Kym Marsh has opened up about the struggles of being a single mum before she found fame.
The 46-year-old has two children with ex Dave Cunliffe, who she split with in 1999. David is now 27 and Emilie is now 25. She also has daughter Polly, 11, from her marriage to Hollyoaks actor Jamie Lomas. The award-winner married Scott Ratcliff, 34 – a major in the Parachute Regiment – in 2021.
Detailing her struggles, Kym said at her lowest points she had to share packets of nappies with her sister and stay with her parents when she didn’t have enough money to top up the electric meter. But insists her kids were always well-clothed and fed.
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The star is set to return to screens as dinner lady Nicky in Waterloo Road and said she has plenty in common with single mum character Nicky, the Mirror reports.
The ex-Hear’Say singer said: “I was a single parent for many years when David and Emilie were little. I didn’t have anybody. I struggled to make ends meet. I begged and borrowed from family and friends to help me.
“Yes, there are elements of Nicky that I get and understand as I’ve been there too.”
It goes some way to explaining why Kym now doesn’t turn down any opportunity – earning her the label of one of the hardest working women in television. Last year the mum-of-three and grandmother-of-three juggled raising her family, presenting BBC’s Morning Live and filming Waterloo Road.
She also got to the quarter final of Strictly Come Dancing, partnered by Graziano Si Prima.
Kym added: “My life, quiet? You’re joking aren’t you? When I’m asked what I’m watching I say the inside of my eyelids. I like to keep busy. I’m fortunate to have had work over the past few years. More of the same, please.”
The TV star said it was tough surviving on a £80 council estate in Wigan. However, that all changed when Kym found pop fame and landed a part on Coronation Street.
Speaking about her Waterloo character, Kym said: “Nicky hasn’t always had it easy, she has struggled over the years. She owns her own salon, she had to close that down because of the pandemic. That’s very current.
“She’s struggling to make ends meet, she’s a single parent, she’s trying to hold down several jobs to make sure her children don’t go without. It’s very relatable right now with the cost of living crisis."
Waterloo Road, also starring Angela Griffin as headteacher Kim Campbell, is Kym’s first major TV role since leaving Corrie in 2019 after 13 years as Michelle Connor. She found fame on 2001 talent show Popstars and later topped the charts with Hear’Say.
She added: “Acting is my first love. It’s part of me. I come to life when I’m acting. I feel like there’s lots more out there for women of my age. Dramas are coming up with big roles for women. It’s exciting.
“Times are changing and it’s great to see. Long may it continue.”
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