Mrs Copeland was an important customer of Underworld who kept an appointment at the factory in June 2021 for a design presentation by Nina Lucas, overseen by manager Sarah Barlow.
Nina was hardly in the best frame of mind for the task in hand, having been viciously assaulted the month before by Corey Brent and his gang, an attack in which her boyfriend Seb Franklin had also died. She had spiralled out of self-control, indulging in heavy drinking and staying out all night. Alerted by Nina's uncle Roy Cropper, Sarah had grave doubts as to whether she should proceed and told Nina she could delay it until the next week when Mrs Copeland would be back for another meeting, but the girl declined the offer. When the meeting commenced, Nina was in something of a dishevelled state, with notes missing and dismissive of her own work, stating that the name of "deadly nightshade" was obvious for the "obvious people" who would buy it. As she struggled through, Sarah tried to interject and had to apologise when Nina accused the customer of being snidey. Livid at her treatment, even though it was entirely self-inflicted, Nina told Sarah to stick her job and walked out.