Helen Flanagan has revealed that she lost all "confidence" in herself following the birth of her first daughter Matilda in 2015. The Coronation Street actress admitted that she found herself battling with anxiety and unable to function fully in social situations. Speaking to Giovanna Fletcher on her Happy Mum Happy Baby podcast, the 29-year-old explained: "So for example with Matilda from always working, running around like mad to then suddenly having Matilda. Even though it was amazing just being this Mum, I kind of became quite in myself and like I got quite bad social anxiety and things like that because I wasn't really going out as much."
She continued: "I kind of lost my confidence and even though I love her to bits, I found it quite hard in social situations. No one would think that because you know Helen, sure, you're an actress you can go talk to anyone but no." The soap star even admitted that she also suffered with "a little bit of OCD".
Helen and her eldest daughter Matilda
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She added: "I'll say it to my friends and they do just laugh... so, I had this habit where in social situations I had to gulp all the time, excessively. It was really weird but anyway you kind of get these OCD things and your anxiety and what have you. "And for me it was 100 per cent in overdrive after Matilda because you sort of have this really - you have this baby and you love them more than anything in the world and you start thinking crazy things like 'God, what happens if I like die, this baby needs me.'"
Helen shares her two daughters with her fiance Scott Sinclair
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Helen left her role in Corrie ahead of the birth of her second child, Delilah, in 2017. In May this year, she revealed that she could be back in her role as Rosie Webster sooner rather than later. "I miss Coronation Street so much, and I definitely am going to go back," the actress told ITV's Lorraine. "Definitely. But it's just working around my girls. Matilda's at the age where she's four and she's doing all of her... she needs to be taken to her lessons and what have you. And obviously with me living in Scotland, it's a four-hour drive. And Delilah's nearly one. But I just love it so much. I've been there since I was nine."
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