The big interview
Kym Marsh talks quitting Corrie and becoming a gran
Kym Marsh might be starring in one of the biggest Christmas musicals ever to come to Scotland, but her feelings towards the festive season are best described as bittersweet.
Her Scottish boyfriend, Scott Ratcliffe, is away on military duties in the Middle East. And the Coronation Street star, whose character Michelle Connor is set to make an explosive exit from the soap after 14 years, admits to feeling anxious when Scott, a major in the Parachute Regiment, is out of contact.
“We’re slowly counting down the days until he’s home,” she says.“it’s never easy being away from each other but we try to keep in touch every day which makes a massive difference.
“When we can’t do that it is really hard and a bit stressful but we are managing.
“We’ll Facetime on Christmas Day and I’ve sent him a care package of little things he can open to know we are thinking of him.”
Her family, including eldest daughter Emilie, remains a huge support and Kym admits celebrating a first Christmas with her grandson, Teddy, will lift her spirits.
Kym, 43, says: “Because my Scott is away and not back for Christmas, they didn’t want to leave me on my own so it was nice that they have all decided to come to me for a big family dinner.
“It’s sweet. I really appreciate it, otherwise it would just be me and my youngest, Polly.
“I can’t wait for Teddy’s first Christmas. When you get older you lose the magic of Christmas a little but when you have kids you live it through them. That’s exactly what’s happening now.”
Kym has plenty to distract her in the coming weeks as she stars in Elf: A Christmas Spectacular, which bursts on to the stage at Glasgow’s SSE Hydro next weekend.
The Broadway musical, based on the hit 2003 film starring Will Ferrell, tours the UK as a super-sized Christmas spectacular this month and sees Kym’s daughter Polly acting alongside mum for the first time.
“Polly is playing a slightly spoilt child telling Santa what she wants for Christmas. She is super-excited about it,” says Kym.
“It will be interesting to see how she reacts to the amount of people in the audience. She’ll love it and take it all in her stride. The nerves come as you get older, don’t they?”
Polly already has plenty of acting experience under her belt and the eight-year-old is determined to follow in her mum’s footsteps.
She has just finished working on the film Lead Belly, about Armed Forces veterans affected by PTSD and homelessness, with her dad, former Hollyoaks star Jamie Lomas. “It’s something she’s always wanted to do so we’ve just encouraged her,” adds Kym.“she’s always been a bit of an actress. She enjoys being the centre of attention, which always helps! “It’s impossible to be the daughter of someone on a show like Corrie for 14 years and not be aware of that side of my life. “I knew from a young age – probably younger than Polly – that I wanted to be an