Michelle Collins and John Michie join as Stella and Karl

[Siobhan]

Looks like a bandage to me too, especially on top photo

Ah ok, see it now. I just saw in the bottom photo

[tammyy2j]

seeing in the photos there that Karl has a bandaged hand? and looks to be wearing black, so he survives but is injured in the fire?

He might be the one who saves Stella

[Perdita]

Corrie star Michelle Collins will be sticking with the soap for at least another year.

The actress, who plays Rovers Return landlady Stella Price, told TV Times that she is "really enjoying" her time with the show and has signed a new contract which takes her up to April 2014.

Stella has a busy year ahead as she attempts to get her pub up and running again following next week's shock arson attack.

Reports suggest that Stella will take refuge at Number 13 as she plots to rebuild her business from scratch.

Collins told the magazine: "Stella literally loses everything in the fire, so her nice dresses have all gone. People in the cast have been asking me, 'Can I have this?', 'Can I have that?'

"But it's been great, and it felt like starring in a mini-blockbuster. Two people die in this fire. It's a big shock to the system and it's going to totally change the dynamic of Stella's relationship with Karl.

"She takes stock of her life and makes some big decisions about the future."

Coronation Street airs the fire on Monday, March 18 at 7.30pm and 8.30pm on ITV.

[alan45]

Corrie star Michelle Collins will be sticking with the soap for at least another year.

My evening has been ruined. I may have to take some alcohol to deaden the pain of this woeful actress still here for another year.

[alan45]

Corrie star Michelle Collins will be sticking with the soap for at least another year.

My evening has been ruined. I may have to take some alcohol to deaden the pain of this woeful actress still here for another year.

[tammyy2j]

My evening has been ruined. I may have to take some alcohol to deaden the pain of this woeful actress still here for another year.

Maybe if you start to like and praise her then she will be out soon reverse psychology and all

[tammyy2j]

.

[alan45]

lol

[Perdita]

|Michelle Collins has revealed that eating disorders left her so thin she was mistaken for a heroin addict.

The Coronation Street actress, who has signed a new contract with the ITV soap for at least another year, told The Mirror that she struggled with both anorexia and bulimia in the early days of her career.

The Stella Price star said that the situation came to a head when casters at an audition told her agent they suspected she was a heroin addict.

She explained: "I went to audition for a fashion commercial and they said they didn't think I was quite right for it because I wasn't 'upmarket' enough.

"Later that day my agent called to see if I was okay and told me that actually I had looked so awful the casters had thought I was a heroin addict and wanted to know if I was on drugs.

"That was the wake-up call I needed."

Before securing her breakthrough role as Cindy Beale in EastEnders, Collins said that she would starve herself for weeks and drink alcohol rather than eat.

"It was a running joke with friends that I would order a salad without the oil and then drink copious amounts of alcohol like them," she said.

"That was just what I did because I thought it had fewer calories than food.

"Then as I got worse I was drinking instead of eating so I could still go out and have a good time. I went for weeks without really eating any food.

"I'd starve all day then come home late and binge on anything I could get my hands on.

"I raided the fridge and cupboards then stuck my fingers down my throat to feel empty again. Soon I was doing it after every meal, it was so addictive."

The 50-year-old added: "My arms and legs were scrawny. I had the body of a child, but when I looked in the mirror I still wanted to lose more.

"My life felt out of control and I felt if I could control my body I could control my life. In my head skinny equalled successful and I thought the only way I could be a successful actress was to be a skinny woman."

[Perdita]

Coronation Street character Stella Price could marry her ex Karl Munro in an upcoming storyline.

The Rovers Return landlady, played by Michelle Collins, is trapped in the fire until Karl (John Michie) comes to her rescue.

She apparently agrees to wed her former lover after he saves her life, transforming their troubled relationship.

An insider told The Sun: "As far as Stella is concerned, Karl has risked his life to save her and her attitude towards him - and their relationship - begins to change.

"As they grow closer, he becomes her rock and all the animosity between them seems to vanish. So when he pops the question, Stella accepts.

"But viewers will have to wait to see whether plans for their big day will go ahead - or be scuppered if it turns out that Karl played a part in starting the fire."

The dramatic fire scenes air tomorrow (March 18) at 7.30pm and 8.30pm on ITV.