Coronation Street Star Samia Longchambon Reflects on Love, Loss, and the Power of Fate

Coronation Street actress Samia Longchambon has opened up in a heartfelt new interview, revealing her belief that her late father may have had a hand in bringing her and her husband, French ice skater Sylvain Longchambon, together. The actress, who has played Maria Connor on the ITV soap for over two decades, gave the touching interview to Prima magazine, where she reflected on the deeper connections she’s experienced in life, her family, career highlights, and the impact of online negativity.

At 42 years old, Samia is now in a strong and settled place in life, but her journey to happiness hasn’t been without its emotional twists and turns. She met Sylvain during the eighth season of Dancing on Ice, which aired back in 2013. At the time, Samia was focused entirely on learning how to skate and performing live each week. Romance was the furthest thing from her mind.

“It wasn’t love at first skate for me and Sylvain,” she confessed. “I was too busy learning to move around on the ice to be thinking about anything like that! Things between us didn’t start until months after we first met.”

Their friendship eventually blossomed into love, and over time, Samia began to feel a powerful connection between her husband and her late father, who passed away in 2009. “I think my dad sent Sylvain to me,” she said. “My dad died in 2009 and French was his second language. He loved France and his sister Samia — who I’m named after — lives about an hour away from where Sylvain grew up in Lyon.”

Samia added, “Once we got to know each other, I was like, ‘Oh, this is weird’. There were so many common threads with him that I was like, ‘I feel like my dad just sent you’.” The idea of fate or destiny guiding her toward love is something Samia finds comfort in — especially considering how unexpected and organic her relationship with Sylvain was from the beginning.

The pair married in 2016, and their union has only grown stronger over the years. They share a son, Yves Joseph, born in 2015. Samia also has a daughter from her previous marriage to property developer Matthew Smith. Life now is filled with parenting duties, career commitments, and personal growth, but Samia says she enjoys sharing bits of her past with her kids, including her Dancing on Ice performances.

“It’s quite nice being able to watch the videos with the kids now and go, ‘I did that’,” she said with a smile. “I don’t think I’d be able to do it now. I love going skating with Sylvain and, weirdly, I’m more confident skating now because there’s no pressure.”

Reflecting on her time competing on live television, Samia admitted that the experience was intense and nerve-wracking. “Every week, you’d feel that pressure that it was live on telly and there are a lot of people at home who are just willing you to fall, because it’s funny. It was a lot of pressure.”

Still, she hasn’t ruled out doing more TV work in the future. “When it comes to other TV shows, I say ‘never say never’ to anything. I’m 42 now and I’ve spent a lot of my life being scared because of anxiety. A challenge is always good.”

Away from the cameras, Samia has also had to develop resilience, particularly when it comes to social media and the unfortunate side of fame — trolling. The actress explained how people often confuse her with her character, Maria, especially when Maria is caught up in a particularly dramatic or unsavory storyline on the soap.

“I’ve had to deal with loads of trolling over the years,” she admitted. “It’s usually when Maria’s caught up in something that’s not great and people forget that I’m not this character! It’s not nice — this industry can be hard if you’re not thick-skinned, and I’m not.”

To protect her mental health, Samia said she’s learned to limit her social media usage. “Reading mean comments can feel like picking a scab; you don’t want to read it, but then you do end up reading it, and it ruins your day.”

She went on to share how she’s occasionally responded to online trolls — with surprising results. “Historically, there’s been a couple of times I have responded to trolls. Weirdly, though, I find that most people back down and apologise when you call them out. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that’, they might say. And I’ll think, ‘Well, I’m a human with feelings, and it hurts – but it’s fine, let’s move on’.”

As someone who has grown up on British television — Samia first joined Coronation Street as a teenager — she’s no stranger to difficult storylines. Maria Connor has been at the center of some of the show’s most emotional and controversial plots, including giving birth to a stillborn son and marrying a gay Spanish man so he could stay in the country.

Through it all, Samia has remained a beloved fixture on the show, admired for her talent and honesty both on screen and off. Her openness about anxiety, grief, and self-doubt resonates deeply with fans, and her enduring success in a tough industry speaks volumes about her strength.

For those eager to read more about Samia’s reflections on life, love, loss, and career, her full interview is featured in the July issue of Prima magazine, available starting Wednesday, May 28.