Coronation Street spoilers follow.
Coronation Street is embarking on a new storyline for Maria Connor and her son Liam, one that will tackle the often overlooked but important issue of air pollution.
As revealed in The Mirror, scenes that will air next will see Liam collapse while playing football, which will lead to Maria taking some drastic actions.
Actress Samia Longchambon explained what will happen to the publication, stating: "Liam has had a chesty cough, he's playing football on the street then suddenly he collapses struggling to breathe. He's taken to hospital and it turns out he's had an asthma attack.
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"The ambulance can't get down the street because of all the cars, which makes it even scarier. At the hospital the doctor says his asthma could have been caused by pollution and Maria just sees red.
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"She’s fuming and it becomes her mission to get rid of the vehicles causing the heavy pollution on the street."
How Maria's mission plays out in the long-term isn't public knowledge yet, but we know that her initial reaction is to try smashing up Underworld's van with a crowbar in a fit of anger.
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Coronation Street has worked with Asthma UK on the storyline, with data stating that air toxicity is linked to as many as 36,000 deaths a year. Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, who died aged nine in 2013, is cited as an inspiration for the storyline.
In 2020, a coroner's inquest concluded that air pollution should be listed as a cause of Ella's death, the first time that this has happened in the UK.
Coronation Street airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights on ITV.
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