Coronation Street star Natalie Gumede has revealed that viewers are to find out more about her character Kirsty Soames' background.

The actress hinted that the arrival of Kirsty's father may help to show her behaviour in a new light.

Kirsty is to be at the centre of a domestic violence storyline which sees her lash out at boyfriend Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall).

Writing in her ITV blog, Gumede said: "The tragedy of Kirsty - and perhaps a lot of people with a personality disorder like hers - is that she has so much going for her, and could be a nice person if she wasn't so damaged by her past.

"She has already explained that her jealousy issues stem from the betrayal of her boyfriend having an affair with her best friend, and in upcoming episodes we will see the arrival of Kirsty's parents.

"There is a very clear correlation between her father's behaviour towards her, and her behaviour towards Tyrone - therein the circle of abuse continues."

Gumede added that she hopes the storyline will raise awareness of the domestic violence issue.

She said: "Our safety is a basic human right, and one that we take for granted unless that human right is breached.

"Alan and I are able to leave Kirsty and Tyrone on set at the end of the day, but this storyline will hopefully raise awareness for those who aren't so lucky."

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