Michelle Keegan toyed with the idea of quitting 'Coronation Street' for two years.
Michelle Keegan
The 29-year-old actress - who portrayed Tina McIntyre in the long-running soap for six years - first thought about bowing out of the programme in 2012 but eventually took the leap in 2014 after realising she would be plagued with regret otherwise.
Speaking on BBC Radio 1's 'Breakfast Show with Nick Grimshaw' on Wednesday (07.09.16), she said: "It took me two years to decide to leave and I didn't want to look back and say what if. I could have stayed at 'Corrie' for the rest of my life but I thought the reason I got into acting was to try new roles so I just made the decision and I [Tina] got killed [off] and I thought, 'Well, there's no going back now.' "
And, although soaps regularly bring characters back from the dead, the brunette beauty is adamant Tina will not be gracing the cobbles any time soon.
She explained: "She's definitely not going back. But in a way it helped me ... I have to audition all the time but I like the buzz about it. But now I'm a free agent again, I don't know what I'm doing next and I need to go to auditions. I hate auditions, they're really horrible but it's part of the process."
Michelle has just finished shooting the forthcoming period drama 'Bobby and Tina', which is based on the life of England and West Ham footballer Bobby Moore and his wife Tina, and decided to dye her hair blonde for the role.
She said: "I did it purely for a role for a new ITV drama called 'Tina and Bobby' and it's about the legend Bobby Moore and I play his wife Tina ... It took two days [to dye blonde]. I had to bleach it four times, I was paranoid it was going to fall out but I just went for it ... It did help and I think I never would have gone blonde in my life."
Meanwhile, although the actress is now on the hunt for a new acting gig, she is desperate to sink her teeth into another gritty drama like 'Our Girl'.
Michelle - who plays Lance Corporal Georgie Lane in the new war series - said: "I'd love to do action again ... I like all the gritty stuff. Obviously in 'Our Girl' I couldn't wear any make up and I had to walk around with greasy hair for days."
'Our Girl' sees Michelle passionately lock lips with Luke Pasqualino - who plays Special Forces officer Elvis Harte - and Royce Pierreson (Doctor Jamie Cole) in the first episode but she has admitted her husband Mark Wright doesn't mind.
She said: "To be fair, he was reading the scripts with me so he knew what was going to happen. I think because I was in 'Corrie' and my character Tina went with a few men so he's used to it ... He's fine with it. He didn't actually mention it, I think because we've been together for so long, he's not bothered anymore."
Tagged in Michelle Keegan