Coronation Street actor Michael Le Vell is rumoured to have a new girlfriend.
The Sun reports that Le Vell began dating mum-of-four Blanca Fouche weeks after he was charged with 19 offences. His charges include raping a child, indecently assaulting a child and sexual activity with a child.
The actor, who plays Kevin Webster in the soap, apparently 'wooed' Fouche while she was living just a few doors away from his home in Hale, Cheshire.
Flouche posted a photo of herself and Le Vell smiling on her social media profile. A friend wrote beneath the picture: "How lovely. You both look so happy:)" Flouche replied: We are."
Flouche told the tabloid: "We didn't want anything coming out until September or something, when things have cleared up a bit.
"We have been really careful for it not to come out so no-one could get photographs. He is going to have a heart attack when I tell him.
"I am a private person and I don't think he will want to say anything either. I knew it was going to come out at some point, I was just hoping to hold out a bit longer."
Le Vell is due to stand trial in September. He will not appear in any further episodes of Coronation Street pending the outcome of legal proceedings.