Kym Marsh has been confirmed as the second celebrity contestant in this year's Strictly Come Dancing.
The former Coronation Street actress will be joining Two Pints' Will Mellor as they hit the dance floor in the star studded show. The next series of the ballroom competition is expected to drop in autumn.
Kym is best known for her role as Michelle Connor in ITV's Corrie, for which she won Best Newcomer at both the National Television Awards and British Soap Awards. She also enjoyed a fantastic career in the band Hear'Say after winning the show Popstars.
READ MORE: Corrie's Kym Marsh announced as second Strictly Come Dancing dancer
The former singer, from Whiston, left the band in 2002 to pursue a solo career, and released an album called Standing Tall in 2003. She went on to pursue acting in 2006.
Recently, as well as her Strictly announcement, it was also revealed that Kym will be joining the cast of Waterloo Road, as the BBC school-based drama is set to make a return later this year. She will play the role of Nicky Walters - a mother to two pupils and school canteen worker.
While Kim often faces some hard hitting storylines in her acting work, her own life has also had its ups and downs. The actress tragically lost son Archie at 21 weeks and five days into her pregnancy back in February 2009.
Kym often pays tribute to her late son on social media, and has spoken of the loss on TV. Marking 12 years since he passed, Kym wrote: "12 years. 12 years of wishing. Wishing we had seen you open your eyes, wishing we had seen you smile, wishing we had heard you laugh, wishing we had heard your voice.
"Wishing I had heard you say “I love you mummy” wishing above all wishes that you were here, where you belong. Too many wishes to write down."
She added: "Well, you may not be with us in body but we know you are ALWAYS with us, you're everywhere around us, you're always in our hearts. Archie you will always be the missing piece of our family. The missing piece of me forever.
"We miss you. We love you more than words could ever express. Happy birthday our sweet angel boy. xxx."
However, Kym does have other children, and now has a "blended" family with her husband Scott Ratcliff. Together they have Kym’s children David, 26, Emilie, 23, and Polly, 10, as well as Scott’s daughter Renee, six, and Kym’s grandson, Teddy, two.
The couple got married just four months after getting engaged at the Royal Memorial Chapel in Sandhurst on October 16, 2021. It was an extra emotional occasion since the bride's 74-year-old father Dave was sadly diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer, causing the couple to push forward their wedding date so that he could be there on their special day.
Before the wedding, Kym said that her dad was "determined to walk me down that aisle. That's spurring him on."
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