Michelle Keegan is at the centre of Coronation Street's gripping surrogacy saga, and this week the star sat down to discuss her fake baby bump, feeling broody and playing practical jokes on her dad. The 26-year-old actress, who is dating former TOWIE star Mark Wright, appeared on This Morning on Tuesday to chat about her character Tina McIntyre's ongoing storyline.
Last week, viewers saw surrogate Tina deliver a baby for Gary Windass and Izzy Armstrong — and Michelle admitted she was relieved she didn't have to wear a big prosthetic bump anymore. "At the end I hated it! It just got really heavy and I wanted a wee all the time because it was pressing," she confessed. "And in the end I just started waddling...it was really weird. I liked it at the beginning but after a bit, when I turned seven months, that's when it got uncomfortable." But the bump did prove useful when it came to playing a trick on her dad. "I put the bigger one (bump) on because I had to try them on from the beginning and I text him it saying 'I've got something to tell you…'"He text back saying, 'Don't be so stupid!'..."Watched by her boyfriend Mark, who came along to watch the interview from behind the cameras, Michelle told hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby that she did a lot of research before filming her labour scenes. "My mum just said it really hurt! And I watched a lot of One Born Every Minute, and asked a lot of advice from women who have had babies, and to be fair their stories were all completely different, but I just went with what I felt was right."
Asked whether the experience had left her feeling broody, she replied, "No. But to be fair, I've always been broody — which I am — but I'm going to wait. "I'd never worked with a new born baby before and in my family there are no small babies so I'd never really handled them before and it was really daunting especially because they are so little and wriggly as well, but the (real) mother is always there so that's a comfort," she added. Michelle also confirmed that she is leaving the soap next May, prompting host Phillip to say, "So you still have time to win sexiest female soap award for the sixth time?""No, I doubt it," she said with a smile. "I've turned 26 now, that's it, they won't be giving me it again! To be fair, it's one of those situations where people say, 'Do you think you're going to win it?', and I don't think I'm going to win it every year at all, and when I do, it's a really nice surprise and the fact people have voted is really flattering. "With Michelle insisting she isn't glamorous in real-life, her hosts turned her attention to her boyfriend, who was stood off to the side. "Of course she is!" he replied.