Harriet Bibby is set to take on a new role away from Coronation Street this summer. Fans of the ITV soap will best know the actress for playing Summer Spellman. The 25-year-old took over the role of the teen back in 2020.
The Wigan-born star landed the role during the pandemic, making her on-screen debut at the end of the same year. The role was recast after Matilda Freeman, who was the same age as the character, decided to leave the soap. Summer returned from her grandmother Geraldine's to discover that her former guardian Todd Grimshaw had also returned to Weatherfield after being on the run.
But after two years on the cobbles, things are looking bright for Harriet. She recently made the long list for the National Television Awards and now, she's going to ditch Weatherfield - albeit briefly - for the stage.
The soap star took to her Instagram Story to reshare a post that announced she'd be playing the role of 'Girl' in 'Blackbird' at Liverpool's Royal Court Studio for four shows in July. A quote from Harriet on the post, shared by Roots Theatre, read: "I am so thrilled to be working on Blackbird, especially after having to postpone the show!
"We had our first rehearsal and I could already tell that is was going to be a fantastic play. It's beautifully written and there's a lot to unpack, which is so exciting." Adding her own message, she wrote to her thousands of followers: "So excited for this."
It has since been a dramatic couple of years for Harriet - or more so her character - as she found herself at the centre of a serious health storyline. In recent months viewers have watched Summer battle with her body confidence after being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. The teen, who dreamt of going to Oxford, was floored by the news and that she'd be having to inject insulin.
However, things took a dark turn when Summer started to make herself sick, fearing that her new meds were causing her to put on weight, while also dealing with the stress of exams. There was also the small case of her crush on teacher Daniel Osbourne which came to everyone's attention when Max Turner, who she was mentoring, accused Daniel of grooming the school girl.
More recently, Corrie fans were left furious when Summer let friend, and former love interest, Aadi Alahan take the blame for her cheating. Having already missed one exam due to her blood sugars being out of control as she failed to take her insulin, Summer felt the pressure and took revision cards Aadi had made into the exam.
When she was almost caught, she told the invigilator she needed to check her blood sugars but the cards spilled out onto the floor. Recognising the handwriting, it was Aadi who got marched out of the exam and was even willing to take the rap for Summer, However, she did eventually come clean leaving her friends appalled.
She has since decided that she will no longer got to Oxford, despite Todd, Billy Mayhew and Paul Ashworth's best efforts. Summer is instead giving things another go with James, who she met at the diabetic support group, with the pair planning to jet off on holiday.
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