You Ask… Ellie Leach (Faye)
Corrie’s Faye Windass ...faces your questions!
Life is dramatic for teen tearaway Faye – and as the Street’s Ellie, 16, answers your questions, she tells us why she’s glad she’s nothing like her alter ego…
“Who or what inspired you to get into acting?”
It was my mum. I wasn’t very confident as a little kid, so Mum put me into drama school to help build my confidence up a bit. I really enjoyed it and carried on doing it until I realised, ‘This is something I want to do with my life’. It wasn’t as if I’d told Mum I wanted to act when I was little –
it just turned out to be the thing I wanted to do.
“Are you anything like Faye in real life?”
Definitely not! Faye is much more of a rebel than me. I’m really innocent, and I don’t like to get into trouble or do anything wrong. I think Faye’s a daredevil! But it’s good for me to play someone like Faye, who is so different from who I am, because it gives me the chance to play different experiences from my own.
I’d never behave in the way Faye does.
“What is the best thing about having Debbie Rush [Anna] as a screen mum?”
Debbie really is my second mum – she looks after me, and has done since I started on Corrie. We have such a nice relationship. If I ever needed her, I know Debbie would be there for me. It’s great to have someone to be my mum when my own mum isn’t around, so I’m not looking forward to her leaving the Street. I’ll be walking around like a lost puppy.
It’s not as if I can get a new mum on set – no one can replace Debbie!
“Your cousin Brooke plays Sophie in
Corrie. What’s the best piece of advice she’s given you?”
There’s not one specific thing I can point to, but Brooke has guided me through a lot and helped me so much. I do look up to Brooke because I’ve grown up with her, and I’ve seen how she handles herself in certain situations.
“Will you be supporting Brooke when she’s in Dancing On Ice?”
I’m so excited to see her on Dancing
On Ice – I actually really love that show
“Is your own style anything like Faye’s?”
and I’m so glad it’s back, so I’ll be in the audience, cheering her on. It’s going to be so weird to see her in those glittery dresses, though – she’s not like that at all in real life!
“Is your fashion style anything like Faye’s?”
Oh no. She’s in her school uniform all the time – I think she wears it on weekends!
My style is different, and I’m all about comfort. I mostly like being in my pyjamas! I’m not a dress kind of girl. If I go out in the evenings, I’m likely to wear a jumpsuit or a pair of trousers. I like to dress up, but not in dresses.
“What do the public like to talk to you about when they spot you?”
I have so many people coming up to me to say, “Where’s your baby?”, even though the Miley storyline was a long time ago. I have to say to them, “It’s not real”! It was a big story for me to have when I was so young, and a great opportunity – I really enjoyed it. I was a bit disappointed that Faye gave Miley up, because the triplets who played Miley were so cute. Mind you, I wouldn’t want to have triplets – they are so much hard work.
“What do your friends make of you being on Corrie?”
None of my friends talk about it, to be honest. I’ve got a lot of mates who I’ve known from childhood and who knew me long before I joined Coronation Street. They never mention my job. I was a bit worried when I started college about what people would say, but I’ve made lots of new friends, and they don’t talk about it either. We are all studying performing arts, and everyone is really good at what they do. Nobody comes to me for advice – in fact, I need advice off them!
“Who in the cast would you like to work with more?”
I absolutely adore Malcolm Hebden [Norris] and I’d love to work with him. I’ve done a couple of scenes with him in the Kabin, but none so far where
“What do the public like to talk to you about?” “Who’s the naughtiest person at Coronation Street?” …asks reader Sarah Harland from Brighton
We’re all quite naughty, and we do mess around a lot. It’s such a laugh. I’d say that Mikey North [Gary] and Joe Duttine [Tim] are naughty. The two of them are a hilarious double act. It’s very hard to get scenes done when they’re around. I love working with my screen family because everyone is so lovely. It makes you want to come to work in the mornings! it’s just the two of us having a chat.
I see him a lot in the green room, though – he always pops in to make a brew.
“Would you prefer a night at the cinema or going to a gig?”
I’d prefer to stay in and watch a movie. I like to chill. I hate going out in the cold – I don’t have any patience for it.
“What’s your resolution for 2018?”
My new year’s resolution is to go to the gym and to be healthy. I really need to eat healthy food. My problem is that I always think, ‘I’ll just have one Mcdonald’s’, and then I’m off-track for the rest of the week. It always feels worse when you’re eating healthily – you just want the bad stuff more…