Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) became rapidly absorbed in The Institute, the organization Rowan Cunliffe (Emrhys Cooper) represented, after meeting him on Coronation Street. Leanne has been dragged deeper in despite the concerns of others like Toyah (Georgia Taylor), who quickly realized that the organization was essentially a cult.
She was just informed that she could enlist other people in the “cause,” and before long, Amy Barlow (Elle Mulvaney) was joining her. But after Amy participated in a supposedly “malware” session that traumatized Leanne, it’s Amy’s involvement that ultimately causes Leanne to recognize the cult for what it is.
Despite this, Leanne initially tries to focus on what she sees as the positives of the Institute, but the cracks are now starting to appear, as Jane explained.
We start to see everything falling down around her. Her relationship with Nick (Ben Price) has become extremely strained, her relationship with Rowan is not quite what it was. He’s not quite as nice with her as he has been and she’s reacting differently to him than she has done previously. She’s still holding onto the fact that the institute is a good thing but deep inside she knows that something’s a bit off.’
Leanne makes some shocking discoveries when she tries to delete Amy’s upload session – in which she talked about being raped and some of the drastic action she took in the aftermath – from Rowan’s laptop.Â
‘Leanne thinks if she wipes it clean then he’s not got anything on Amy and her conscience is slightly clearer,’ Jane said. ‘But by doing that, that’s when she discovers the bigger picture and all the other things that are kept on Rowan’s computer on her. It becomes a question of how’s he going to worm his way out of this, given that she finds he has things on her too.’
There’s huge suspense as Leanne discovers a folder marked ‘Nick and Toyah’ – and viewers know she could be moments away from finding out that her partner and her sister have been having an affair.
Jane teased what happens next. ‘She’s one click away from finding out everything but Rowan’s also on his way back into the room. One click could cause everything to come crashing down but it’s whether he gets to her first…’
With Leanne’s discoveries on the laptop set to open her eyes as to how Rowan operates, Jane told us that the usually streetwise Leanne has been completely taken in by his promises.
‘Leanne is such a strong character, she’s so opinionated, so feisty and streetwise, that at first it was hard to believe that she would get sucked into this,’ she mused. ‘But all the research that I’ve done proves that it does happen to these sorts of people who get the promise of something, and often nobody really tells you what that promise is.
‘They just say it’s going to be better and your life is going to be more enriched and feel positive, and all these things that have happened to you in the past fade away and you can go on a different path to happiness.
‘Leanne craved that but actually, there’s nothing physically they can give to you to make all that better. It’s just the idea of it, the idea of having a better life and the Institute have brainwashed her into thinking that it’s the suggestions they’re making will help her have a better life.’
Whatever happens next, Jane is convinced that Leanne is going to be changed from her experiences.
‘I would definitely say there’s trouble ahead, because you can’t go through all that and then just be okay,’ she said. ‘There’s got to be some scars from what she’s been through. I imagine she’ll feel a bit of a fool as well, because she’s invested in a friendship that she thought was real and that will obviously have some sort of psychological effect later.’
