Helen Skelton is well known for her five and a half year stint on Blue Peter where she set two Guinness World Records.
But many may not know she once made an appearance on one of ITV’s hit soaps Coronation Street. The Countryfile star's dabble into the world of showbiz came while she was studying for a degree in journalism from the Cumbria Institute of the Arts.
Helen found the opportunity to work as an extra on Coronation Street while she was working as a waitress, barmaid and in a shop to fund her studies, The Mirror reports.
But it didn’t take her long to realise that she didn't want a full-time career in acting and admitted it was like a "foreign language" to her.
Opening up on her brief acting stint in April last year, Helen told The Express :"I never had any desire, talent or ability to be an actress. I'm no actress, I mean I have so much respect [for them]. I'm always like, I watch you at work and it's a foreign language to me."
Helen, who was brought up on a dairy farm in the village of Kirkby Thore in Cumbria, saw the Corrie gig as a way to get some experience being on TV.
She continued: "I grew up on a real farm in Cumbria and had the chance to work as an extra on Corrie and it was brilliant, because it allowed me to learn the conversation of telly
"It gave me - when you go and be on a set like that, I just got to watch how things were done and gain absolutely vital experience."
Being an extra on Corrie and other shows such as Cold Feet and Cutting It gave Helen some extra cash while she was at university.
While it was merely a stepping stone to other things, Helen did enjoy her time on the Corrie set and learned some of the secrets behind-the-scenes.
She added: "I was in the Rovers loads of times, so you just sit and drink grape juice, which they obviously put in there as wine. I had to stand next to Hayley Cropper a few times, so that was good."
Despite her acting roles, Helen actually wanted to be a camera person as well as a journalist. After joining CBBC, Helen got the role of a lifetime when she took over from the departing Zoe Salmon to become the 33rd Blue Peter host.
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