Jodie Prenger is set to join Coronation Street next month as undertaker George Shuttleworth's 'fun and sassy' sister Glenda. The casting has been a dream come true for the 43-year-old actress from Blackpool.
ITV bosses say Glenda will hit the cobbles in August straight from the cruise ships and is sure to shake things up - quickly making lots of friends but also enemies in equal measure. And it won't be long before she finds her feet behind the bar of the Rovers.
But viewers will have seen the star before as she has had a glittering career on stage. Here is everything you need to know about Corrie newcomer Jodie Prenger.
Jodie started out in cabaret performing in Blackpool before she shot to fame in 2008 with BBC's reality show I'd Do Anything. The singer and actress won the competition and went on to play Nancy in Oliver in the West End.
The performer has also starred in Annie as Miss Hannigan and as Kelly in Kay Mellor's Fat Friends the musical. Jodie also been in the National Theatre's production of A Taste of Honey, where she played a character called Helen, and has also done presenting stints as a regular contributor on The Alan Titchmarsh Show and This Morning.
Just like her Corrie character, she has also worked as a cruise ship singer, having appeared on Disney Wonder for several months as one of the main entertainers. But for Jodie, bagging a role in Greater Manchester's ITV soap has always been a career goal.
On her latest job, she said: "I know I sound like a soppy sod, but it’s been on my bucket list to be in Coronation Street since I was little. It’s an honour, it truly is a very special moment in my life.
"To be part of something my family and I have loved for so long. And what a character, oh I have to say, total dream part.
"I can't wait for you all to meet fun and sassy Glenda, George Shuttleworth's sister. I love Tony Maudsley already, what a fella!"
Jodie, who has already started filming scenes, continued: "Your first day on the cobbles is one of the most nerve-wracking experiences you’ll go though and everyone was just so gloriously lovely, kind and welcoming. It was, and is, everything I expected, and more."
More than a decade ago, during an interview with the M.E.N in 2010, Jodie also mentioned how it has been a lifelong dream. She said: "Can you see me pulling a pint in the Rovers? I'd love that. They might have me, you never know. That would be corking."
When it comes to romance, the West End star has been engaged twice. Whilst the singer was taking part in the Saturday night reality show, I'd Do Anything, her boyfriend at the time, Steve Greengrass, popped the big question during week three.
Their first date had been just months earlier at Jodie's audition in Manchester. However the relationship fizzled out in the months following.
Then in 2010, Jodie met businessman Simon Booth, who asked her to marry him two years later in 2012. But within days of their engagement, Jodie suffered a devastating loss as her father Marty unexpectedly died.
Two days after the proposal, her father, who had just been diagnosed with kidney cancer, took a turn for the worst and passed away 10 days later. Speaking of her sadness at the time in 2012, she told HELLO!: "I’ve never experienced the extremes of emotion that I have in the past weeks
. I’m just so glad Dad knew I was going to be taken care of. Dad loved Simon like a son and always said I’d be safe with him. Simon’s a good man with a good soul, just like my dad.”
While there has been no confirmation of a wedding since, Jodie shared a special message on her Instagram last Valentine's Day, with the couple celebrating 11-years together. "In our 11th year baba...happy Rockin n Rollin Valentines to this fella. Love ya baby...." she wrote.
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