It’s a brave decision for an actor to leave a soap they’ve worked on for six years, and former Coronation Street star Michelle Keegan has revealed that when she decided to leave the show she wondered whether she would ever have another acting job.
Michelle played Tina McIntyre from 2008 to 2014, when her character was murdered in a storyline that led to Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne) being wrongly accused of her killing.
During her time in the show her storylines included a relationship with Peter as well as with David Platt (Jack P. Shepherd). Tina was the daughter of Gail (Helen Worth)’s husband Joe McIntyre (Reece Dinsdale) who died in a boating accident.
There was also an emotional surrogacy story in which Tina carried a baby for Gary Windass (Mikey North) and Izzy Armstrong (Cherylee Houston), which really showcased Michelle’s strengths as an actor.
Michelle told the Radio Times that when she made the decision to leave the soap she knew she was taking a risk.
‘When I decided to leave Corrie, I remember coming to terms with the idea of not acting again,’ she said.
‘I always said to myself, “If I don’t get a job after this, at least I’ve had a good run: not many people can say they’ve had this career for six and a half years.”’
She did have a fall-back option in case the acting roles failed to materialise. ’If it hadn’t worked out, I’d have done something to do with dogs – that’s my happy place,’ she revealed.
Michelle never had to test out this alternative career path because for the talented actress it wasn’t long before job offers came along. Since leaving Coronation Street she’s starred in the army drama Our Girl and showcased her comedy talents playing Erin in Brassic, among many other roles.
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Going to auditions again wasn’t easy for her, she admitted. ‘It was terrifying. I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d get Corrie so I went along to that audition with the mindset that it would just be good experience. Then, after seven years, to go back into the big wide world again was scary. A soap is so safe.’
Viewers will soon be able to see her in a new drama called Ten Pound Poms, which follows a group of migrants to Australia in 1956. Michelle plays a young nurse who is desperate to move on from a devastating past.
Recently Michelle posted some behind the scenes photos of herself in costume for the drama. ‘1 week to go before Ten Pound Poms takes you back to 1956’ she shared.
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