Katie McGlynn is showing a 'different side' to herself as she stars in Wish You Were Dead at The Lowry theatre at Media City, and a host of famous faces flocked to the red carpet to support their friend. The former Coronation Street favourite, who played Sinead Osbourne in the soap, has been her professional theatre debut in the Peter James thriller.
The 29-year-old star from Rochdale plays pathologist Cleo Morley opposite Casualty's George Rainsford as DSI Roy Grace in the national tour. Katie, who played Sinead in Coronation Street from 2013 to 2019, also stars alongside Game of Thrones actor Clive Mantle.
On taking to the stage just a stone's throw away from the Corrie set across the bridge in Trafford, Katie said: "I'm a having a bit of a pinch me moment because I'm here. This is the biggest stage outside of London." And she added: "You're going to see a very different side to me."
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Katie was cheered on by Rob Mallard, who plays Sinead's widower Daniel Osbourne. Katie won prestigious industry awards for her moving performance as dying mum Sinead, who tragically lost her battle with cervical cancer in harrowing scenes in October 2019.
Daniel is currently at the centre of the drama on the street as his fiancee Daisy Midgeley has been seen grower closer to her ex Ryan Connor after he suffered life-changing injuries in a horrifc acid attack on what was meant to be their wedding day.
Daisy has been messaging Ryan pretending to be his Ibiza club promoter pal Crystal to keep his spirits up. However the chemistry between the pair is clear.
Also in the audience for Katie, who won Royal Television Society and National TV awards and raised awareness of early testing for cervical cancer with her role as Sinead, was Mollie Winnard who played twisted Kayla Clifton in Coronation Street in 2018. Her character held Bethany Platt, played by Lucy Fallon, hostage after her policeman dad Neil raped and groomed the teen.
Kayla didn't believe that her father was capable and came to Weatherfield to seek revenge on Bethany for getting her father jailed. After learning the truth, Kayla apologised to Bethany for not believing her but the character hasn't been heard from since.
Earlier this year she starred in Happy Valley as abused wife Joanna Hepworth. In series three of the Calder Valley-based crime drama jaws dropped over a murderous twist.
Kel Allen, who played Lauren Neelan in Corrie, and Gabriel Clark, who played Katie's on-screen boyfriend Ollie Morgan in Hollyoaks, and Amy Barlow actress Elle Mulvaney and her boyfriend Liam Scholes were also all-smiles at the theatre. Katie played Becky Quentin in the Channel Four soap from July 2021 until February 2022.
Actor Gabriel told Katie after the show: "Massive congratulations to my amazing, brilliant, super talented friend @katiemcglynn. What a performance such a fantastic show and a brilliant cast."
Katie featured in a story exploring sinophobia - anti-Chinese and anti-East Asian racism - in a story with Serena Chen-Williams played by Emma Lau. In the storyline Becky became aggressive after spotting Serena with a parcel received from China, and linked her vile outburst to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Becky arrived in Hollyoaks Village as a friend of Diane Hutchinson and her beliefs in conspiracies surrounding 5G and the COVID-19 pandemic sparked concern with Diane's loved-ones. Diane became worried about her son Henry's health and threatened to call social services if Becky did not take him to hospital.
And when Becky was told Henry had meningitis, which had caused profound deafness, she threatened to sue for negligence and returned to trash the hospital pharmacy store room. While working on Hollyoaks Katie competed in Strictly Come Dancing. She tore up the dancefloor with Gorka Marquez on the BBC One dance contest.
Former Hollyoaks star Jazmine Franks, who in February announced her pregnancy, showed off her growing bump at the theatre. Jazmine, who played Esther Bloom in the Channel Four soap, is due to give birth to her first child with her partner Danny Potter this summer. "Watching our @katiexmcglynn shine in my favourite theatre," she wrote on her Instagram from The Lowry.
The mother-to-be, from Bury, shared her joyous baby news with the words: "Here’s to the biggest adventure yet. Summer 2023 is set to be a wild one! Can’t wait to cause mayhem with a mini Franks-Potter."
After leaving Hollyoaks in 2018 Jazmine took up powerlifting and she competed in the the All England Powerlifting Championships. During the Covid-19 pandemic she further embraced her love of fitness by qualifying as a personal trainer and in 2021 she ran the Manchester Marathon.
Katie previously told us she was "over the moon" to be playing in her hometown. "It's lovely, but it's also daunting, because I'm probably going to know half the people in the audience, so that just puts me under pressure more. At the same time it's nice, and I feel extremely humbled to be able to do this," she said.
She said about looking out over ITV studios: "It's going to be strange, I've got so many memories of MediaCity because of Corrie, but yet playing somewhere else and yet seeing Corrie across the road at the same time. It will be like going down memory lane."
Wish You Were Dead is at The Lowry Theatre from May 23 to May 27. For tickets, from £20, visit thelowry.com
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