My dad’s NO1 FAN last wish was to see me in Corrie... he’d be so proud of me now says Street’s Nicky

her. I’d love for them to have a happy future together.” Kimberly, who grew up in the Welsh seaside resort Rhyl, has spent the past decade mainly working in theatre, her only TV roles being three episodes of Hollyoaks and two of Mount Pleasant.

As a relative newcomer to television, she has been learning the ropes from her Corrie co-star Rob Mallard, who plays Daniel.

She says: “I was honest about not doing a lot of TV. He’s great and really kind and considerate. Someone asked me to hold a pashmina and walk and talk at the same time. I was like, ‘I’m nowhere near there yet,’ but he just told me to hold it normally.”

Nothing could prepare Kimberly for the shock of meeting one of her idols – Barbara Knox, who plays Rita.

Kimberly says: “She came up to me and started talking about cheese – there was no introduction. My head just exploded. She was acting really casually, so I had to act really casually, but straight afterwards I texted my mum to tell her.”

Kimberly had just returned from a year in Ibiza, where she designed decor for festivals, clubs and bars, when she got the role. She says: “I took a year out from acting and went finding myself.

“I drove a lorry from Stockport to Ibiza by myself. It was a great time, but you can easily get wrapped up in other people’s visions and dreams and forget about your own.” When she returned and was asked to audition for Corrie, she decided it was make or break time.

She says: “I had this thing in my head that if it didn’t happen this time round then it was never going to happen, because when I read the script it was me. I thought if I didn’t get ‘me’ then maybe I should step back from acting.”

But then, just as Kimberly thought her fortunes had changed, the pandemic struck. With no money coming in she was forced to give up her home and move back in with her mum in Bolton.

She says: “Of course, I was gutted, but I had to take stock of what matters. Is everyone I love OK? Unfortunately, I lost my house because I couldn’t pay for it any more, but I had my mum’s to go back to, so there was a silver lining.” It is that