Coronation Street actress Samia Smith has admitted that her recent storylines on the soap have left her drained and worn out.

Samia plays Maria Connor on the ITV soap opera, within the last year she has given birth to a stillborn baby and been widowed after her husband was killed in a hit and run accident.

Speaking to the Sunday Mirror, Smith revealed: “It’s been a good 18 months of solid misery. It’s quite draining really, having to think really depressing thoughts for 12 hours a day, all week.

“I can’t muck about in the green room like I used to, I don’t have the energy to. I’ve found that it’s better to just sit in my dressing room and read a book and be quiet for a while. I’ve become a bit of a hermit.”

Discussing the impact on her social life, she added: “I’m doing this all the time, and at weekends I’m really tired. Luckily I’ve got good friends, who understand. I have to try to smile a lot in my real life. I put lots of loud music on in the car on the way home and then pour myself a big glass of wine.”