(Sun Newspaper - 31st July)
CORONATION STREET’S new babe Kym Marsh still suffers as a result of being bullied at school.
She has had panic attacks that left her afraid to leave the house for days at a time.
And the bullying also led to her developing the eating disorder bulimia.
But now the 30-year-old beauty and her husband Jack Ryder — the former EastEnders star — are moving 200 miles from Hertfordshire to Manchester to be near the Street studios. As a result she won’t have to struggle with her fear of travelling.
Kym says: “The school bullies would punch me in the face for no reason, lift up my skirt, call me disgusting names and I became isolated — I never had a best friend.
“My self-esteem was so shot to pieces I believed that for some reason I deserved the bullying, that I had done something wrong that made me dislikable.
“As a result I still suffer panic attacks where I hyperventilate, can’t breathe and think I am dying.
“I often get them in the car so, instead of driving, I sometimes take the bus. I can’t drive on a motorway at all and I avoid returning to anywhere that I’ve had an attack, be it a supermarket, a clothes shop or a restaurant.
“I’ve tried everything to stop the attacks, including hypnosis and therapy, but nothing has worked in the long term.”
Kym, who has children David, 11, and Emily, eight, from a previous relationship, says of her husband: “Jack understands because he has suffered from them too. When he’s not touring with his stage play he drives me or I get the bus or a cab rather than drive.
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| Right up her street ... Kym as Michelle with Steve and Liz |
“Moving to Manchester means I will be able to walk to work if necessary or get a cab.”
Kym has landed a six-month contract to play Rovers Return barmaid Michelle Connor, who sends sparks flying when she falls for Steve McDonald — and falls out with his mum Liz.
She also has another real life worry — love scenes with Steve, although her first TV kiss is with a WOMAN.
Kym says: “My biggest dread is having to snog anyone on screen.
“I recently did an episode of Hollyoaks In The City, on E4, where I play an escort girl who has to snog her best friend.
“It’s still to be shown — and it was one of the most uncomfortable experiences I’ve had.”
But it is nothing compared to the bulimia which she overcame with the help of her mum.
At its worst she made herself sick after every meal and only confided in her mum when she started to be sick without trying. She says: “My parents sent me to drama school because I’d been so badly bullied in my previous two secondary schools.
“At drama school all the girls were very thin. I felt the pressure to conform, to be thin too, even though I am naturally big-boned.
“That’s when I started making myself sick after each meal.
“I lost around 21lb within a month, dropping from 8½st and I’m only 5ft 5in. I became very frightened.
“Mum helped me through it and I managed to conquer it but the legacy of the bullying still has an impact on the way I feel about myself — I think I’m ugly and can’t function without my family around me. Sometimes I look at myself and think, ‘You are 30 years old, do you really need to speak to your mum every day?’ but the simple fact is that I do.
“I need to feel close to them, and to Jack. He is my rock. I try not to be too dependent but I’m not the confident, outgoing person I’m often seen to be.
“I miss Jack when he’s away and feel a bit of me is missing when we’re apart.
“We’re still romantic — when he’s touring I often commute to be with him. We leave little notes for each other on the pillow and speak every day. He’s made up for me that I’ve won the role in Corrie. The Street has been a part of my life since I was knee high to a grasshopper and my dream has always been to win a role in it.”
Kym shot to fame as part of the band Hear’Say — but she quit at the height of their success in 2002 to spend more time with her kids and launch a solo career.
She will arrive in the Rovers Return as gymslip mum Michelle on August 13. She is already in the doghouse with Liz McDonald after her previous screen appearance earlier this year saw her flirting with Liz’s love interest, Vernon.
Kym says: “I love being Michelle and working in the Rovers because I get to interact with most of the cast. Beverley Callard, who plays Liz, has been fantastic. She showed me the ropes and helped me through scenes. Simon Gregson, who plays Steve, has been brilliant too.”
Kym is also heavily involved with charity work — she will sing in aid of the RNLI and The Small Faces charities at a festival in Pembrokshire this Saturday, where she will appear with The Jones Gang and Paul Young.
She adds: “I feel that I’ve been blessed and that it is important to give something back.
“Winning the role in Coronation Street has lifted my self-esteem and confidence in a way nothing else ever has and I’m enjoying every minute. I feel luck has smiled on me.”