New man for 'Coronation Street's Michelle

[Perdita]

Coronation Street's Michelle Connor will have a new man in her life within a few months, according to actress Kym Marsh.

Casting is currently underway for the 33-year-old's new love interest, who will appear on screen towards the end of the year.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/a168334/new-man-for-coronation-streets-michelle.html

Obviously, Peter is not the man for her then.

[Hannelene]

Why are they keeping her in it?
I feel like her character has gone full circle and it could be time for her to move on

[alan45]

Why are they keeping her in it?
I feel like her character has gone full circle and it could be time for her to move on

I agree. She is a pointless character now. Since she no longer works in the pub and has become a full time groupie with an imaginary pop band then there is no reason for her to be on T'Street. Her 1 1/2 sons never appear either so Im afraid its time to go. Byeeeeeeeeeee

[Chris_2k11]

No, theres still some mileage left in her yet

[Hannelene]

Why are they keeping her in it?
I feel like her character has gone full circle and it could be time for her to move on

I agree. She is a pointless character now. Since she no longer works in the pub and has become a full time groupie with an imaginary pop band then there is no reason for her to be on T'Street. Her 1 1/2 sons never appear either so Im afraid its time to go. Byeeeeeeeeeee

Exactly!
It's not like her and Steve are still in love with one another he is marrying someone else. Peter Barlow seems in lust with her but he has his own demons to face without taking on her issues and Luke is leaving soon so there is no reason to keep her!

[Abbie]

I like her as a character :)

I hate it when people are like, well she has no family left there so wahats the point or oter reasons along the same lines

[alan45]

I like her as a character :)

I hate it when people are like, well she has no family left there so wahats the point or oter reasons along the same lines

But she is now a pointless character. She has no family connection to the Street anymore

[Hannelene]

I like her as a character :)

I hate it when people are like, well she has no family left there so wahats the point or oter reasons along the same lines

But she is now a pointless character. She has no family connection to the Street anymore

She is a pointless character now before she was there for a reason now it's like she is hovering for a storyline with any available male near her own age

[Abbie]

Not everyone lives where their family lives

Anyway her nephew is on the street

[Hannelene]

Not for long

[02ablake]

but maria and baby liam and tony arnt leaving permenantly they will be back next year so michelle will have family on the street.

[Katy]

don't foget the son, i think they should use him more, hes better than his mother.

[tammyy2j]

Michelle Connor's new love interest in Coronation Street has finally been cast.

Actor Kenny Doughty, 30, will take on the role of a builder called Jake for an initial six-episode stint.

Little is known about his Weatherfield arrival other than the fact that Michelle (Kym Marsh) takes an immediate shine to him when he literally falls into her life.

He begins filming with Corrie at Granada Studios in Manchester next week, while his first scenes are due to air at the end of October.

Doughty's screen credits include New Tricks, Shameless, Funland and Wire In The Blood.

http://www.cinemarx.ro/poze/postere/actori/ken/Kenny-Doughty-10718-363.jpg

[alan45]

From The Sun

CORRIE is getting a new hunk:rolleyes: looking to cement a relationship - a builder called Jake.
The newcomer will be played by Kenny Doughty, 30, who has previously starred in Shameless, Spooks and Dinner Ladies.

He will be a love interest for Michelle Connor (Kym Marsh), who was ditched by landlord Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) for ex-junkie Becky Granger (Katherine Kelly).

Since then Michelle has dated alcoholic Peter Barlow and been messed around by knicker factory boss Luke Strong.

But her luck could be set to change. A source said: "Kenny's really smitten with her and soon wins her over. It's not long before they hop into bed."

Kenny starts filming next week and appears in October.

[lizann]

any other pictures of him? :o

[Hannelene]

How long will this last?
Will he take her away from the street

[Perdita]

From Digital Spy:


Last month, it was announced that Michelle Connor's (Kym Marsh) Coronation Street character was to get a new love interest in the form of Jake the builder, played by Kenny Doughty.

Apparently Jake's arrival signals a return to the 'old Michelle' as her feisty, fun side resurfaces.

Jake turns up at the end of October, but he was recently spotted turning up for filming on location.

I've had a number of emails asking how Jake actually turns up, but all I can say is that "he literally falls into her life"...

For a picture of him go to:


http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/blog/scoop/

[tammyy2j]

oronation Street's Michelle Connor - played by Kym Marsh - comes to blows with Rosie Webster (Helen Flanagan) during next week's episodes when the young budding entrepreneur walks in on Michelle kissing Luke Strong (Craig Kelly) at Tina and Jason's (Ryan Thomas) flatwarming party. Rosie's hair-pulling tactic causes Michelle to hit the roof and she ultimately pushes Rosie backwards over a table of food, before the cattiness spills out onto the cobbles. Here, Kym tells us about filming the scrap scenes as well as Michelle's impending return to form.

You've been in and out of Corrie recently - have you had some time off?
"I took some time off at the end of April. I was off for seven weeks then I came back for a couple of weeks and then I went off again for another three weeks. That's the way it goes though - sometimes you're out and sometimes you're in. Jamie [Lomas] and I have been to Cyprus and Cannes and Palma - it's been lovely."

Where's Michelle been?
"She's been on tour with JD and his band. We've only seen her with them once when she was rehearsing with them - we've never seen her singing or anything like that but yeah, she's been on tour. She came back briefly because the drummer had sprained his wrist but then she was off again. But she's back now."

Would you like to sing on the show with 'the band'?
"It would be quite fun I think. I sang a few times as Michelle on the show in karaoke and my entrance into the show was Michelle auditioning for Vernon's band, so it would be nice. I don't know if JD can sing or play the guitar in real life, though!"

What happens when Michelle returns?
"When she comes back, Luke says he's going to end things with Rosie and Michelle's like, 'Yeah, yeah - whatever', and surprise, surprise, he doesn't. Then she overhears Rosie and Luke saying they're moving in together and Michelle thinks it's all a bit stupid and doesn't want to get involved. Michelle's not pushing Luke to finish with her because it's not serious - she's not thinking she's going to marry this guy. Rosie goes a little bit stalkerish, though, and everywhere Michelle goes, she's there. Finally she turns up at Tina and Jason's housewarming and sees red when she sees them snogging and starts this massive catfight. But she shouldn't really be taking Michelle on."

Where does Michelle stand with Luke? At one point she was after Peter?
"Well Peter was after her, wasn't he? Initially she liked him but they went on a date and it was all a bit strange - she didn't want to settle down and hadn't gotten over Steve so she just wanted a laugh. Peter got really heavy, though, and then Luke got really heavy after that. She had that one-night stand with Peter before she went away which she never intended to do - there was just such an attraction between them that she couldn't help it.

"Michelle's had a bit of time out to think things through and she's come back with new eyes and decided she wants a bit of fun - nothing too serious. She decides to see what happens and Luke makes it clear from the start that he's very interested and that him and Rosie are nothing. Michelle's got it sussed - that Rosie's got a bit of money and a flash car. It's not long before they're fighting for their man."

What happens during the catfight?
"There's some hair pulling and then I push Rosie over and she goes flying into a table and the table collapses! There's more outside, too - it's just really funny. Rosie's still not given up, though, so there's more to come."

What was it like filming for those?
"We had such a laugh doing it. I really enjoyed working with Helen. Rosie's not a character I would normally meet in ordinary circumstances so it's a unique story for me to be involved in. Obviously Rosie's quite a lot younger than Michelle so it wouldn't necessarily happen unless there was a guy involved, so it's been really good to work with her."

Do you think Michelle's been stuck in a bit of a rut recently?
"While your character's away you don't know what the writers are thinking. I know they wanted to bring that zest back to her because she's had a lot of bad things happen to her over the past few years so it would be nice to see her being a bit more upbeat and sassy again. I know that was the general consensus and that's what's happened. Everybody's written her so well and I'm dead chuffed - the writing's so great here and especially at the moment it's so funny. We're getting some great comedy coming through - it's brilliant."

What's it been like working with Kenn Doughty?
"I'm having great fun working with Kenny. Michelle and Jake really hit it off and Kenny has fitted right in here at Corrie. Jake's only around for a couple of weeks to start with but when he goes, Michelle's definitely left hoping that he'll return - so we'll have to wait and see."

Craig Kelly's finished filming now - it's a shame he's leaving, isn't it?
"Yeah - he's done what he came here to do and stirred things up and he's leaving on a high, so that's a good thing. We've seen his character come in and you think he's one thing and he turns out to be something else so he's done really well and been lovely to work with. We'll all miss him but I'm sure he'll go on to do more things."

There are rumours that there's a Coronation Street musical on the cards - would you be up for singing in that?
"Absolutely! Of course I would!"

And there have been press reports suggesting that you're about to become the new face of Iceland...
"[Laughs] It's very flattering to be considered, however my contract with Granada will stop me from doing that because I'm very busy here and can't possibly take on other things!"

[tammyy2j]

Coronation Street's new lad on the cobbles Jake - played by 30-year-old Kenny Doughty - falls head over heels for Michelle Connor (Kym Marsh) next week when he literally tumbles into her life through her bathroom window. The builder's tending to Michelle's roof when he loses his footing and ends up dangling from the guttering. Wearing nothing but a towel, Michelle rushes to help and inadvertently bears all to her uninvited guest. Taken by what he sees, Jake kisses Michelle, before embarking on a mission to coax her on a date. We recently caught up with Kenny to chat about his brief stint, working with Kym Marsh, getting naked and a potential return.

How do we first meet Jake?
"We first meet him when he's repairing the roof above Michelle's flat and being the kind of guy that he is, he hasn't got his safety harness on. He falls off the ladder and ends up hanging on the guttering outside Michelle's window so he's scrambling around trying to get his feet back on terra firma and not fall and break his neck. She comes to the window in a towel because she's been in the bath. She opens the window and pulls me through and as I land into the flat, her towel falls down and that's the first meeting!"

He goes in for the kill straightaway, doesn't he?
"Yeah - I think he's really smitten by her. He's very cheeky and says he's very shocked that he fell off the ladder and maybe needs a little time in her flat to compose himself again and as he leaves he steals a kiss. It stuns her and she's furious with him and tries to get rid of him and calls the police and everything but he's not dissuaded at all, he just sees it as more reason that they should be together. It's lovely actually. I was doing a scene yesterday in the Rovers which is brilliant and terrifying where I have to do a deal with her and say, 'I saw you with your towel', so I go into the Rovers with just a towel on and I say, 'If you don't have dinner with me, my towel will slip off as well!' So we're having this whole negotiation and Beverley Callard is just brilliant, having a good laugh at it all. It's my third ever time in the Rovers and I'm just wearing a towel!"

Was you getting naked part of the brief?
"Yes! It was one of those things where I read it and thought, 'OK, I should probably join a gym for that one!'"

So you worked out for it?
"You have to, don't you? Mainly because he's a labourer and they're well fit guys, they're in shape. So I needed to get in shape anyway but obviously there's a mild actor neurosis which says there's probably ten million watching so I should probably make a bit more effort!"

Are they expecting you to get naked more often, then?
"I don't know what's going to happen to be honest with you. I've done six episodes and I've had a fantastic time on it but the way we've left it is like, 'Watch this space'. I really hope I can get her to come back and I feel there's a lot of unfinished business with Jake and Michelle so fingers crossed that might be explored. I guess that means I'll need to keep my gym membership up if that's the case!"

Do you think Jake's tried to grab women's attentions by standing on their roofs before?
"No, I don't actually. I think that's quite interesting because it's a very unusual thing for him. What I'm finding interesting about him is he does go round places and obviously he's met other women and things have happened with them but I don't think he's instigated things in that sense before. He's more of a carpe diem kind of guy - he'll seize the moment if the opportunity comes to him - he doesn't seem to be the sort of person to search something out deliberately and this is very definitely a chance meeting the way it all happens. It's certainly not contrived at all."

Do you think it's fate?
"I think he feels there is something in that. There's a certain something beyond intellectualness where he feels there's something connecting them."

Would you ever employ the roof trick to woo a lady?
"I don't think I would, no! I'm much more shy than Jake. When I met my wife it took me about four months to ask for her phone number. I don't think falling off a ladder and going through a window would have been good for me!"

Does Michelle agree to a date?
"Yes. He puts her under enormous pressure and eventually to save her embarrassment in front of everybody - and my embarrassment - she agrees she'll go out for dinner as long as I pay. We go out for this fantastic romantic meal. Slowly they get to know each other a little bit better. It confirms for him that it wasn't just an instant physical attraction (which obviously is there and he's besotted by her - who wouldn't be?) but there's something else going on which is really interesting for him."

It's quite a brief stint - how is the situation left?
"It's just over a week and how it's left is Jake gets a job to go to Glasgow and do more building work. That's the nature of his business - he'll just go wherever the work is. He asks her to come to Glasgow with him and obviously she can't because she's got commitments where she is. He's so genuine about it and he even says, 'I think we are made for each other', but circumstances mean they can't be together at that moment. That's how it's left and you know as much as me - I want to come back, I want Jake to come back and I want to find out what happens with them but as it stands it's left that he goes off to Glasgow and she stays in Weatherfield."


How did you land your Corrie role?
"I've been very lucky actually - I met Kim, the producer a couple of years ago and we talked about a different part which obviously didn't work out. Then I was filming something else in Manchester in the summer and I got a call through to say Kim had developed a new character called Jake and they were interested in me to play it - what did I think? I was like, 'Are you mental - what do I think? That's a fantastic idea!' So I get the biog and read it all and came up and met her again. We talked about it and I did a little read-through for them and the writers and came up with what I think is a brilliant character. I'm really lucky because they're really supportive and really want you to be a part of the creative process."

What did the character biog say?
"It actually changed from what I first read because they go through this whole development process. First of all they create a character, then they have to see how it fits in with the show and the storyline. The initial impression I got from it was this guy who comes from a background with no roots as such but he comes in and is absolutely smitten by this gorgeous woman who's Michelle (Kym Marsh) and he just had this determination and a cheekiness and a bit of a chancer attitude. I like that he lives his life by his heart in that sense and doesn't shy away from difficult situations."

Do you think Coronation Street's been lacking that strong alpha male of late?
"I don't know. I think Jake's definitely something fresh they're bringing to Coronation Street and hopefully I can bring something slightly different to what's here before anyway. Saying that, they've got so many wonderful strong characters as it is so the idea that they can come up with a character that can come in and add to what's already there is fantastic. It's probably the most successful soap we've got so they've done so many things right I can't really say they've been lacking anything."

Could you relate to the character when you read it?
"Yeah. You process it as an actor - what am I like? What's the character like? The first thing you do is find a characteristic you like about the character and what I like about him is he's driven by what he feels is right. There's a strong sense of being guided by his heart and not missing an opportunity. In this story he makes advances towards Michelle and she rebuffs them but he's not deterred at all. He insists that this is the right thing and they should be together. He really listens to his heart and doesn't get swayed by other things. He's very instant - he's right in there - and that's why I feel very lucky, he's a strong character immediately. It's terrifying as well though, because you have to go on and do it straight away."

What was it like walking onto the Street for the first time?
"Terrifying! It's legendary and it feels very surreal knowing I'm going to be a part of this. You feel very honoured and lucky but at the same time there's an undercurrent of anxiety going, 'I actually have to do this!' Apart from all the excitement you step out of it and you do have to do it - it's not just some kind of dream."

What's it been like working with Kym?
"She's been absolutely brilliant and we get on so well. It is quite daunting coming onto the Street and she was so generous and fun to work with which made it easier for me to do that. She's a brilliant actress as well. We have a nice playfulness when we're doing the scenes. I've been lucky enough to work with lots of brilliant actors and the sign of a good actor is someone who really listens and responds to you and plays within the scene and Kym is really up for that. Especially in the dynamic of Corrie - it is a soap and it's very quick - you don't get much opportunity to rehearse so you have to rely on your instincts and be brave within that. You can't hide or play it safe. I've been lucky actually that they've written me with Kym because it's really worked out."

You mentioned working with Bev Callard as well - have you crossed paths with anyone else?
"I haven't - I've been slightly cocooned in the Jake and Michelle story so I got to work with Beverley which was brilliant and I love watching her work. There's so much to learn from her. You're constantly learning and I think you should always take the opportunity to look at an actor who's brilliant and experienced and take note of what they do and Beverley's certainly up there."

Are there any characters you would like to work with if you did return?
"I'm desperate just to do a scene with Betty - that's all I want to do - my life will be complete! I've been here three and a half weeks and I've been running up and down the corridors and Betty's not been in. I've got to go back to London tomorrow - they've got to bring me back just so I can meet Betty! If I could ask Betty for a hotpot in the Rovers that would be my dream. I don't know where I could go from there - that's like the pinnacle - but I'm ready to enjoy that peak."

What are you doing now?
"I'm trying to work out what's going on with Coronation Street and there's another thing that ITV are making - actors always hear this phrase, 'You're in the mix', so I'm in the mix but at the minute I've finished today and I'm unemployed. That's how it works but what's amazing is that it can all change in a day - you get a phonecall and then you start filming the next day. There's always that thing of having something in the pipeline but unless it's concrete I always prefer to say I'm not doing anything. Actors are afraid to say they're not working but it's part and parcel of the job. Even the most successful actor can only work maybe nine months out of a given year."

What do you do when you're not working?
"I do quite a lot of writing and I'm interested in film so I directed a short film a couple of years ago so I'm very interested in the other side of it and developing other ideas. I keep myself creatively occupied and my wife writes a lot as well. I don't feel like I'm not working. I might not be getting paid but I certainly keep myself busy as much as possible."

[Perdita]

Coronation Street newcomer Kenny Doughty has revealed that he dreams of filming a scene with Weatherfield veteran Betty Driver.

The 30-year-old actor, who plays Michelle Connor's (Kym Marsh) new love interest Jake on the ITV1 soap, told DS that he is a die-hard fan of the actress's barmaid character Betty Williams.

He commented: "I'm desperate just to do a scene with Betty - that's all I want to do - my life will be complete! I've been here three and a half weeks and I've been running up and down the corridors and Betty's not been in."

Viewers will initially see Jake in a six-episode stint before the builder bows out of the drama, though producers are said to be keeping the door open for a possible return.

The soap star added: "I've got to go back to London tomorrow - they've got to bring me back just so I can meet Betty! If I could ask Betty for a hotpot in the Rovers that would be my dream. I don't know where I could go from there - that's like the pinnacle - but I'm ready to enjoy that peak."

Doughty's first scenes, which see Jake tumbling into Michelle's life through a bathroom window, air on Coronation Street next week.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s3/coronationstreet/news/a183357/new-corrie-arrival-reveals-betty-ambition.html

[Corrie-Fan-Nat]

Well, I'm glad they're keeping Michelle in. She is my faveorite character and I think we can definitly get more out of her. Maria will be returning with baby Liam after Samia returnes from maternity leave, which means Michelle will have family on the street. Kym Marsh is a briliant actress, and if the storylines havn't been what the viewers liked, then it's the writers fault, really. I think that there's more potential in her and that she doesn't always have to be 'hooking up' just to get a storyline for her. I just wish the writers would realise that.