Brooke Vincent has revealed the advice she offered her Coronation Street star cousin Ellie Leach after she revealed she was leaving the soap. The actress was seen leaving the cobbles as Faye Windass last week.
Fans of the ITV soap have recently watched character Faye reunite with Miley, the daughter she gave up after giving birth at 13, and Jackson Hodge, the child's father.
After her initial reservations, Faye began spending time with Miley and Jackson, with the former young couple even sharing a kiss. It left Faye struggling to mix her new life with her boyfriend Craig Tinker with her old one with Jackson and Miley.
And, before she left Weatherfield, Craig discovered the truth about Faye and Jackson’s kiss - and turned to blackmail amid his heartbreak.
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But, after realising the error of his ways, and watching the family pose for family photos as Miley explained how she plans to put together an album to remember them by, cop Craig told Faye that if she wants to go with Jackson and Miley to Slough then she should do it. So, with her case packed, Faye jumped in her dad's taxi and headed off.
Ahead of her exit, Ellie reminisced about when she first started on the cobbles back in 2011 - and recalled advice from her fellow cast members, including her former co-star cousin Brooke Vincent, who played Sophie Webster in the ITV soap. "I think people were just like, 'be yourself, turn up on time [and] know your lines,'" the 22-year-old told the Manchester Evening News and other media.
"Obviously that's the main piece of advice you give to anyone who is starting a new job like this. But I remember when I first started Brooke, my cousin, was like, 'Just be yourself. Everyone will love you,' and I think that's just what I've done. I've just been myself and I think that's why I've been here for so long.
"I've been myself but I've also made this part of me and that will never go away. Corrie will always be a part of me and Faye Windass will always be a part of me."
Ellie's cousin Brooke is to replace Gemma Atkinson, who is going on maternity leave, on Hits Radio. It's Brooke's biggest job since leaving Corrie and, as the news was revealed, Brooke shared the honest advice she gave to her younger family member.
“It’s been amazing to watch her [on Corrie] and a lot of our years on Corrie were spent together. I say to her all the time, she’s in such a lovely position and I just told her to go off travelling for a bit. I said 'go travel, go and see the world' because as soon as you grow up, you grow up, don’t you and it’s harder to do certain things.
“I say to her, ‘You know, if you want to do some more acting, go for it now. Push that now.’ Because when you have children everything has to work around them. So I’m literally saying to her, ‘Go to Ibiza for the summer, get off to America, go to San Francisco,’ and she’s like, ‘Brooke!’
Brooke added of Ellie, who is godmother to hereldest son, Mexx: “But she’s done really well and she’s such a lovely girl and everyone absolutely adores her, so I don’t think she’ll have any problems at all.”
Reflecting on growing up on screen like Ellie, Brooke said: “Me and Sacha [Parkinson], who was playing my partner at the time, were always saying, ‘When we’re 21 we’re going to leave, we’re going to go travelling and do this, this and this.’ When 21 came around, we weren’t ready.
"You’re never ready to do that until you do it, so for me, I tell her [Ellie], go off and do everything that you can’t do when you’ve got the responsibilities of a house and bills. Have an absolute ball and have a shot for me.”
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