She only began acting because her mum was so concerned about her shyness that she thought drama classes might help bring her out of her shell.
But while the lessons were successful enough to land her a role on Britain’s top soap, Coronation Street actress Ellie Leach admits she still struggles with anxiety around new people.
And even having spent the past decade on the cobbles doesn’t stop her getting star-struck when she bumps into legendary cast members such as Bill Roache, who plays Ken Barlow.
“I’ve been there 11 years and when I see Bill I’ll say hi to him, but then I’m like, ‘Oh my God, it’s Bill!’” she says.
“I don’t think those nerves will ever go away. The older cast members are such icons and I can’t believe I’m in the same room as them. I was the same with Malcolm Hebden [Norris Cole].”
Ellie, who plays Faye Windass, gets butterflies about returning to work after a holiday too.
The 20-year-old featured in a storyline last year in which the troubled teen was jailed for assault.
It meant Ellie was off work for six months. She reveals: “I was so anxious I couldn’t sleep the night before. I arrived in the car park and I had to ring Colson Smith [who plays Craig Tinker].
“I said to him: ‘I don’t think I can come in; you might have to come and get me.’ He told me not to be daft, but I struggled to get out of the car, I was so nervous.”
Ellie, who grew up in Bury, Greater Manchester, says her mum Karen recalls her being timid from a very small child.
“When I was younger, I was so shy I would literally never talk to anyone. My mum says I was like her shadow – I’d hide behind her the whole time and wouldn’t engage with anyone.
“She wanted to help build my confidence, so when I was about four, she put me into a drama class.”
Ellie loved acting and thrived. Her drama school, Laine Acting Workshop, sent her for some auditions and at the age of six she landed her first role, on a TV advert for Staples.
“It was really catchy and people I know still talk about it now,” she grins.
“It’s for stationery and my character starts reeling off all the different pencils she’s got. It was quite funny.”
She appeared in further adverts, including one for McDonald’s and at the age of eight landed a role in the film A Boy Called Dad.
The following year she appeared in an episode of the Jimmy McGovern drama series Moving On and in 2011, aged 10, she successfully auditioned for Coronation Street, to play Faye, the adoptive child of Anna and Eddie Windass.
Ellie’s older cousin Brooke Vincent was already in the show as Sophie Webster, but Ellie had never understood her career.
“Because I was so young, I didn’t really know what Corrie was,” she explains.
“My mum would say: ‘Oh look, Brooke’s on telly,’ and I’d say: ‘Brooke’s on telly? But she’s in my kitchen.’ I didn’t really understand how she could be in two places at once!” In her early days on the show, Ellie’s mum would travel with her to the studios, but later she had a chaperone and the show arranged for a tutor when she missed school.
Ellie loved her new life – not that growing up in the spotlight was always easy, as she explains.
“I started Corrie when I was in primary school and then transitioned to high school and that was hard. If you’re in the public eye, people sometimes have a perception of you that you think you’re something special.
“When I started high school, some of the older girls thought that of me and made comments, but I definitely didn’t think I was special, I was too scared.” Early on in her showbiz career, Ellie’s mum warned her to differentiate between people who genuinely liked her and those who were just attracted by her TV fame.
“It wasn’t just boys it was even new friends,” Ellie recalls.
“She said to me: ‘Just make sure you know what people’s intentions are.’
“Sometimes it’s hard, but I am quite good at reading people. I know from a first meeting if I’m going to get along with someone, or if they’re going to treat me badly.”
Ellie, who has been in a relationship with Reagan Pettman for the past four years, adds: “Me and Reagan were friends for a year before we started dating. We met at college and I could tell he was a genuinely nice person.”
Nice is probably not the adjective most viewers would use to describe Corrie’s Faye right now, after she accidentally knocked down an old man during a driving lesson with her friend Emma Brooker.
When he later died, the panicked duo hid their involvement.
Faye, who had only just been released from prison for assault, was frightened about being sent back to jail.
Ellie says: “I feel sorry for her but I can’t defend her behaviour.
“I know that if I was in that position, I would confess immediately. Viewers are mainly enjoying the storyline, but a woman came up to me in town and said: ‘I love you in Corrie, but stop getting Emma into trouble!’”
Like most people in the public eye, Ellie has had to learn to deal with online trolls. “There can be 100 positive comments and one negative comment and you’ll always focus on the negative one,” she says ruefully.
“People can be ruthless, making comments on my appearance and how I do my job. It was hard when I was growing up and people said, ‘Oh, she’s put on a bit of weight.’
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“I didn’t sign up to be famous, I just wanted to act because I loved it.
“But it comes with the job and luckily most people are absolutely lovely and say nice things.”
Beginning work at the age of 10 has made Ellie grow up quickly and, despite her self-confessed shyness, she is chatty, funny and engaging.
“Because I started when I was so young and I was constantly around adults it made me mature,” she explains. “It’s been a blessing really, because it’s been nice to learn from older cast members and be taught how to be a person.”
Even so, she still lives at home with her parents Karen and Alan and her younger sister Daisy.
And unlike Faye, who has just moved in with her boyfriend Craig Tinker, Ellie is quite happy to stay put.
The actress says of her plans for the future: “I will move out one day, maybe in a couple of years’ time, but I like it at home.
“I’m not rushing to leave – my mum does all my washing and ironing. I’m not going to give that up just yet!”
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