I still can’t get used to being famous…even after 15 years, says Michelle Keegan
SINCE landing a career-making role in Corrie fifteen years ago, Michelle Keegan has become one of the best-loved actresses in Britain and has a clutch of awards to prove it.
But despite starring in prime-time dramas such as Our Girl and Brassic, the bashful star still hasn’t adjusted to becoming a household name.
She said: “Even now, 15 years on, you never get used to being famous.
“One minute I walked out of the Coronation Street gates and no one knew who I was.
“Then, as soon as my first scenes were on screen, I remember walking out the gates and getting stopped and asked for an autograph. I had no idea how to sign an autograph.”
In an exclusive interview Michelle, 35, also reveals she rarely goes partying because she ends up out all night, finds exercise addictive and says husband Mark Wright affectionately calls her Treacle Pants.
READ MORE ON MICHELLE KEEGAN
Since landing the role of Tina McIntrye in 2007 she has had amazing success.
As well as playing Ursula in Plebs, Sergeant Georgie Lane in Our Girl and brazen Erin Croft in Brassic, she has starred in Tina And Bobby and Ordinary Lies.
She has won Best Actress awards and became Mrs Mark Wright when she married the former Towie star in 2015. Now they are about to move into an amazing £3.5million Essex mansion which they have been renovating for two years.
But she insists that all the success hasn’t changed her.
Most read in News TV
The Stockport-born actress insisted: “My life hasn’t really changed since before Coronation Street. My professional life has but on the whole my life is the same.
“I still have the same friends. I go to the same places and as soon as I finish a role I like going back to my life and being me.
“I’m comfortable in the person that I am. I know some actors feel more comfortable escaping into a character but I don’t feel that need to escape from myself.
“I love the challenge of playing different roles, but I still like being me. I’m doing a job that I love. One that I’ve wanted to do since I was little.”
But she does struggle with some of the negative comments she gets on social media.
She says: “Luckily I don’t get it much. The only time it gets to me is when it’s about work because you could have a thousand lovely comments, and then you could have one negative comment, and that one negative stays with you.
“With time you build a thick skin. I don’t know if that’s being in the public eye or just an age thing where I just don’t care about false stories as much.
“It can be frustrating, but I know that it will pass and that it won’t change the opinions of those people that matter to me. I just bury it and get on with my day. There’s other more important things to worry about.”
One of those is keeping fit. Husband Mark has his own exercise platform, they have set up sportswear brand AYTEE7 (named after 1987, the year the pair were born) and she has signed as an ambassador for Vital Proteins Collagen.
Michelle, speaking from Australia, where she is shooting BBC drama Ten Pound Poms, said: “The more you exercise the more addictive it can get.
“I normally go four times a week but if I only end up going three times, I do miss it.
“I enjoy it. Mentally, it’s good for me. I love to go in the morning and get it out of the way. It sets me up for the rest of the day. You never regret doing a workout but you always regret not doing a workout.
“Mark has more fitness motivation than me, he’s more driven than me. He arrived in Australia the other night to see me and the first thing he did this morning was get up, go for a run then go to the gym.
“I haven’t been to the gym all day, as I couldn’t be bothered.
If I go out it has to be worth the hangover
“If we workout together he’ll be doing his own thing and I’ll be doing my own thing, but after about 45 minutes I’ll just go and eat, as I’m starving.
“I eat healthily and believe that wellness starts from within.
“During lockdown Mark brought home some Vital Proteins Collagen and I started using it every morning in my coffee. Then I became an ambassador.
“I can see the difference. Collagen is good for your skin, your hair, your nails, your joints, it holds your body together.”
Michelle has been Down Under filming since mid-May while having regular Zoom chats with Mark.
Laughing, she told us: “My husband’s nickname for me is Treacle Pants.
“I’m sorry to say I don’t have a nickname for him. I wish I could say I do, but I genuinely don’t.”
While they were apart one thing Mark, 35, didn’t need to worry about was Treacle Pants going out partying — because she reckons she rarely does — though when it happens it turns into a big night.
Michelle said: “It’s rare that I go out. If I’m out, I’ll probably be out all night and it has to be worth the hangover the next day.
“I always say before I go out, ‘I’m not going to mix drinks, right?’ Nine times out of ten I always end up mixing drinks.
“I haven’t got a favourite tipple but I like a nice glass of wine. Then I’d like a cocktail as well, normally a spicy Margarita. And then sometimes an Espresso Martini. I just tend to mix drinks.”
So Michelle has been hangover free while exploring Australia.
She explained: “A few weeks ago I had three days off and jumped on a flight up to Cairns from Sydney. It was so good. I got to see a different part of the country on my own and I loved it.
“I love to travel and see different parts of the world and I’ve never been to Australia before.
“So for me to be given the opportunity to come out here and do a job, but also see the other side of the world, has been amazing.
“I like to grab life by the horns. I tend to do that a lot in life, even when it comes down to jobs and different roles.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Read More on The Sun
“It’s like, ‘Can I do this? Is it something that I want to do?’ and even if it’s a challenging role I think you only live once, so do it.”
And what a life she is living.
