Katie McGlynn was left totally star-struck by David Schwimmer at the National Television Awards on Tuesday night (28.01.20).

Katie McGlynn

Katie McGlynn

The 26-year-old actress won the prize for Best Serial Drama Performance for her portrayal of cancer-stricken factory worker Sinead Tinker in 'Coronation Street' and was left stunned when she was congratulated on her accolade by the 'Friends' actor.

Speaking on 'This Morning', Katie said: "I walked past David Schwimmer and he was like, 'Congratulations.' I was thinking, 'That's Ross from 'Friends' and he knows who I am!' And then I had a picture with him. Joanna Lumley also congratulated me, I couldn't get over it. But the NTAs is like that, you get so many people there."

Katie admits it was hard to portray Sinead - who was married to Daniel Osbourne (Rob Mallard) on the ITV show - as the character was told her cervical cancer was terminal and when she finally had to say goodbye to her alter ego she "grieved" for Sinead, after playing the character for seven years.

She explained: "Me and Rob Mallard got offered psychological help during the story, I was constantly being Sinead during the story. Then, I was out walking and I started crying, even though I'm not much of a crier.

"I went to speak to someone who said I was grieving. To me, Sinead was a person rather than a fictional character."

Katie - who has also appeared in 'Waterloo Road' - also opened up on the influence her late grandfather had on her acting ambitions, and she is still sad that he never got to see her on 'Corrie'.

She said: "My granddad, Dennis, was a huge influence on me and it was sad that I got the audition as it was two weeks after his funeral. "He always wanted me to be on 'Coronation Street'. I'm not a big believer in fate or angels but in this case I was."

Following her incredible 'Corrie' journey, Katie is looking to the future and now wants to do something "completely different" to the soap in her next role.

She said: "In an ideal world, I would love to get an ITV gritty drama or a series on Netflix. I just want to do something completely different. I'd like to play someone evil."