Coronation Street spoilers follow from Friday night's episodes (May 7).
Coronation Street star Sally Carman has revealed that a hand double was used for Friday night's emotional episodes.
The actress' character Abi Franklin was left devastated as her son Seb tragically passed away in the ITV soap's latest double bill.
Corrie is still being filmed with strict social distancing rules in place, which meant that Sally wasn't able to get physically close to her on-screen son Harry Visinoni (Seb) in the hospital scenes.
In some moments, Sally was reacting to an empty hospital bed. Show bosses also invited Harry's real-life girlfriend to come on set as another workaround for the episodes.
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In a recent chat with Digital Spy and other media, Sally confirmed: "There was one scene where Seb had died and I had to say goodbye to him. I was stroking his face and we had to have Harry's girlfriend as my hand double.
"Weirdly, it worked. When you are in that zone, it works so it was fine."
Corrie is exploring the issue of hate crimes in the new storyline. Seb and his girlfriend Nina Lucas were attacked by Corey Brent and a gang of other thugs due to Nina's alternative identity.
The plot shares similarities with the tragic real-life case of Sophie Lancaster, who was murdered in 2007. Corrie bosses have been working with the foundation set up in her name.
Related: Coronation Street star reacts to tragic exit scenes in latest episode
Sally continued: "On one hand, from an actor's point of view, it's a brilliant opportunity to flex your acting muscles. I knew it was a story which would have a social comment and I knew it was important, so it was something I was really excited about.
"Equally, it was bittersweet as I knew I'd no longer be working with Harry as he was obviously going to be leaving. That was difficult, but I do speak to him outside of work so it's not the end of the world.
"You've got to pull on your own experiences when filming. I've never had anyone die on me in that situation and I hope I never do, but you have to go to a time in your life where you've been heartbroken or you've had a big shock.
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"It doesn't matter what it is, but that's what you have to do – you have to pull on your own experiences and that's what I did. I did it as best as I could.
"You have to have empathy for anyone who has ever been in that situation and compare it to something that is precious to you and how you'd feel if it was gone. You have to really focus on that and just try to do your best."
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7.30pm on ITV.
Anyone who has witnessed or experienced a hate crime is urged to call the police on 101, Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or visit the True Vision website. In an emergency, always dial 999.
Coronation Street has worked on the current storyline alongside The Sophie Lancaster Foundation, which was set up to challenge prejudices and intolerance towards people from alternative subcultures, and extend UK hate crime legislation, following the murder of Sophie Lancaster in 2007.
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