This Girl’s Allowed:
Pop singer Sarah Harding guest stars on Coronation Street.
More than a decade ago Hear’Say singer Kym Marsh made the successful transition from pop star to acting on Coronation Street in her role as Michelle Connor.
And Boyzone band member Keith Duffy had a recurring role as lovable Irish rogue Ciaran McCarthy.
Now Girls Aloud singer Sarah Harding is trying to follow suit with a guest stint as Joni Preston, the wife of Tracy Barlow’s former husband Robert Preston.
It is a dream job for Sarah, 35, who has been a long-time
Coronation Street fan and actively sought out a role on the soap. “I was here (on the Coronation Street set) doing a film with Good
Morning Britain and everyone saw that I was a really big fan of the show,” Sarah says.
“I was running around getting my photo taken on set. I asked them if they ever did cameo appearances and they knew I had done some acting. That was how it started and then producer Stuart Blackburn got in touch.”
Most Coro characters at some stage end up crossing paths, and swords, with Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) and Sarah’s Joni was no exception. In fact, the pair clashed on screen in Sarah’s opening scenes. “On the first day I was filming with Kate, who is the complete opposite of her character. It was very nerve racking. “We were filming on location and there were lots of paparazzi. It was a long day and there was a lot to learn. I had to give her (Tracy) a good slap. “Every time they shouted ‘Cut’ I’d be giggling because Kate was so lovely. It was not a real slap. It is all choreographed to look nasty but I didn’t really touch her.”
Joni knows that her husband Robert still has feelings for Tracy, so she is plagued by jealousy.
“I play a woman on the edge,” says Sarah. “She is very vulnerable at the same time. She does come across as very angry and feisty but she is also hurting. People have to remember that.”
Whether Sarah’s guest role turns into something more permanent remains to be seen.
“Obviously, I would love to come back and do some more bits and bobs,” says Sarah, “but we will have to wait and see.”