LIFE in the public eye as a local politician is getting dangerous for Maria Connor.
The Coronation Street resident finds out someone is watching her every move through a tracking device.
Maria Connor (portrayed by Samia Longchambon) experienced first-hand the dangerous side of living under the spotlight as she was the target of online hate.
The sassy hairdresser found out a deep-fake video had been made to humiliate her, in which her face was added to the body of an unknown naked woman, and the harassment won’t stop there.
Coming up next week, Maria is nervous about going to a lunch meeting on her own and, picking up on her mood, Kelly Neelan (Millie Gibson) offers to accompany her.
But when Jimmy approaches her and warns her to keep her nose out of matters she wouldn’t understand, Maria is considerably shaken and nothing can be done about it.
To make matters all the more harrowing, a creepy guy tells Maria how much he enjoyed her online video.
Overwhelmed, Maria runs out… and gets a notification which alerts her about her phone being tracked.
She receives a call from her husband Gary Windass (Mikey North), who recently got into trouble for attacking Jimmy during a press conference, and Maria tells him she believes she’s being followed.
A terrified Maria scrabbles in her bag, desperately looking for the tracking device, but she’s stopped by footsteps behind her.
In a panic, Maria grabs a can of hairspray and turns – who will be facing her?
While that remains to be seen, Maria eventually finds the tracking device, destroys it, and calls the police.
Both her and Gary report the incident but when they tuck into a pizza with Kelly and Liam, Maria is clearly traumatised and draws the blinds, convinced someone might be watching them.
