Ex Hear'Say star Kym Marsh, 29, on joining Corrie, struggling with fame, her body issues, and panicking about getting old...
'I am so chuffed. It's like a dream come true and I still can't believe it's happening.' screams Kym Marsh.
Kym's all excited because she's just heard she's been given a six-month contract on Coronation Street. As a Wigan girl, and a lifetime Corrie fan, she's overjoyed.
Kym first appeared in four episodes of The Street in April. She played singer Michelle, who aditioned for Vernon's band, incuring the wrath of Liz McDonald. But now Michelle is to be a regular character and the soap is even introducing two brothers for her, who are said to be based on Liam and Noel Gallagher.
Along with her mum, Pauline, Kym has joined Celebs on a break in Jamaica while hubby Jack Ryder is at home looking after David and Emily, Kym's children from a previous relationship. She's enjoying soaking up the sun and showing off a super-slim figure, and although she's not keen on dipping into the crystal Caribbean waters.
'There might be jellyfish! I can't, I'm sorry, I'm such a wimp,' laughs Kym, who freely admits she is far from the outdoor type. 'God no - I don't even like getting sand on me, I'm pathetic.'
But she's happy to laze by the pool and top up her tan. Having struggled with her weight in the past, and even battled bulimia as a teenager, she's been following a programme of healthy eating and excercise that's left her looking great and feeling better.
'I feel healthy and that's the most important thing,' she says. 'I am happy at the weight I am now - around 8 stone - but I am happier I've gone about it in a sensible way,' says Kym, over a glass of red wine.
'This is lovely. It's a treat because Jack's teetotal,' she says. 'He got really drunk when he got Eastenders, and hasn't drunk since.'
Kym's enjoying relaxing in the sun because as soon as she gets back, she'll have to get cracking on the house hunting - the family are moving from their St Albans home to a base nearer Granada studios in Manchester.
'Jack's pleased too,' grins Kym. 'He loves it up there. He likes going fishing and playing golf and stuff like that. We won't be looking in the centre of Manchester - we'll find somewhere a bit out of the city and try and have a country lifestyle. I'm really looking forward to going home every night after work. And we'' have mum and dad up the road. It's just perfect.'
Kym shot to fame as one of the members of Hear'Say in 2001. The first of the manufactured bands to come from a reality tv show, Hear'Say were a huge, albeit brief, success and their first single, Pure And Simple, sold 1.2 million copies and went straight to number one, as did their album.
It was while Hear'Say were on Top Of The Pops that Kym, then a single mum of two, bumped into actor Jack Ryder, who was starring in Eastenders as Jamie Mitchell. A whirlwind romance resulted in a wedding in 2002, when Kym was 25 and Jack just 20. Not long afterwards, Jack quit Eastenders, and Kym left the band.
She launched a solo pop career, but never set the charts on fire. Since then, she's done bit-part acting mixed with a bit of musical theatre - so Corrie is a big gig for her.
'Hear'Say made me a household name, and I was worried it would hold me back. I think in this country people don't like you crossing over - I mean how many times do you hear of soap stars becoming successful singers? But I am living proof that it's changing. I am being given a chance. And it only takes one person to see something in you to say, "Actually, she's very good, let's give her a chance".'
Jack's career has not been massively successful since he left Enders, and he's been the object of some derision, a fact of which Kym is well aware.
'It's been rough on him,' she admits. 'But he has had really bad luck. I also think he's been badly managed. Jobs were turned down on his behalf without him even knowing about it. But that is the nature of this business. It's swings and roundabouts. You take the rough with the smooth. One minute your hot, the next you're not. The trick is not to get carried away. When it's good press you don't let it get to you, when it's bad you don't let it get to you...
'But the other thing with Jack was he got really ill. He put on a lot of weight after he left Eastenders. He's skin and bone really - a tiny thing, and he went up to 12st 7lb. Then he got ill and went down to 8st 10lb. It turned out he had a dairy intolerance and a load of food-poisoning bacteria left in his gut. It took us a long time to get him diagnosed and treated.'
However, Jack is now fully recovered. 'He's doing theatre at the moment and enjoying it. He's gaining confidence and everyone is remembering he's a fantastic actor.'
It is hard to believe Jack is only 24. 'I know,' laughs Kym. 'I have been accused of cradle-snatching. But i's not an issue. The only time we ever notice is when we're talking about television programmes and stuff like that and he won't know what I'm talking about. But no-one bats an eyelid when the man is older than the woman.'
Kym and jack were rumoured to have gone through a rough patch two years ago, but Kym's not keen to discuss it. 'I don't want to open allthat again. I will say all couples have ups and downs and we are absolutely fine now.'
On tuesday, Kym, now a slender size eight, will be celebrating the big 3-0 and admits to a few worries about it. 'I'm getting old. I am freaking out about it a bit, but I am trying not to let it be a crises. But I'd be lying if I said I was happy about not being a 20-something anymore.'
But having been a mum at 18, it's not as if Kym had a wild misspent youth in pubs and clubs.
'It frightens me know when I think about it. You know what it's like - when you're 18 you think you are really grown up and mature, but now when I look back I realise I was just a baby. Getting pregnant was a huge shock at the time. But my ex partner David and I were happy, and we decided to go ahead with it. And we do still get on now. When couples break up, I hate it when they won't let their ex partners see their kids. They think they are hurting each other but it's only the kids who get hurt.'
Now Kym has her part in Corrie to look forward to, she's shelved plans for a baby with Jack. 'We will do it, but probably not till next year now. I want us to get settled and a bit more stable first. After all, I know having a bit of money doesn't make everything great, but it makes things easier,' she smiles. At the moment Kym is keen to make a success of Coronation Street. 'Careers take their fits and starts. At the moment, it's going well and I hope it goes on going well for a bit longer. But I'm not bothered. I've lived without fame before and I could live without it again. I don't love being famous. I'd never do another reality show. i would rather struggle than seem desperate for fame. When i did Popstars, I did it to get into a band. I didn't do it to make me famous. All I want is to have a happy family life, and to make the most of this fantastic chance I've been given. I'm very lucky and I do know it.'