Helen Flanagan on how she'd like to return to…

Helen Flanagan on how she'd like to return to Coronation Street and what her kids thought of her doing I'm A Celebrity before exit

Helen Flanagan has not shied away from her desire to maybe one day return to Coronation Street. The actress, who is known for playing Rosie Webster in the ITV soap, exited Weatherfield in 2012 to pursue other interests.

However, after participating in the twelfth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here in 2012, where she finished in seventh place after facing more than her fair share of punishing Bushtucker Trials, and taking on a few other reality TV and acting roles, Helen returned to Corrie for a brief storyline in 2017 before heading on maternity leave in 2018.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News on the red carpet at the Pride of Manchester, Helen, 32, revealed, how she'd like to see Rosie return to the cobbles - and it reflects her own life as a mum-of-three.

"I think Rosie being a mum would be great," she told us. "I'd love to see Rosie being a mum and I think she'd palm the kids off all the time to Sally [Metcalfe - played by Sally Dynevor]."

In the meantime, fans have seen Helen back on screen in I'm A Celebrity... South Africa. The first-ever spin-off of the hit reality ITV show burst onto screens last month and saw the former soap star competition to become the first I'm A Celebrity 'Legend' alongside a number of other memorable campmates from over the years.

And Helen was heaped with praise from viewers who saw a 'different person' on-screen compared to when she first appeared on the show 10 years ago. "It feels like such a long time ago," she told the MEN about taking part in the show, which was filmed in September last year.

Helen dazzled at the Pride of Manchester awards (Manchester Evening News)

"It's really weird as well because I've had to keep it a secret but I loved it. I really enjoyed the experience.." She added: "I loved it. When I did the jungle the first time I was 22 and I came back when I was 32. It was just amazing."

On the praise she has been receiving over the change they have seen in her since her first appearance on the programme, Helen said: "I went onto the show when I was 22, I'm now 32, I've had three children and you change totally. I was a little girl and I came back a woman, really."

She also spoke about what her children - Matilda, seven, Delilah, four, and two-year-old Charlie - thought about their mummy being on-screen. "My little girl who is four was actually really into it and I didn't think she would be," Helen said. "My second daughter, that is nearly eight, she loved it but it was my four-year-old actually that was really into it."

Helen exited the I'm A Celeb spin-off series alongside Dean Gaffney before the final (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

But due to the show being pre-recorded, fans have been left baffled to see Helen doing the shop in Tesco. "Everyone is like 'what are you doing? Why am I seeing you in Tesco?' and I say - 'We filmed it last year.'" She added: "They say 'you're supposed to be in South Africa.'"

I'm A Celeb viewers have since been left gutted after Helen exited the series just before the final on Wednesday night (May 10) along with ex EastEnders actor Dean Gaffney after a race between campmates to stay in camp. The celebrities were locked in a crate, with their heads poking out of them. They had to untangle a key and undo a padlock that was keeping them trapped inside as critters were added to the mix before ringing a bell to get out.

Campmates were told that the last two celebs left in their crates would be leaving I'm a Celebrity for good. After the shock departure of Coronation Street's Andy Whyment and Georgia 'Toff' Toffolo on Monday, followed by Joe Swash in Tuesday night's episode, fans reacted in disbelief as more popular campmates were sent home

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