SHE will become increasingly isolated.

She will begin to believe him when he puts her down.

Finally, weak and broken, she will struggle to fight back.

She may wear a brave face behind the bar of the Rovers Return, but bully builder Charlie Stubbs has slowly begun to gain control over the usually bubbly Coronation Street barmaid Shelley Unwin.

Last year millions of Britons were gripped by the confessions of the Street's murderous financial advisor Richard Hillman.

Now there is a new baddie on the block and it has been reported that episodes involving Charlie to be screened towards the end of next month will be "sinister and spine-chilling".

A Corrie source has been quoted as saying: "Some of the scenes will be very distressing. Charlie will begin to control Shelley and degrade her at every opportunity.

"His control over her will grow and grow in the most horrible of ways, but Shelley loves him so much she will believe that she's the one at fault and will at first try to stay in the violent relationship.

"Charlie's behaviour will be typical of someone hell-bent on using domestic violence.

"He'll subject her to constant criticism, isolate her from all her friends and family, intimidate and bully her, threaten to harm her and virtually keep her a prisoner in her own home."

Margaret, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, nods her head as the forthcoming story line is explained.

Sat in the children's playroom at a local refuge, she tells how she was put down, called names for more than a year until, just two months before she was due to give birth to their first child, her partner went one step further.

"He pinned me down and started shouting in my face. He was trying to strangle me. I didn't know if I was going to die or not."

She was 15 when their relationship began. He was almost twice her age.

Living abroad initially, she said they had a good time.

Then she fell pregnant at 17 and everything began to change.

He would pin her against doors, call her names.

He would call her a stupid girl, tell her she was dumb or fat.

"He would use all this abusive language and eventually you start believing it. I started thinking there was something wrong with me.

"I was about 18. I was trying to find myself. I had an image of this person, I thought he was wonderful. Then suddenly I started realising what he was. He wasn't who I thought he was. He was like Jekyll and Hyde."

Having a baby meant she grew up quickly. She took responsibility for making sure all the bills were paid; she was the adult.

"It hit me that he was always drunk from morning to the evening.

"He was selfish. The last bit of money went on his drink. But the more I pointed these things out to him, the nastier he became."

She said he started playing mind games with her, telling her she had said things she knew she hadn't.

"I felt like I was going mad."

If she said she liked music that he didn't, he would bully her.

"The easy way out was to say I liked what he liked."

Having left home without her parents' blessing, she was already isolated from her family.

And she started lying, agreeing with everyone who mentioned how nice he was.

"I became a person I never wanted to be just to protect him and cover what he was doing to me. "

She said he picked on almost everything she did.

"Nothing was good enough. I tried my best. I tried to get the house clean, but it still wasn't good enough."

One day, after looking at her young child and realising she didn't want him to grow up in this environment, she told him she wanted to separate.

"I was in the kitchen cooking and he came in and started accusing me of having an affair, which I hadn't. He kicked me in the back of the legs. It all happened so fast.

"I had a black eye. I think he got scared. He phoned the police himself. I didn't press charges, I just wanted to get out of there."

Now she is looking forward.

She hopes soaps exploring the issue will help people in similar situations see there is a way out too.

First published: Oct 20