Ex-Corrie actress turns sex photo hack into 'positive thing'

A former Coronation Street actress who had intimate photos leaked online says she is determined to turn the experience into a positive one.

Melissa Johns - who's disabled - says some good may come from the hack because it shows women with all types of body have sex lives.

Posting online, she called the invasion of privacy "unacceptable".

But speaking to Newsbeat, she says it can be a good thing "if this goes some way to dismantling discrimination".

Melissa - who joined Coronation Street for a month last year - was born without a right hand and forearm.

The 27-year-old actress says she was initially "incredibly shocked" when she found out her phone had been hacked.

A week after finding out about the photos, she posted her response on Instagram.

"The papers are saying that I'm 'devastated'. That this is 'hell'. That's not my take on it at all."

Melissa's Instagram response to the photos being leaked.

Speaking to Newsbeat, Melissa says: "I don't want to waste my energy trying to access the person who's done this or work out ways of getting it [the post] down.

"There's nothing we can do about the people doing this but maybe what I can do is spread the word of female empowerment."

She says that nearly everything she does in life is about "fighting for female empowerment and the empowerment of people with disabilities."

And she admits "that loving your body doesn't happen overnight".

"We are all completely different and rather than be ashamed of the things that make us different, we should magnify it and glorify it," she says.

"We should make it the best thing we own.

"It's not something that we should shy away from, it's something that should be celebrated."

Earlier this month, Melissa posted pictures of her modelling, highlighting her disability as a positive.

Melissa's modelling shots

She says she wants women to "appreciate their bodies and know that we're allowed to appreciate them and celebrate them".

"Rather than try to tear down the people doing this, let's build up the women that are having this done to them, and let them know they haven't done anything wrong for appreciating their own body."

Find us on Instagram at BBCNewsbeat and follow us on Snapchat, search for bbc_newsbeat