Pouring rain did nothing to dampen the spirits as the glamorous cast of Coronation Street donned their finery for the programme's Christmas party. Swapping the Street for a night on the town in a trendy Manchester eatery, many of the striking stars were unrecognisable from their on-screen personas.
Stunning starlet Katherine Kelly ditched her greasy-haired, scruffy clothed character Becky and wowed onlookers in a stylish Pucci-print gown with fuchsia-coloured, peep-toe heels. The elegant actress, who trained at prestigious RADA drama college and with the Royal Shakespeare Company, laughs about her ability to switch between chain-smoking bad girl and sleek starlet.
"I was told to turn up for the Coronation Street audition looking as crap as possible, with no make-up. But that morning I'd also been for an audition where I had to look really glamorous. So I sat on the Tube putting grease in my hair and wiping my make-up off with everyone looking at me. By the time I got there I looked a right state!"
Tina O'Brien, who plays teenage mum Sarah in the soap, sparkled in a gold sequined number, while Samia Smith took a walk on the wild side with a fashionable leopard-print dress.
The party is the only official Coronation Street shindig to be held this year, after TV bosses - keen to cut costs - cancelled the annual £20,000 christmas bash. Held at the Town Hall, the traditional celebration had taken place since the soap launched 40 years ago.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
