Character Study: The Book of Zoe

There are some characters that might not have been in Coronation Street for a long time, but really make an impression. The reason is usually to do with a powerhouse actor. When the actor is young, it's twice as memorable. Some actors, even at a young age, have talent oozing out of every pore and Joanne Froggatt is one of those. She bagged a role on Corrie at the age of 18, in mid 1997, playing 15 year old Zoe Tattersall and for the next year and a half she rode an emotional roller coaster with her character.

Zoe Tattersall was a waif, a stray. She had enough of childrens' care homes and ran away, living on the street with her boyfriend Liam. We first met them within the walls of an amusement arcade where Judy Mallett worked. Liam caused trouble and one day when Gary was there, he threw the lad out but the snotty boy decided to blackmail the Malletts for a few hundred quid, threatening to go to the police. The real reason for wanting the money was because Zoe was pregnant.

Judy, struggling with her own fertility issues, felt her heart break and heard opportunity knocking. One night’s kip on the Mallet sofa turned into a plan to pay Zoe £2000 in exchange for her baby. Highly illegal, of course, but poor, young, Zoe was overwhelmed and though Gary objected to the plan, sensibly, Zoe accepted the offer.

The nosy neighbours assumed Gary was the baby's father and Judy allowed them to think it, deciding it would probably help matters if anyone asked why they would end up with the baby. Zoe made friends with new neighbour Leanne Battersby and confessed to her the real story, including the payment.

The baby arrives and Judy is now anxious to get rid of Zoe who is already showing signs of bonding with little Katy Joyce. Gary fraudulently signs the birth certificate as the father and Judy settles in to new motherhood with Zoe resentfully lurking in the corners. After the health nurse’s first visit, Zoe is finally persuaded to leave but in her wake, it isn’t long before Leanne lets the cat out of the bag to new boyfriend Nick and the gossips speculate wildly. Could it be true that the Mallets bought the baby? They cover up and say that Zoe stole the money and ran off.

Leanne finds Zoe and persuades her to come back and clear her name so she returns to Coronation Street. Meantime, Ashley Peacock, working in the corner shop, seems to develop a soft spot for the slip of a girl who wants her baby. Finally, after the christening, Gary and Judy are so worried about Zoe’s presence that they make plans to leave Weatherfield but Zoe snatches her baby back just in time with Ashley’s help.

Zoe leaves the Street with the baby to find Liam who is living in an unheated, dark squat. He has no use for the baby and thinks Zoe should sell the baby back to the Mallets for a further 2000 quid and even approaches Judy for the money. Judy has sex with her boss for an advance on her salary but Zoe refuses to give up the baby and moves back in with Ashley.

Eventually Zoe and Ashley become a proper couple but it’s not without it’s ups and downs. Ashley takes on more responsibility for the renamed Shannon Jade while Zoe takes on less. She’s still only 16 and finds full time motherhood difficult in spite of loving her little one. Her irresponsibility and Uncle Fred’s disapproval and interference cause trouble.

Meanwhile, Judy finds out she’s pregnant. That same week, Nick and Leanne babysit so Zoe and Ashley can go out for a meal. Shannon takes quite ill and is rushed to hospital but the poor little mite dies of meningitis. Nobody’s fault but Zoe is completely shattered. She goes into a tailspin, lashing out at her friends and neighbours and even lighting a pram filled with Shannon’s things and pushing it at Judy and Gary after she finds out Judy is pregnant.

She’s sectioned for a few days and then after she’s out, Fiona offers to do her hair. Thoughtlessly, she brings her own baby down into the salon and while her back is turned, Zoe decides to take the baby for a walk. She had no plans to hurt the baby but everyone panicked and by the time they found her, she was at the side of the canal. Of course they thought she was going to jump in with baby Morgan but all she wanted to do was show him the ducks. When she realized what they all thought, she did jump into the water, leaving the baby on the ground behind her. Gary rescued her and she was taken to the hospital again, this time for a few weeks.

During this time, Ashley realizes that though he loves her, he can’t give her what she needs. He can’t bring himself to finish with her, however, and when she gets out of hospital, she’s back in his house and bed. Things go along ok for a few months and then Zoe meets a couple while out clubbing, Ben and Ruth. Ruth becomes her new Best Friend very quickly which raises Ashley’s suspicions. They get Zoe a job at their “Foundation” and convince her to sell new age crystals on the street and door to door, all the while telling her about their beliefs and working on her grief for her baby. She is soon convinced that theirs is the road to salvation and seeing her Shannon again and she gets in deeper and deeper into the Cult of Nirab. Nothing Ashley can do seems to convince her otherwise. He even tries to kidnap her from their clutches but finally realizes that she has to make her own decisions. She needs a new start, she wants to have a baby for the Foundation and she leaves with Ben and Ruth and is never seen again.