Michelle: I’m a bit of rough to posh Essex hubby Mark
‘Up North’ grit is a badge of honour, she says
MICHELLE Keegan wows fans with her red carpet glam… but admits she is the “bit of rough” in her marriage to Mark Wright.
The actress says she grew up around petty crime, just like her character Erin in hit Sky show Brassic – while Mark was raised in a posh suburb of Essex.
Manchester lass Michelle, 33, says: “I’d definitely say I am the bit of rough. I’d like to say a bit of posh totty but I’m not!
“When I tell my husband stories of how I’ve grown up, he can’t relate to it. I like it though, yeah, it’s a badge of honour. You’re from Up North, you’ve got to be a tiny bit rough round the edges. That’s the charm!” Michelle and Mark live in a £1.3million Essex mansion with a huge pool, bar and make-up room. In contrast, Michelle was raised in a modest family home before she found fame as Tina McIntyre in Coronation Street.
She also says her mates labelled her a “grass” growing up because her dad was a cop.
Speaking on her Brassic podcast, she says: “A lot of people I’ve grown up with have got themselves in sticky situations.
“I’ve grown up around that sort of petty crime, getting into trouble and trying to get out of it. What’s funny is my dad was an inspector in the police, so I was known as the grass.
“I had that whole banter with the police. My mates used to make up raps about Dad being a policeman, it’s hilarious.” Mark, 33, found fame in reality show The Only Way Is Essex – but his family hail from London’s East End. In recent years Michelle has spent a fair bit of time abroad working on Army drama Our Girl.
So the couple have enjoyed lockdown, with Mark saying: “After years of a long-distance relationship, I’m locked up with the girl of my dreams.
“It’s nice to just sit together in front of the TV. That time as a couple is important – just being together.
“We’ve been cooking a lot. Michelle is a cracking chef… she lets me help out.”
I’ve grown up around petty crime ...I am not posh totty! TV MICHELLE ON BEING ‘ROUGH AROUND EDGES’