in

. Producer

Kate Oates Kate Oates (born 1979 or 1980) is a British television producer, who was born in Nottingham and graduated from Warwick University. She began her career working as a researcher and editorial assistant for Germaine Greer, before becoming a script ...

has said that by having sex with Emma, David is "trying to find a way to hide in plain sight." She added that David would credit having sex with Emma as "one of his big mistakes", but feels that it is a method of proving his masculinity. On her introduction, Mardell told Brown (''Radio Times'') that she found the experience "very surreal", but said that she "settled in quite quickly". As part of a new salon storyline, Mardell featured in scenes with

Rula Lenska Rula Lenska (born Róża Maria Leopoldyna Łubieńska, 30 September 1947) is a British actress. She mainly appears in British stage and television productions and is known in the United States for a series of television advertisements in the 19 ...

, who portrays rival hairdresser Claudia Colby. She enjoyed filming with Nicholls and Lenska and felt "spoilt" to share scenes with both actresses. Emma was also given a love interest in established character

(Harry Visinoni), who is

HIV-positive The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the ...

. Mardell thought that Emma would be "open-minded" about Seb's diagnosis, but would not understand it properly. She also believed that there would be problems with Seb's former girlfriend,

(

), who was still romantically interested in him.

Parental developments

Following Emma's first appearance on the show, many viewers began to pick up on the similarities between her and previous character

Fiona Middleton Fiona Middleton is a fictional character from the British television soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Angela Griffin. The actress secured the role following an audition. She was sceptical that it would lead to much and initially presume ...

(

Angela Griffin Angela Mellissa Griffin (born 19 July 1976) is a British actress and television presenter who has been active on British television since the early 1990s. She is best known for portraying the roles of Fiona Middleton in the ITV soap opera ''Cor ...

) last seen in September 1998, as both characters looked alike, worked at the salon and lived at 2a Coronation Street. Although, during an interview with The Sun, Mardell explained "I've heard the Fiona and Steve's daughter theory, but that's definitely not true. I did have a little chat and a joke with Angela Griffin about it and that was quite funny". However, the storyline later went ahead and Emma was revealed to be Steve McDonald (

) and Fiona's daughter in August 2019. Despite the storyline going ahead, Fiona never returned to the street. Instead, she appeared to Emma from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

via a video call in Episode 9854. However, Angela Griffin made a return to the street in real-life to film her scenes and spent time catching up with Nicholls and Mardell. After the parental developments were announced, some fans began theorising that a twist could see Emma turn out to be Jim McDonald (

Charles Lawson Quintin Charles Devenish "Charlie" Lawson (born 17 September 1959) is an actor, from Northern Ireland, who is best known for playing Jim McDonald on the long-running ITV soap opera, ''Coronation Street''. Early life and education Lawson was bo ...

)'s daughter instead of Steve's, due to his involvement with Fiona in the 1990s. However, the show confirmed that Steve was her biological father, when he received the DNA results in Episode 9853. In an interview, Mardell stated that she believed Emma would eventually come to terms with the revelation and "isn't one to hold a grudge". Teasing her character's future, Mardell said: "No one will ever replace her dad, but her mum lives in Australia and she doesn't have any other family on the Street so it would be a waste to let that relationship go. She bonds with

Liz McDonald Elizabeth 'Liz' McDonald (also Greenwood and Tomlin) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. She is portrayed by Beverley Callard. She made her first appearance on 27 October 1989. Callard opted to leave ...

(

Beverley Callard Beverley Jane McEwan (''née'' Moxon; previously Atkinson, Sowden and Callard; born 28 March 1957) is an English actress, known for her role as Liz McDonald in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and Flo Henshaw in ''Two Pints ...

) quite quickly, she's part of the McDonald family, they're taking her in. She's a McDonald now."

Reception

For her portrayal of Emma, Mardell was nominated for Best Soap Newcomer at the 2018 ''

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

'' Reader Awards. She placed fifth with 7.7% of the total votes. She was also longlisted in the Best Newcomer category at the 2018 ''Inside Soap'' Awards. Mardell was nominated in the Newcomer category at the

National Television Awards The National Television Awards (often shortened to NTAs) is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted ...

in 2019 and won Best Newcomer at the 2019

British Soap Awards The British Soap Awards (BSAs) are an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom which honours the best moments in British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV and has been presented by Phillip Schofield since 2006. The trophies give ...

References

External links

Emma Brooker
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 ITV brand (or the UTV brand in Northern Ireland). The website offers online streaming, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooker, Emma Coronation Street characters Television characters introduced in 2018 Female characters in television Fictional hairdressers Fictional bartenders Fictional Black British people