Shepherdan

There was a dramatic twist last night which may blow the Sally Metcalfe fraud case wide open. Turns out Sal has an alibi for the night her accuser Duncan Radford claimed she had spent with him in a posh hotel. All Sal needs to do now is

The actress has bought a farm and adopted four donkeys, two goats and two pigs.

“I’ve moved away to the countryside,” she reveals. “I’ve always wanted to move away and have my farm, and be surrounded by animals. And that’s happening at the moment.”

Sheridan, 37, recently starred in a documentary chronicling her return to work following her “meltdown” after her father’s death last year. She has now taken herself away to a quiet countryside retreat where she can be with her new barnyard friends – as well as fiance, 28-year-old insurance broker Jamie Horn.

“It’s nice to go away and have my animals, come back to the odd job, and then go welcome the distraction – and poll boost – a Free The New Weatherfield One campaign might bring.

Only problem is Mrs May is no Tony Blair. Also, Sal’s injustice has not caught the public’s imagination in the same way Deirdre’s betrayal by Jon Lindsay did. I just don’t feel as angry on Sal’s behalf. Plus, Duncan’s deception has none of the guile or romance of back to it,” she says, adding she is now more sensible with money thanks to receiving financial advice.

Sheridan stars as a gambling addict cleaner who gets involved in insider trading in new ITV drama Cleaning Up, which airs next year, and says she had an affinity for the character as they are both “messy” and “flawed”.

“She’s relatable,” she says. “I immediately connected.”

She’s also got very good at cleaning since taking up lessons for the role.

“We did a whole course on it,” she boasts. “It’s dab instead of wipe - a different cloth for a different surface.”

That’ll help when mucking out the stables and pigpens.

Jon’s fake pilot ruse. It might be unfair of me to compare Sal’s ordeal to one of Corrie’s greatest ever storylines.

However, if its writers are going to make such an obvious attempt at reliving the past they can’t really complain. The sad truth is there is no comparison.

The even sadder truth is I now look at Corrie the same way I look at Man United.

Sure, I’ll remain loyal to both till I die. But deep down I know the glory days are never coming back.

The secret of Kate Beckinsale’s beautifully dewy complexion is hard to believe – even by Hollywood standards. Penis facials sound like a treatment Gwyneth Paltrow left off her goop website for reasons of, dare I say it, bad taste. Kate says: “After a flight I like to be covered in a mask of liquefied cloned foreskins – frankly who doesn’t?” Epidermal Growth Factor serum is made of stem cells from Korean boys’ circumcised foreskins – really – and costs £500. Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett are also fans.

Coronation Street

THE RURAL FAMILY: Sheridan Smith has adopted some farmyard animals