I survived a stalking horror and here’s why Coronation Street’s Daisy storyline is sorely needed
DAISY Midgeley's life has been thrown into turmoil on Coronation Street after being targeted by a stalker.
Less than a year after my own stalking ordeal, the soap's storyline hits close to home - and here's why I think it's so important.
An hour had gone by when my eyes began to water and tears started to fall.
I trembled, clutching my friend's hand for dear life as I helped the policewoman organise all the letters and screenshots I had collected over the past two months.
In some of them, my stalker professed his unwavering love for me, begging me to talk to him and assuring me I was the best thing to ever happen to him.
In more than half of his texts, emails and voicemails, he blackmailed me into speaking with him, threatening to ruin my friendships, my reputation as well as my career if I didn't respond to him in the amount of time he'd so generously given me.
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Why? I either ignored him or stood my ground and told him to leave me alone. He never listened.
Such is sometimes the reality of women dealing with an individual who cannot take "no" for an answer, proceeding to ignore their boundaries, destroy their sense of security and even make them question their sanity.
Corrie actress Charlotte Jordan was given the task of portraying a woman in crisis in recent scenes of the Manchester-based drama as her on-screen alter ego Daisy Midgeley faces her own stalker, Justin.
And who better than former Hollyoaks and Waterloo Road star Andrew Still to join the line-up as the troubled character?
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When I initially found out about the storyline, I expected Justin to be infatuated with Daisy for a couple of days before eventually giving up after a tense confrontation with her fiancé.
It wasn't until I saw Daisy and Daniel head to the police station that the possibility Corrie may nail the storyline dawned on me.
As ITV viewers will remember, the couple recently turned to the authorities when it became clear Justin wouldn't stop pestering the Rovers barmaid.
My stomach dropped for Daisy when Justin followed her to the wedding fair as I was reminded of that March day my own tormentor caught up with me at my local train station and followed me around until I agreed to speak to him.
The distress is indescribable, a mix of dread, terror and exasperation all knotted tightly in your throat.
I had frantically tried to find an escape from him, holding back tears as he managed to get close to me, only to murmur abuse down my ear.
While it only took Daisy and Daniel a handful of scenes before making the decision, two months had painfully dragged by until I came to the realisation that I had a choice to make - my stalker or me.
Two months had gone by since the constant calls - I'd once received 200 of them in less than twenty-four hours - and abusive emails first began.
For four hours I sat on that same chair, a box of tissues on my lap and my friend sat by my side.
I made my way home after 11pm that night and opened my front door to a new letter with my name scribbled in black ink.
I had been promised something would be done but I struggled to trust the police.
My past experience with the police made me learn the hard way that they are sometimes unable to help, despite their best intentions.
I was pleased to see that Corrie kept to the truth.
Much like the officers that took in all the evidence I had to offer against my stalker, local Weatherfield policeman Craig Tinker (Colson Smith) told Daisy and Daniel there was nothing they could do.
The scenes reminded me of the anger that was bubbling up in my stomach when I was told the pile of screenshots, recordings and my crumbling mental health would not be enough.
I see a lot of myself in Daisy - hot-tempered, independent, bold and assertive, like I was raised to be by a single mother struggling to put food on the table alone.
My light was forever dimmed by my stalker and honestly, I am still struggling to build myself back up after my ordeal.
I remember slowly becoming a shell of myself, unable to eat, sleep or be with my friends as that would often mean I'd receive an insulting message from my tormentor because I refused to give him the time of day.
"You're not yourself", I was once told by my best friend and he was right, I wasn't.
I remember having to leave my phone in another room while working as the calls, emails and messages would carry on, causing me severe distress.
I remember being woken up one morning by somebody continually ringing my doorbell at 5.30am and taking my phone to film my stalker outside of my home.
It still wasn't enough.
The authorities still wanted to wait until he physically took action against my life, as if me being too emotionally and mentally drained to even brush my hair or me constantly looking over my shoulder while running my errands wasn't harmful enough.
Like Daisy, I was told to keep a log of his actions but even with the evidence piling up against him, his gaslighting managed to make me believe that I was, somehow, responsible for him doing this to me - and the thought of it broke me.
Like Daisy, I once had to hold my tongue when somebody close to me made light of my ordeal like Daniel, saying my stalker was just heartbroken and I should cut him some slack - despite me having to stay at their home for days because I didn't feel safe in my own.
While Daisy's ordeal is still unravelling before our eyes, it's clear Coronation Street is ready to call out society for still letting women down.
Many of us, like me, still walk alone at night with our house key between our fingers in case somebody tries to bother us.
Most, if not all of us, know at least one woman who has been sexually assaulted, harassed or both - all a result of someone not accepting our answer, "no."
And none of us expect this to change in 2023 as we have gotten so used to inaction, indifference and even mockery.
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Although we'll have to wait and see what path Daisy will have to take to escape Justin, I'm glad it's showing the harsh and gut-wrenching reality of going through life with a stalker.
So many of us still live in silence out of fear we won't be believed or taken seriously but, hopefully, Daisy's turmoil will remind everybody that consent isn't just sexual.
Almost a year has gone by since my stalker first began to torment me.
After years of avoiding them, I had to turn to medication to cope with my worsening PTSD.
My current relationship suffers sometimes greatly from my panic attacks, flashes and nightmares, but also from my stalker himself.
He sought a bond with me for months on end and gave up as soon as I embarked on a new relationship.
But instead of calming him down, my happiness only made him angrier.
The emails are less frequent but just as abusive and they no longer have the same hold over me as they once did.
Seeing that doesn't bring me to him, he has sometimes resorted to trying to keep me silent, blackmailing me again and comforting himself in the delusion that I've been doctoring messages, videos and recordings.
He may have only received a slap on the wrist from the police but he will never have my silence.
All this because I was told "nothing could be done" - yet another example of society letting a woman down.
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Can Corrie help change the trend?
Coronation Street continues to air every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8pm on ITV.
Are you being stalked?
IF you are a victim of stalking, tell a friend, secure your social media, contact the police and call the National Stalking Helpline on 0808 802 0300.
