Michelle Keegan's body went completely "numb" when she landed her 'Coronation Street' role.
Michelle Keegan
The 33-year-old actress was cast as Tina McIntyre in her family's favourite soap in 2008 after only her second audition ever and Michelle admitted she never expected to land the part.
She told The Mail On Sunday's You Magazine: "We all grew up on Coronation Street – it was a huge, huge deal. So just to be in the ITV building was such a 'pinch-me' moment.
"I wasn’t nervous at all about the audition, which is weird because I get very nervous in lots of situations. But I never dreamed I’d get the role. I just thought I’d do what I needed to do, then go home and tell Mum the gossip."
However, a few weeks later Michelle was called in to meet the producers and she explained: "They put six heavy scripts in front of me with a thud and said, 'Congratulations'. My whole world went quiet for a couple of hours. My body, my legs, my lips, went absolutely numb and I drove home in utter silence, in shock."
And Michelle's nerves continued through her first day of filming.
She said: "It was like stepping into a dream. I saw Bill Roache, who plays Ken Barlow, walking down the corridor and I felt as if everything had gone into slow motion. On the first day all I had to do was ring a bell but as my hand reached out it was shaking."
Meanwhile, Michelle recently returned to filming her Sky One comedy 'Brassic' and she is thrilled that it could go ahead, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
She said: "It’s a relief to get up early, go to work where I’m around other people, then come home and learn my lines. It’s given me that little bit of normality back."
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