I caught up with Sarah Harding who will be playing the part at ITV in Manchester
A big fan of the show, Sarah is very aware of
its heritage and declares herself honoured to have landed this four episode guest role. She
is excited, overwhelmed and nervous all at the same time and is very anxious
that she do the programme, its audience and her own fans justice.
“Corrie is my favourite soap” she reveals, and talks
of her northern roots on her mother’s side, recalling “when I went down the ginnel the
first time when I visited the set it really reminded me of going back to my Grandma’s
house in Moston.”
It is true that she didn’t audition for the
part, as it is a short guest role, and Corrie bosses were aware of her work.
Sarah explains that the whole thing came about on a visit to the set. “I was
running around getting photographs” she explains, “and we got chatting that day
and it went from there”.
Sarah plays the wife of
Robert Preston with whom she owns a restaurant in Manchester Tracy Tracy
“She’s not a wallflower” she
continues, “he clearly likes a feisty woman and I think Tracy and Joanie in the
same room leads to fireworks.” It doesn’t help that Joni’s first reaction on
meeting Tracy is to remark “I was expecting
something more the way you go on about her”, or that Robert has been rather
economical with the truth when reigniting his flame with Tracy
So what was her first day like? “I started
filming with Kate [Ford] on the first day” she tells us, “and she’s the total
opposite of her on screen character. Tristan [Gemmill] and Lisa [George] were
there too. It was really nerve wracking, on location and there were paparazzi.
It was really good fun. I had to give Tracy
I asked Sarah about her first time filming on the
street “I shot on the cobbles for the first time with Malcolm [Hebdon] which
was fun” she told me. “I’m trying to bang down Tracy
Asked how
she’s finding the experience, Sarah remarks, “It’s very fast paced. With
films you’ve a lot longer to learn. It’s different with soaps, it’s not easy
but it’s been a learning curve.”
Both Sarah and the programme makers appear to
be conscious that both herself and Shane Ward may be on the receiving
end of added criticism and scrutiny. So is she ready for the reaction when her episodes
air? “I know it’s gonna be a mixed reaction as people are going to be expecting
high standards. You’ve just gotta be prepared. It’s the nation’s biggest soap
and it’s a massive honour to be on it, but there are gonna be people that say
‘she can’t act’. I am just gonna say, it is what it is”.
She adds, “I did train in acting when I was
younger, which a lot of people don’t know.”
It also helps that Sarah doesn’t focus on the
negative when it comes to social media. “I
try and look on the positive side. I’ve done something I’ve really enjoyed
doing, and had a blast doing it, I’ve met some really lovely people, and
everyone on the cast has been so lovely.” Sarah found a particular gesture by
the sound technicians to be very amusing; they kept playing Girls Aloud tunes
in between her takes.
Asked if she’s planning anything special for
when the episodes go out, Sarah reveals, “I’m my own worst enemy when it comes
to watching anything back. I’m my own worst critic. I’ll probably watch it with
my Mum. She’s my biggest fan.”
I asked Sarah if there was anyone she’d like to
have had a scene with. “Beverley Callard or Ali King would’ve been cool" she told me, "but
like I said I’ve really enjoyed just being here and feel honoured I’ve been
asked to do it. I didn’t know it was actually going to happen. It only started
with a fleeting gesture and it escalated and I’m so glad it did.”
So would she like it to be more permanent? “There’s
loads of stuff going on for me, including my music, so obviously I’d love to
come back, but we don’t know at the moment.” Sarah explains that it would all
depend on her availability, the storyline and her music, but we’re told that
while the story is self contained for this period, that’s not to say it
couldn’t continue in the future.
In addition to talking about Celebrity Masterchef, what
it’s like to rise to fame from a talent show, and her time with Girls Aloud, Sarah revealed how she has left London
It doesn’t sound like there’ll be much peace on
the cobbles for the short time Joanie is around, and I look forward to seeing
Sarah in action.
By Emma Hynes
Twitter: @ELHynes
All original work on the Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License
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