Former soap star Michelle Keegan has opened up about how Helen Worth aka Gail Platt supported her and shared some vital advice with her during her early days on Coronation Street

Michelle Keegan has revealed that Helen Worth shared some invaluable advice with her at the start of her career, which has stayed with her to this day.

The actress, 37, branded her old co-star “a legend” as she recalled how Helen’s words of wisdom on the Coronation Street set years ago stopped her panicking about an intense upcoming scene and “took a weight off her shoulders”.

In 2007, in only her second-ever acting audition, Michelle landed the role of Tina McIntyre in Coronation Street. During her six-year stint on the ITV soap, the Fool Me Once star’s character dated David Platt (Jack P. Shepherd), Helen’s character Gail’s on-screen son.

During an interview on stage in Manchester last week, Michelle was asked if there was anyone in particular she supported as a young actress. “Everyone, but there’s a story I always tell about Helen Worth, who plays Gail Platt—she’s a legend, by the way,” Michelle began in her reply.

She continued: “She’s so lovely. [The advice came] before my first ever emotional storyline on the soap. It was quite a heavy, heavy, heavy storyline, and the script said that I had to cry. I was new to acting, especially TV acting – Corrie was my first ever job – and I remember getting the script, and halfway through the script, it said Tina began to cry.

“I remember my anxiety in that moment – I built it up so much. I was like ‘I can’t do this. I can’t cry. I’m a crap actor. I shouldn’t be doing this job’ It built up so much in my head before Helen pulled me aside. She went ‘Listen, you don’t have to cry, so if you don’t feel it in that moment, you don’t have to cry. You don’t have to prove anything. You do what you think your character would do in that moment. If your character doesn’t want to cry, you don’t have to cry’. That weight off my shoulders just went.”

Pushed on if she did end up crying during the scene, Michelle laughed as she admitted: “I cried and cried! I think it was just that relief going. Oh, my God. I’ve got nothing to prove. It’s fine. I don’t have to. And I’ve taken that with me all these years. Now, just be truthful to how I’m feeling in that moment in that scene. Just be truthful.”

Michelle and Helen sharing a scene during a 2010 episode of Coronation Street

The former soap star quit the cobbles after six years in 2013 and her character Tina was killed off, making her last appearance on Corrie on 2 June 2014. Since then, Michelle has appeared in dramas like Our Girl and Ten Pound Poms, Sky One comedy Brassic and the Netflix series Fool Me Once.

Michelle was speaking to Glamour editor Deborah Joseph for the Glamour’s Empowerment Summit Manchester on July 3. Posting some pictures from the event on Instagram the following day, the former soap actress told her followers: “An absolute honour to speak at the @glamouruk empowerment summit in my home town, thank you @deborah_joseph for having me. Mum you empower me every day, thank you for being my plus 1 always.”

During the event, Michelle also confessed that relocating to the south “wasn’t easy” but she and her husband have managed to make it work. The 37 year old actress, originally from Stockport, currently resides in a luxurious Essex mansion with her partner, ex-The Only Way is Essex star Mark Wright, and their dogs.

However, she seizes every opportunity to return to her cherished hometown up north. Michelle candidly discussed her move from Manchester and confessed that it took her “a long time to feel settled” in Essex. She still feels the need to return home “to recharge”, but maintains that “it works” for her marriage.

Award-winning actress Michelle and reality TV star Mark exchanged vows in May 2015 and established their home together in Essex, where Mark originates from. The couple recently moved into their lavish mansion after years of building and working on their dream home.

“I’m really proud of where I come from. I always say the best people are from the north – it’s true,” Michelle conceded as she spoke in Manchester over the weekend. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got loads of southern mates but they even say to me ‘northern people are just warmer’. It’s true – they’re friendlier, warmer… I’m not slagging southerners off – I’m married to one so they can’t be that bad!”

Michelle shared more about the transition down south: “It took me a long time to feel settled. Like I said, I’m a true northern girl. You know, I’m a home bird, and I thought ‘oh, you know, can I live that far away from home? ‘ And I remember getting homesick quite a lot [at first], but as the time’s gone on I do feel down south is my home.”

Yet, the Fool Me Once star also expressed her enduring connection to her northern roots: “But I also feel up north is still my home. I could be down south for three weeks and go right and he’s got back up north now. You know, recharge a little bit. See my mates, See my family and I live between both and it works. It works for us and we love that. Luckily I am in a position where a lot of my jobs that I have or I’ve done in the past have all been up north. like Fool Me Once was filmed up north for six months. It was great.”

Delving deeper into her lifestyle, Michelle detailed how her professional commitments influence where she resides: “When I’m working [I spend] more up north because for some reason, all my jobs are all up north. But when I’m off, it’s more down south. But I do come up and my family and friends come down a lot – all the time. I’m never on my own really which is great as I never can feel homesick.”