Perdita
06-07-2008, 13:20
As Coronation Street’s Tina, Michelle Keegan gets to argue with Gail, fight with her mum, visit David Platt in the Weatherfield nick, and work in a Pound Shop (and she’s even been sacked from there thanks to her all-round tardiness).
But thankfully, in this instance, reality is better than fantasy. Because as Michelle Keegan she gets to spend her days doing swanky fashion shoots for magazines like our good selves. And when she’s done with them, she gets to drink beer, eat crisp butties, and talk about gorgeous men. One in particular, in fact – Rob James Collier, the lovely Liam, Corrie’s resident heart-throb.
‘He’s definitely the sexiest bloke of the street,’ she says. ‘And he’s funny and a nice guy, he’s really Manc.’ So maybe Tina could have a wild affair with him while David’s busy cleaning prison loos?
‘Oh yes please! I’m like, "Before he leaves, you’ve got to write him and Tina together". But I doubt he’d go for 16-year-old Tina, sadly...’
So, it looks like Tina is stuck with that reprobate David Platt. Which, once again, is different to the real world – despite rumours suggesting Michelle is dating Jack P Shephard, who plays her on-screen boy.
‘It’s just funny, we had to laugh and take it with a pinch of salt when people said that. It was a coincidence that it was reported we’d broken up with our exes at the same time, which is why all the rumours started,’ says Michelle, who actually split from ex-Hollyoaks actor Anthony Quinlan before starting on Corrie.
‘It was a mutual thing, and it was nothing to do with me being on Corrie with Jack. And Jack is back with his girlfriend now. She’s lovely – he’s been in the show for eight years, so she understands these stories happen.’
Michelle, 20, has only been starring in Corrie for six months, but her feisty portrayal of teenage Tina has seen her win over the soap’s bosses and devotees alike. While some stars of The Street can take years to get beyond anything more dramatic than the odd set-to with Norris over an unpaid paper bill, Tina has swiftly become a central character and bagged herself some cracking storylines.
‘Tina came in to the show just to change David into a nice character, and then to get to the point where he pushed his mum down the stairs. I was supposed to be out of there after that. But they’ve kept me on. They needed a bit of a ballsy character, I think,’ says Michelle. ‘She’s moved into the Platts’ now and she’s getting a family base around her, so hopefully she’s around for the long haul. I didn’t think I was staying, so I’m very lucky.’
What’s even luckier is, 18 months ago, Michelle was working on the check-in desk at Manchester Airport and had never acted before.
‘I’d always wanted to go into acting but I didn’t have the confidence. I just didn’t know how to get into it. This time last year I was just starting acting lessons, so it’s all happened dead fast,’ she says. Indeed, Corrie was only her second-ever audition.
‘I got an agent in the October and I got the job in November. I’m still not used to it at all, I still have to pinch myself. I was terrified for a long time, I used to sit in the green room on my own thinking, "Am I allowed to sit here? What if it’s Ken Barlow’s chair?" And then I went on set, expecting, like, three people as the film crew and there were about 30 people there. I’d never done anything in front of a camera before. I didn’t know where to look or what to do. And the first time I met Helen Worth, I froze. I was hitting Jack going, "Oh my God, it’s Gail". It was too overwhelming.’
And just to provide the cherry on the Eccles cake, Michelle won the Best Newcomer at this year’s Soap Awards.
‘I was so embarrassed, I couldn’t believe it, all I could think was I was about to fall over when I went to collect it. And walking down the red carpet with everyone knowing my name was mad. It’s like taking a lamb to the slaughter.’
Tina is perfect red-carpet fodder, though – fresh-faced, flawless complexion and a cracking little figure (she shan’t strip off for the lad mags, mind: ‘I don’t want to do it at the moment, although I’ll never say never’). Surely boys must be falling over themselves to get to her? ‘I don’t get chatted up a lot. Maybe they don’t like Tina. People look but never talk to me, and, if they do, I always get, "Are you off Coronation Street? I don’t watch it".’
Single Michelle’s ideal man is a cross between Christiano Ronaldo and Danny Dyer.
‘I don’t like footballers, but I’ve always had a thing about Ronaldo. I can never see myself as a footballer’s wife though. And I really like Danny Dyer. He’s a geezer isn’t he? He’s a wrong ’un, he’s filthy. Bring it on.’ So she’s partial to a bad boy?
‘I like a bit of a chase, a little streak of bad boy, but not too much. I don’t want to be treated like rubbish. Bad boys are OK for flings, then I can chuck them.’
And she’s well-practised at bad boys, let’s face it. ‘I’d love to see Tina stay with David – if she can’t have Liam of course! – and I’d like to see the darker side of her. She’s feisty but she’s essentially a good girl at the moment, so I’d like to see an evil side come out. Maybe her and David could be like Bonnie and Clyde. Now that would be cool…’
Michelle says: "Bad boys are good for a fling - then I chuck them,"
‘When I was younger I was a bit of a scally. My life up to the age of 14 was a fashion disaster. I was always in trakkies, hoodies and Nike or Adidas trainers. At the time it was cool, so I don’t regret it. I think my friends and I thought we were "Chav-ant Guarde!" We all looked the same. We had the same scraped-back hair, and I even used to gel my "baby" hair to my face to make a kiss curl. At the time I was trying to look like J.Lo, but my mum was like, "Please put a dress on".’
‘I’d quite like Tina to change her image a bit. But when I put on her big earrings and scrape my hair back, it helps me get into character.’
‘My first paycheque went on a Chloé bag. But I’ve been good since. I don’t like to be too frivolous with money as I’m not sure how long it’ll last. And I want to save up for a decent summer holiday soon.’ Finding her fashion feet
‘I discovered fashion magazines at 15, and that’s when I started wanting to look nice. My mum is quite trendy. She always picks out good things for me and I trust her judgement. If I get something she hates, it puts me right off it.’
But thankfully, in this instance, reality is better than fantasy. Because as Michelle Keegan she gets to spend her days doing swanky fashion shoots for magazines like our good selves. And when she’s done with them, she gets to drink beer, eat crisp butties, and talk about gorgeous men. One in particular, in fact – Rob James Collier, the lovely Liam, Corrie’s resident heart-throb.
‘He’s definitely the sexiest bloke of the street,’ she says. ‘And he’s funny and a nice guy, he’s really Manc.’ So maybe Tina could have a wild affair with him while David’s busy cleaning prison loos?
‘Oh yes please! I’m like, "Before he leaves, you’ve got to write him and Tina together". But I doubt he’d go for 16-year-old Tina, sadly...’
So, it looks like Tina is stuck with that reprobate David Platt. Which, once again, is different to the real world – despite rumours suggesting Michelle is dating Jack P Shephard, who plays her on-screen boy.
‘It’s just funny, we had to laugh and take it with a pinch of salt when people said that. It was a coincidence that it was reported we’d broken up with our exes at the same time, which is why all the rumours started,’ says Michelle, who actually split from ex-Hollyoaks actor Anthony Quinlan before starting on Corrie.
‘It was a mutual thing, and it was nothing to do with me being on Corrie with Jack. And Jack is back with his girlfriend now. She’s lovely – he’s been in the show for eight years, so she understands these stories happen.’
Michelle, 20, has only been starring in Corrie for six months, but her feisty portrayal of teenage Tina has seen her win over the soap’s bosses and devotees alike. While some stars of The Street can take years to get beyond anything more dramatic than the odd set-to with Norris over an unpaid paper bill, Tina has swiftly become a central character and bagged herself some cracking storylines.
‘Tina came in to the show just to change David into a nice character, and then to get to the point where he pushed his mum down the stairs. I was supposed to be out of there after that. But they’ve kept me on. They needed a bit of a ballsy character, I think,’ says Michelle. ‘She’s moved into the Platts’ now and she’s getting a family base around her, so hopefully she’s around for the long haul. I didn’t think I was staying, so I’m very lucky.’
What’s even luckier is, 18 months ago, Michelle was working on the check-in desk at Manchester Airport and had never acted before.
‘I’d always wanted to go into acting but I didn’t have the confidence. I just didn’t know how to get into it. This time last year I was just starting acting lessons, so it’s all happened dead fast,’ she says. Indeed, Corrie was only her second-ever audition.
‘I got an agent in the October and I got the job in November. I’m still not used to it at all, I still have to pinch myself. I was terrified for a long time, I used to sit in the green room on my own thinking, "Am I allowed to sit here? What if it’s Ken Barlow’s chair?" And then I went on set, expecting, like, three people as the film crew and there were about 30 people there. I’d never done anything in front of a camera before. I didn’t know where to look or what to do. And the first time I met Helen Worth, I froze. I was hitting Jack going, "Oh my God, it’s Gail". It was too overwhelming.’
And just to provide the cherry on the Eccles cake, Michelle won the Best Newcomer at this year’s Soap Awards.
‘I was so embarrassed, I couldn’t believe it, all I could think was I was about to fall over when I went to collect it. And walking down the red carpet with everyone knowing my name was mad. It’s like taking a lamb to the slaughter.’
Tina is perfect red-carpet fodder, though – fresh-faced, flawless complexion and a cracking little figure (she shan’t strip off for the lad mags, mind: ‘I don’t want to do it at the moment, although I’ll never say never’). Surely boys must be falling over themselves to get to her? ‘I don’t get chatted up a lot. Maybe they don’t like Tina. People look but never talk to me, and, if they do, I always get, "Are you off Coronation Street? I don’t watch it".’
Single Michelle’s ideal man is a cross between Christiano Ronaldo and Danny Dyer.
‘I don’t like footballers, but I’ve always had a thing about Ronaldo. I can never see myself as a footballer’s wife though. And I really like Danny Dyer. He’s a geezer isn’t he? He’s a wrong ’un, he’s filthy. Bring it on.’ So she’s partial to a bad boy?
‘I like a bit of a chase, a little streak of bad boy, but not too much. I don’t want to be treated like rubbish. Bad boys are OK for flings, then I can chuck them.’
And she’s well-practised at bad boys, let’s face it. ‘I’d love to see Tina stay with David – if she can’t have Liam of course! – and I’d like to see the darker side of her. She’s feisty but she’s essentially a good girl at the moment, so I’d like to see an evil side come out. Maybe her and David could be like Bonnie and Clyde. Now that would be cool…’
Michelle says: "Bad boys are good for a fling - then I chuck them,"
‘When I was younger I was a bit of a scally. My life up to the age of 14 was a fashion disaster. I was always in trakkies, hoodies and Nike or Adidas trainers. At the time it was cool, so I don’t regret it. I think my friends and I thought we were "Chav-ant Guarde!" We all looked the same. We had the same scraped-back hair, and I even used to gel my "baby" hair to my face to make a kiss curl. At the time I was trying to look like J.Lo, but my mum was like, "Please put a dress on".’
‘I’d quite like Tina to change her image a bit. But when I put on her big earrings and scrape my hair back, it helps me get into character.’
‘My first paycheque went on a Chloé bag. But I’ve been good since. I don’t like to be too frivolous with money as I’m not sure how long it’ll last. And I want to save up for a decent summer holiday soon.’ Finding her fashion feet
‘I discovered fashion magazines at 15, and that’s when I started wanting to look nice. My mum is quite trendy. She always picks out good things for me and I trust her judgement. If I get something she hates, it puts me right off it.’